Spatial pattern recognition for near-surface high temperature increases in mountain areas using MODIS and SRTM DEM

Abrupt near-surface temperature changes in mountainous areas are a special component of the mountain climate system.Fast and accurate measurements of the locations,intensity,and width of the near-surface changes are necessary but highly difficult due to the complicated environmental conditions and instrumental issues.This paper develops a spatial pattern recognition method to measure the near-surface high temperature increase(NSHTI),one of the lesser-attended changes.First,raster window measurement was proposed to calculate the temperature lapse rate using MODIS land surface temperature and SRTM DEM data.It fully considers the terrain heights of two neighboring cells on opposite or adjacent slopes with a moving window of 3×3 cell size.Second,a threshold selection was performed to identify the NSHTI cells using a threshold of-0.65℃/100 m.Then,the NSHTI strips were parameterized through raster vectorization and spatial analysis.Taking Yunnan,a mountainous province in southwestern China,as the study area,the results indicate that the NSHTI cells concentrate in a strip-like pattern along the mountains and valleys,and the strips are almost parallel to the altitude contours with a slight northward uplift.Also,they are located mostly at a 3/5 height of high mountains or within 400 m from the valley floors,where the controlling topographic index is the altitude of the terrain trend surface but not the absolute elevation and the topographic uplift height and cutting depth.Additionally,the NSHTI intensity varies with the geographic locations and the proportions increase with an exponential trend,and the horizontal width has a mean of about 1000 m and a maximum of over 5000 m.The result demonstrates that the proposed method can effectively recognize NSHTI boundaries over mountains,providing support for the modeling of weather and climate systems and the development of mountain resources.

Dry Breeding and Dry Planting Techniques for Indica Hybrid Rice in Karst Mountain Areas of Gejiu City

Based on the arable land situation in Gejiu City,upland dry planting of indica hybrid rice is being expanded in Karst mountain areas with a rainfall of over 1400 mm and an altitude of 1100-1600 m to develop grain production.This paper gives a specific description of hybrid rice upland dry seedling technology,upland transplanting technology,fertilization technology,field management,weed prevention and control technology,and disease and pest control.

Can Multiple Livelihood Interventions Improve Livelihood Resilience of Out-of-poverty Farmers in Mountain Areas?A Case Study of Longnan Mountain Area,China

Clarifying the impact of livelihood interventions on the livelihood resilience of farmers in undeveloped mountain areas can not only optimize interventions,but also provide experiential support for global poverty alleviation.To analyze the impact of multiple livelihood interventions on livelihood resilience,we constructed an analytical framework and analyzed the enjoyment of livelihood interventions and the heterogeneity of livelihood resilience among out-of-poverty farmers in the Longnan mountain areas,China.Then,we studied the impact of intervention intensity on livelihood resilience through the multiple linear regression model.The results revealed that:1)the livelihood interventions enjoyed by out-of-poverty farmer in mountain areas were multiple.The proportion of farmers enjoyed diversified livelihood interventions was in descending order of high mountain areas,semi-mountain area and Chuanba valley areas.2)The overall livelihood resilience of farmers in Longnan mountain areas was generally low,with an average of 0.299.There were significant differences in the livelihood resilience of farmers across different geographic areas in the study area and types of interventions.3)The effects of industry interventions,employment interventions and education interventions were significant.The endogenous power of farmers not only had a significant positive effect on livelihood resilience,but also positively moderated the impact of the intensity of interventions on livelihood resilience.In addition,the household dependency ratio and the average altitude of the village area had a significant negative impact on their livelihood resilience.

Human Carrying Capacity of Rangeland Resources in China′s Mountain Areas

Based on analysis of the development potential of rangeland resources in China＇s mountain areas, the paper makes analysis and forecast in human carrying capacity of rangeland resources. It provides some reference for drawing up the development strategy in mountain areas.

