The structure and function of network is a central issue in landscape ecology.Road networks with hierarchical structure are crucial for understanding landscape dynamics.In this study,we compared the distribution of na...The structure and function of network is a central issue in landscape ecology.Road networks with hierarchical structure are crucial for understanding landscape dynamics.In this study,we compared the distribution of national road,provincial road,county road and rural road in the Three Parallel Rivers Region(TPRR)in Yunnan Province of China,and estimated the effect of roads(and other factors)on the spatial patterns of land use and land cover with logistic regression.In addition,we analyzed the land use and land cover change(LUCC)and landscape fragmentation in 1989–2005 along a buffer zone of the primary traffic corridor,national road G214.The results showed that,county and rural roads had much higher percentage of length extending into more natural habitats at higher elevation and steeper slope,compared with the higher level roads in this region.While the distributions of natural land cover types were dominated by environmental factors,human land use types i.e.,building land and farmland types were significantly related with roads,linking more closely with lower level roads.The LUCC dynamics(1989–2005)of the G214 buffer zone showed a general trend of land transformation from conifer forests and valley arid shrubs to building land and farmland,and from ice and snow to alpine shrubs and forests.With the length of G214 unchanged during the time,the overall landscape pattern changed little in the buffer zone,but habitat fragmentation and area decrease had occurred for the natural vegetation types,in contrast to patch mergence and expansion of human land use types,and landscape fragmentation was intensified above 2500 m a.s.l.but declined below the elevation.The results indicated the dynamics of landscape composition and patch type level distribution in spite of the stability of the overall landscape pattern,and implied the potential role of roads,especially the low level roads on landscape changes.展开更多
During long-term operation,the performance of obstacles would be changed due to the material accumulating upslope the obstacle.However,the effects of retained material on impact,overflow and landing dynamics of granul...During long-term operation,the performance of obstacles would be changed due to the material accumulating upslope the obstacle.However,the effects of retained material on impact,overflow and landing dynamics of granular flow have not yet been elucidated.To address this gap,physical flume tests and discrete element simulations are conducted considering a range of normalized deposition height h0/H from 0 to 1,where h0 and H represent the deposition height and obstacle height,respectively.An analytical model is modified to evaluate the flow velocity and flow depth after interacting with the retained materials,which further serve to calculate the peak impact force on the obstacle.Notably,the computed impact forces successfully predict the experimental results when a≥25°.In addition,the results indicate that a higher h0/H leads to a lower dynamic impact force,a greater landing distance L,and a larger landing coefficient Cr,where Cr is the ratio of slope-parallel component of landing velocity to flow velocity just before landing.Compared to the existing overflow model,the measured landing distance L is underestimated by up to 30%,and therefore it is insufficient for obstacle design when there is retained material.Moreover,the recommended Cr in current design practice is found to be nonconservative for estimating the landing velocity of geophysical flow.This study provides insightful scientific basis for designing obstacles with deposition.展开更多
This work assessed the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) change on the socio-economic conditions of the inhabitants in the Mount Bambouto Caldera from 1980-2016. To achieve this, three time series satellite ima...This work assessed the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) change on the socio-economic conditions of the inhabitants in the Mount Bambouto Caldera from 1980-2016. To achieve this, three time series satellite images;Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) (1980), Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) (2001), and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) (2016) scenes were employed to investigate the changes in LULC. The use of satellite images was supplemented with individual interviews, discussions with focus groups and key informants, and direct field observations. Five categories of LULC classes were identified namely: thick woody vegetation (natural forest and oil palms), light vegetation (croplands), savannah (grasslands), buildings (settlements), and bare grounds. The results showed that between 1980 and 2016, croplands, buildings and bare lands increased by 4%, 0.43% and 5.7% respectively while savannah/grassland and natural forest decreased by 4.4% and 5.8% respectively. Household survey revealed soil fertility decline and lack of credit schemes to be major constraints to crop production. Many religious holidays contribute to seasonal food shortages and the community faces a host of socio-economic and institutional challenges. Consequently, majority of house-holds are destitute, live in abject poverty;which is an indication of the need for interventions by government and other development stakeholders to tackle the problems of soil fertility, land use change and food insecurity.展开更多
