Responses of some landscape trees to the drought and high temperature events during 2006 and 2007 in Yamaguchi,Japan

Extreme weather events were analyzed based on the meteorological data from the year of 1967 to 2007 for Yamaguchi, Japan. The responses from landscape trees were also investigated mainly by the analysis of image pixel and spectral reflectance. Results show that after the dry, hot and windy summer in 2007, many landscape trees in Yamaguchi City tended to respond the extreme weather events by reducing their leaf surface area and receiving less radiation energy. Premature leaf discoloration or defoliation appeared on some landscape tree species and leaf necrosis occurred on tip and margin of many Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa) trees at unfavorable sites. Described by image pixel analysis method, the leaf necrotic area percentage (LNAP) of sampled dogwood trees averaged 41.6% and the sampled Sasanqua camellia (Camelia sasanqua) tree also showed fewer flowers in flower season of 2007 than that in 2006. By differential analysis of partial discolored crown, it presented a logistic differential equation of crown color for sweet gum (Liquidambar styraciflua) trees. It suggested that the persistent higher temperature and lower precipitation could be injurious to the sensitive landscape trees at poor sites, even in relative humid area like Yamaguchi.

Image of Landscapes in Ancient Water Towns——Case Study on Zhouzhuang and Tongli of Jiangsu Province

Researchers in several disciplines and fields agree that the image establishing has both perceptual and affecfive evaluations. The paper comparatively analyzes the image of landscapes in ancient water towns held by 1619 tourists after the investigations of Zbouzhuang and Tongli of Jiangsu Province. Based on the elements of the image of urban landscapes, the perceptual/cognitive image of tourist landscapes in water towns is developed including path, node, landmark, important courtyard, district and edge. Particularly the important courtyard plays the great role on the perceptive image of tourists, however, the perceptual/cognitive images of the district and the edge are obviously weak. Meanwhile, the finding showed that the affective images of tourist landscapes in Zhonzhuang differ with those of Tongli by the method of paired comparison. The main reason is that the affective images are influenced by the impressive scenery spots. Furthermore, the commercialization of streets and pollution of rivers are easy to be functioned negatively.

Impacts of Park Landscape Structure on Thermal Environment Using QuickBird and Landsat Images

Urban parks composed mostly of vegetation and water bodies can effectively mitigate the urban heat island effect. Many studies have investigated the cooling effects of urban parks; however, little attention has been given to park landscape structure. Based on landscape metrics, this study has explored the influences of the park landscape structure on its inner thermal environment, taking heavily urbanized Beijing Municipality in China as the study area. Three indices, including the percentage of landscape （PLAND）, landscape shape index （LSI） and aggregation index （AI）, were used to measure the composition and configuration characteristics of the landscape components inside the parks. The indices were calculated for five landscape types being interpreted from Quickbird images. Urban thermal conditions were measured using the land surface temperature （LST） derived from Landsat TM images. The results showed that the park LST had a negative relationship with the park size, but no significant relationship was found with park shape. For the park＇s interior landscape, however, the configuration and composition characteristics of the landscape components inside the park explained 70% of the park LST variance. The area percentage of water bodies and the aggregation index of woodland were identified as the key influencing characteristics. In addition, when the composition and configuration characteristics of the park landscape components were separately considered, the configuration characteristics （LSI and A1） explained approximately 54% of the variance in park LST, which was comparable with that explained by the composition characteristics （PLAND）. Thus, this study suggested that an effective and practical way for urban cooling park design is the optimization of spatial configuration of landscape components inside the park.

People＇s Visual Perceptions of Tourism Buildings and Their Environments

The visual and aesthetic aspects of any object are defined by its color, texture, line, and form as well as compositional reference elements such as scale and spatial location in the three-dimensional context. Different methodologies have been developed to conduct visual assessments, based on analyses of the physical, aesthetic, and psychological attributes of the landscape. In this study, relationships between tourism buildings and the environment were analyzed across the perceived landscape and main shopping streets in terms of their color, texture, line and form, scale, and spatial location. Photographic-based questionnaires were administered in Kemer （near Antalya, Turkey） and Knokke （near Brugge, Belgium）. In each location, 30 photographs taken of the coast and principal shopping streets were shown to 100 respondents of different ages, educational backgrounds, and nationalities. Two questions were then asked regarding the visual relationships in the photographs. Six questions regarding socioeconomic characteristics of the respondents were also asked. In both locations, the respondents preferred natural landscapes with few structures, and tourist resorts characterized by small, low-rise, and traditional buildings. The results of this study may provide suggestions for building and landscape architects about how to successfully integrate tourism buildings into the landscape

Summary on the Harmonious Relationship between Urban Lake Landscapes and Lakeshore Architectural Image

A variety of high-rise building landscapes are trying to invade urban lakes resulting in the shrinkage, fragmentation, pollution of lakes and cut-down of vegetation along lakes. With the development of real estate along lakes, the local marginal lines and natural landscapes nearby are disappearing. How to plan urban landscapes＇？ How to achieve the harmonious relationship between lakeshore landscapes and lakeshore architectural image？ How to render lake sights an organic and sustainable whole？ How to balance the interest between economy and value for each interest group？ How to form urban lake sights and architectural images？ How to utilize and arrange the space？ How to form a harmonious relationship between the lake scenes and buildings in the city？ Through on-the-spot investigation and profound analysis of several lakes in Wuhan, applying enumeration, induction and analysis, the dissertation reveals that people need to share natural resources and get the support from laws and policies with the aim of building a beautiful home. In tmaa, people＇s anticipation is needed to achieve a harmonious relationship between landscapes and architectures.