Topographic Correction-Based Retrieval of Leaf Area Index in Mountain Areas

Leaf Area Index(LAI)is a key parameter in vegetation analysis and management,especially for mountain areas.The accurate retrieval of LAI based on remote sensing data is very necessary.In a study at the Dayekou forest center in Heihe watershed of Gansu Province,we determined the LAI based on topographic corrections of a SPOT-5.The large variation in the mountain terrain required preprocessing of the SPOT-5 image,except when orthorectification, radiation calibration and atmospheric correction were used.These required acquisition of surface reflectance and several vegetation indexes and linkage to field measured LAI values.Statistical regression models were used to link LAI and vegetation indexes.The quadratic polynomial model between LAI and SAVI (L=0.35)was determined as the optimal model considering the R and R2 value.A second group of LAI data were reserved to validate the retrieval result.The model was applied to create a distribution map of LAI in the area.Comparison with an uncorrected SPOT-5 image showed that topographic correction is necessary for determination of LAI in mountain areas.

Geographical Differences and Influencing Factors of Rural Energy Consumption in Southwest Mountain Areas in China:A Case Study of Zhaotong City

China is a mountainous country,and Southwest mountain areas cover the most mountain areas in China and have the most serious problems.Taking Zhaotong city as the study area,based on 902 rural household questionnaires of 11 villages in 2 counties and Tobit model,this paper analyzes the geographical differences and influencing factors of energy consumption for non-production purposes of rural households living in different terrain conditions.This research finds that:(1) Coal takes up the main part of energy consumption in valley areas and coal consumption is mainly affected by per capita cultivated land area,household income,proportion of rural household energy expenditure in total expenditure,coal price,and family population size.Firewood takes up the main part of energy consumption in high mountain areas and firewood consumption is mainly affected by per capita firewood forest area,distance to purchase coal,household income,electricity price,and coal price.(2) Only when the distance is greater than 20 kilometers,that is the average distance of rural households living in middle mountain areas(1,600m^1,800m) to purchase coal,the transportation condition has a significant impact on coal consumption.(3) In high mountain areas,prices of coal and electricity are the main factors influencing energy consumption choice of rural households.Too high prices of coal and electricity would to some extent lead rural households to choose firewood as the main energy consumption type.Compared to coal,rural households prefer to choose electricity.

ANALYSIS ON POVERTY IN MOUNTAIN AREAS BASED ON OFF-FARM INDUSTRIES

This paper reveals that agricultural growth trend in China is strongly correlated with the growth of off-farm industries-the curve of net income from off-farm industries reflects the general characteristics of net income of households. That means the increase of net income of farm households is chiefly from off-farm industries,more than from agriculture. The authors therefore conclude that the "poverty" in mountain areas or the gap between mountain areas and plain areas lies in the underdevelopment of off-farm industries in mountain areas. Finally,the authors make suggestions of strategic adjustment of economic structure: 1) present situation of mountain areas in China should be fully considered; 2) a full industrial system is not our desire; 3) advantageous industries should be promoted to create famous products; 4) industrialization and urbanization in mountain areas should be promoted and so on.

Influence of social capital on the livelihood strategies of farmers under China's rural revitalization strategy in poor mountain areas: A case study of the Liangshan Yi autonomous prefecture

Social capital in the form of social resources or social networks is one of the most important livelihood capital of farmers, which can increase the labor productivity of poor households and increase income. It is important to explore the reasons underlying the livelihood strategy choices of farmers from the perspective of social capital under China’s rural revitalization strategy. In this study, the Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture, a povertystricken mountainous area in southwestern China, was selected as the case study area, and multivariable linear regression models were constructed to analyze the influence of social capital on livelihood strategies.The results are as follows:(1) Individual social capital had a positive effect on non-agricultural livelihood strategies. On average, with a one-unit increase in individual social capital, the ratio of farmers’ nonagricultural income to total productive income(Income_Rto) increased by 0.002% and 0.062%,respectively. Collective social capital, with the Peasant Economic Cooperation Organization(PECO) as the carrier, had a negative effect on the non-agricultural livelihood strategies of farmers;on average, with a oneunit increase in PECO, Income_Rto decreased by approximately 0.053%. However, this effect was only significant in the river valley area.(2) The income differences among the different livelihood strategy types were explained by the livelihood strategy choices of farmers. As non-agricultural work can bring more benefits, the labor force exhibited one-way migration from villages to cities, resulting in a lack of the subject of rural revitalization. It is necessary to implement effective measures to highlight the role of PECO in increasing agricultural income for farmers. Finally,based on the above conclusions,policy recommendations with respect to livelihood transformation of farmers and rural sustainable development are discussed.

Landslide risk perception and communication for disaster risk management in mountain areas of developing countries：a Mexican foretaste

The increasing impact of disasters at local,national,regional and global scales in recent decades has provided enough evidence to urgently direct attention towards the necessity of disaster risk reduction and management,and this requires knowledge.Knowledge without communication is barren,and to communicate the risk of disaster it is necessary to understand the perception of the people at risk.In particular,this paper deals with the necessity to delineate strategies of risk communication in pursuance of risk knowledge as a core of disaster risk reduction and management,especially in mountain areas of developing countries.To portray this issue,an analysis of landslide risk perception in terms of experience,landslide risk awareness,exposure,preparedness,and risk communication and trust was undertaken in the municipality of Teziutlán,Puebla,Mexico,an area that has been affected for several decades by episodes of mass movement.Analysis of the responses to a risk perception questionnaire has offered valuable insights in terms of the information and knowledge most required by the people living in the area of interest,in order to devise a realistic and functional strategy to communicate the risk of a landslide disaster.This includes better understanding of controlling factorsand drivers of this risk,and the establishment of potential trusted sources of risk communication.Beyond considering practical matters of risk assessment and management,risk perception and communication can increase the resilience of vulnerable people,and can enhance capacity building for present and future generations.

Cultivated Land Quality Analysis of Karst Mountain Areas Based on GIS: A Case Study of Jingxi County

Agricultural land quality assessment of karst mountain areas is an impor-tant means to protect and manage cultivated land quality of karst mountain areas. With Jingxi County as a case, the data resources included achievements of cultivat-ed land grade, achievements of second land investigation, investigation of local con-ditions and the other data resources. With the overlay tool of MapGIS, attribute data of evaluation index were obtained, which can reflect agricultural land＇ characteris-tics, and agricultural land quality scores were calculated and land quality was grad-ed using the model of comprehensive evaluation of multiple factors to make further analysis on characteristics and spatial distribution. The results showed that used agricultural land is dominated by middle and high-grade lands in Jingxi County mainly, representing 68.58% of Jingxi County’s agricultural lands. On the other hand, the quality of paddy land is general y higher than that of dry land, and quality of agricultural land showed higher in middle and eastern Jingxi, and lower in north-western region, which provides references for national land management.

A DEM fusion method for ascending and descending orbit StereoSAR DEMs in complicated mountain areas considering SAR echo intensity

To extract the high-quality DEM in complicated mountain areas,a DEM fusion method for ascending and descending orbit StereoSAR DEMs considering Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR)echo intensity is proposed.After the analysis for the influence of terrain features and SAR side-looking imaging characteristics on radar echo intensity and DEM accuracy,four Terras AR-X images with the stripmap mode and the 3 m spatial resolution covering a certain area of Maoxian County,Sichuan Province,China,was selected as the experimental area.StereoSAR technology was used to extract the ascending orbit StereoSAR DEM and the descending orbit StereoSAR DEM,respectively,and the corresponding radar echo intensity map was calculated.Then,while comparing the radar echo intensity corresponding to the same point position,DEM fusion was carried out,and the accuracy of DEM before and after the fusion was analyzed with the ground points measured by GNSS-RTK as reference data.Finally,a high-quality DEM with a 3 m spatial resolution in the experimental area was obtained.The DEM accuracy was improved on all slopes,and the mean absolute deviation(MAD)improved to 4.798 m,the standard deviation(SD)improved to 6.087 m and the LE90 improved to 40.48 m.The experimental results indicate that the fusion method of highresolution ascending and descending orbit StereoSAR DEMs considering SAR echo intensity can effectively extract DEM with high accuracy and reliability,which can provide technical support for obtaining highquality terrain information in similar areas.

Identification of Paris polyphylla Smith var. yunnanensis(Franch.) Hand.-Mazz.(Polygerm Varieties) Produced in Gaoligong Mountain Areas

[Objectives] To make original plant and microscopic identification and study the traits of Paris polyphylla Smith var. yunnanensis( Franch.) Hand.-Mazz.( polygerm varieties) produced in Gaoligong Mountain areas,and provide experimental data for their identification and application. [Methods] The original plant powder was used,and paraffin sections and physicochemical properties were identified. [Results]P. polyphylla Smith var. yunnanensis( polygerm varieties) produced in Gaoligong Mountain areas showed obvious microscopic features and physicochemical properties. [Conclusions] This study was expected to provide certain reference for identification of original plant and medicine and formulation of quality standard for P. polyphylla Smith var. yunnanensis( polygerm varieties) produced in Gaoligong Mountain areas,and provided basis for their further research and development.

Income Inequality in Mountain Areas: The Case of Agroforestry Farming Systems in Uluguru Mountains, Tanzania

Land degradation due to use of unsustainable agricultural practices has affected many communities in rural mountain areas rendering them to be more vulnerable to income poverty and inequality. In this case, agroforestry systems promise to offer great solutions as they can be developed in unfavourable conditions where other production systems would either rapidly degrade the land or otherwise would not be possible. However, little is known whether agroforestry can address issues of income inequality in mountain areas. Hence, we conducted a study to investigate the nature and determinants of income inequality in Uluguru Mountains, Tanzania. Specifically, we used the cross-sectional research design and we calculated the income percentile shares, Gini coefficients and the coefficient of variation (CV), to pinpoint the nature of income inequality in the study area. The determinants of income inequality were analysed using the step by step multiple linear model. The results of analysis suggested prevalence of income inequality. Crop production was the main source of income in the agroforestry systems of the study area. Earnings from crops and timber were decreasing income-inequality amongst smallholder farmers. Our disaggregated analysis showed that off-farm income was also decreasing income-inequality for farmers with farmlands located close to homestead, for female-headed households, for farmers who did not access extension services, and those who were members of community-based financial institutions. Estimated incomes increased with household assets, size of farmland, and age of household head. However, the same decreased with household size. We found gender disparity to be one of the key issues that need attention in formulating future policies to reduce inequality. We recommend promotion of livelihood diversification as well as the designing and implementation of tailor-made training and farm financing mechanism to help the less resource-endowed farmers in mountain areas to raise their economic portfolios and social status and combat income poverty and inequality.

Study on security and protection of original ecotourism resources in the mountain areas of western Guangxi

Original ecotourism resources mainly refer to natural and human original ecotourism resources, and it＇s of fragility, rarity and irreversibility. As a valuable historic heritage and hnportant tourism resources, it plays a significant role in developing tourism and economy in such areas as the underdeveloped areas, the mountain areas and mimority areas. The tourism resources in the western mountain areas of Guangxi owe ,superiorities and characteristics ＇o their original ecology, Yet, western Guangxi is an ethnic region with fragile karst eco-environment, so it is specialto exploit the tourism resources. The paper defines original eeotourism and analyses the specialties and advantages of the original ecotourism resources as well as thefrailty of the ecotourism resources of the region. The ways of thinking are put forward for safe preservation and sustainable development of the original ecotourism resources, i.e. carrying out measures for the multi-grade protection of heritage resources, setting up a ethnic eco-museum/ ethnic culture eco-park and a gene pool of ethnic cultures, etc.

Patterns of Poverty Alleviation in Mountain Areas

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CONSULTATIVE RECOMMENDATIONS ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN KARST AND ROCK-NAKED MOUNTAIN AREAS OF SOUTHWEST CHINA

The serious degradation of the ecological environment and the rapid expansion of stone desert have had a serious effect on the economic development of karst and rock-naked mountain areas in Southwest China. Moreover, these areas are still at the initial stage of industrialization, characterized by a greater significance of agriculture to the economy, face sharp contradictions among the population, the arable land and resources, and are suffering because of a shortage of investment. On the basis of this current situation, three recommendations are made in this article: "coordinating the relations among grain, ecology, population and economic development", "increasing the input of science and technology", and "adopting policies consistent with social equity in areas of poverty".

The “Valley Economy” Model of Regional Development: A Case Study of Mountain Areas in Beijing, Northern China

A case study is presented of a regional development model for valley economies in the mountain areas of Beijing, China. The nature and framework of the valley economy model are described and the development of the model, which is specific to the mountain areas of Beijing, is analyzed. Five different valley economy models applied in the Beijing mountain areas are compared. The major purpose of the valley economy model is to develop the regional economy, including the selection of appropriate industries, the allocation of industrial space, the establishment of supply chains and the integration of various industries. Pilot experiments using the valley economy model have been conducted in seven counties(districts) in Beijing: Pinggu, Huairou, Changping, Mentougou, and Fangshan districts, and Yanqing and Miyun counties. Five models for developing the Beijing mountain areas have been explored, including: creative cultural industries, characteristic industry clusters, the promotion of large tourist areas, natural scenic tourism and folk cultural tourism. Each model has its own unique features and potential to help in the regional development of mountain areas.

Rural vulnerability,migration,and relocation in mountain areas of Western China:An overview of key issues and policy interventions

Western China features a vast area of mountains and high plateaus where millions of people,including diverse ethnic minority groups,have inhabited for generations.Geographically located in the mountainous,remote,and isolated regions,rural communities are prone to natural hazards and thus become vulnerable to impoverishment.To reduce rural vulnerability,many people residing in mountainous villages opted to out-migrate from their original villages and hometowns while some took in-situ adaptation measures.A host of government-sponsored resettlement programs have been carried out to help rural villagers seek alternative livelihoods elsewhere over the past four decades.To achieve a sustainable future for rural communities in mountainous areas of western China,more effective policies and measures need to be developed and enforced.

Study on the Circular Agriculture Development in Beijing's Mountain Areas

Circular agriculture is an essential way to realize the positive recycling of ecology and harmonious development of the country construction.The sustainable development of Beijing's mountain areas depends on the background and orientation of ecological economy.Beijing's mountain areas bear the responsibility of protecting the ecological safety of the whole Beijing district and also the exploration of circular agriculture in mountain areas is very important to promote the sustainable use of agriculture resources.Beijing's mountain areas have possessed some practical experience in recycling agriculture development.Through summarizing the development mode and analyzing the development practice,the article puts forward three key segments of promoting Beijing circular agriculture development:strengthen propagate,develop superiority and built management mechanism.

Seismic response of a mid-story isolated structure considering SSI in mountainous areas under long-period earthquakes

At present,there is not much research on mid-story isolated structures in mountainous areas.In this study,a model of a mid-story isolated structure considering soil-structure interaction(SSI)in mountainous areas is established along with a model that does not consider SSI.Eight long-period earthquake waves and two ordinary earthquake waves are selected as inputs for the dynamic time history analysis of the structure.The results show that the seismic response of a mid-story isolated structure considering SSI in mountainous areas can be amplified when compared with a structure that does not consider SSI.The structure response under long-period earthquakes is larger than that of ordinary earthquakes.The structure response under far-field harmonic-like earthquakes is larger than that of near-fault pulse-type earthquakes.The structure response under near-fault pulse-type earthquakes is larger than that of far-field non-harmonic earthquakes.When subjected to long-period earthquakes,the displacement of the isolated bearings exceeded the limit value,which led to instability and overturning of the structure.The structure with dampers in the isolated story could adequately control the nonlinear response of the structure,effectively reduce the displacement of the isolated bearings,and provide a convenient,efficient and economic method not only for new construction but also to retrofit existing structures.