This report provides an overall assessment of land fragmentation problems in East Africa. Many parts of East Africa have become highly fragmented, putting development systems and activities in these areas at risk of c...This report provides an overall assessment of land fragmentation problems in East Africa. Many parts of East Africa have become highly fragmented, putting development systems and activities in these areas at risk of complete collapse. Land fragmentation occurs when land gets converted for agriculture, industrialization, or urbanization, invaded by non-local plants, or enclosed for individual use and by subdividing farmlands into subsequent smaller units called parcels with varying average farm sizes. Fragmentation results from inappropriate agricultural development processes and ineffective land use planning that fails to recognize how farmland is used, and the importance of its interconnected areas. Insecurity of tenure and resource rights are key factors in making this possible. Land fragmentation is one of the key reasons why the ability of most resources in East Africa becomes scarcer, and those remaining become “privatized” by more powerful community members—keen to maintain their access to them. Such individualistic attitudes are new and disadvantage the poorest even further by affecting the traditional customary safety nets and agricultural outputs. Neither the government nor customary governance systems effectively protect resource access for the poorest. This review summary report identifies the key causes, measures, and implications, government interventions, and the common remedies to land fragmentation problems in the East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania including neighboring Ethiopia, and the Sudan. The findings indicated from 2005 to 2015, the population kept increasing for all the named countries in East Africa with Rwanda and Uganda having a substantial increase in population density. The study review further explores the trend in the performance of agriculture by average farm sizes within the intervals of five years by highlighting their strong linkages and found that the average farm size has declined drastically, especially for Kenya. This can only mean that small farms kept becoming smaller and smaller and that there were more small-scale farmers. The results further depicted that the major and commonly cultivated food crops among the East African countries include maize, sorghum, rice, cassava, sweet potatoes, bananas, Irish potatoes, beans, peas, etc., with maize yields (Mt/ha) in 2003 for Uganda being the highest (1.79 Mt/ha) and the lowest in Rwanda (0.77 Mt/ha) respectively. Therefore, from the review results, recommendations are being made as to how the negative impacts of land fragmentation on agricultural productivity can be reduced or mitigated. One way is by community sensitization and awareness about the importance of land consolidation and its proposition on farm productivity.展开更多
Rainfall-induced landslides,exacerbated by climate change,require urgent attention to identify vulnerable regions and propose effective risk mitigation measures.Extensive research underscores the significant impact of...Rainfall-induced landslides,exacerbated by climate change,require urgent attention to identify vulnerable regions and propose effective risk mitigation measures.Extensive research underscores the significant impact of vegetation on soil properties and slope stability,emphasizing the necessity to incorporate vegetation effects into regional landslide susceptibility mapping.This review thoroughly examines research integrating vegetation into landslide susceptibility mapping,encompassing qualitative,semi-quantitative,and quantitative forecasting methods.It highlights the importance of incorporating vegetation aspects into these methods for comprehensive and accurate landslide susceptibility assessment.This review explores the diverse roles of vegetation in slope stability,covering both aggregated impacts and individual influences,including mechanical and hydrological effects on soil properties,as well as the implications of evapotranspiration and rainwater interception on slope stability.While aggregated roles are integrated into non-deterministic methods as input layers,individual roles are considered in deterministic methods.In the application of deterministic methods,it is noteworthy that a considerable number of studies primarily concentrate on the mechanical impact,particularly the reinforcement provided by root cohesion.The review also explores limitations and highlights future research prospects.In the context of mapping landslide susceptibility amid changing climatic conditions,data-driven techniques encounter challenges,while deterministic methods present their advantages.Stressing the significance of hydrological impacts,the paper recommends incorporating vegetation influences on unsaturated soil properties,including the soil water characteristic curve and soil permeability,along with pre-wetting suction due to evapotranspiration and potential rainwater interception.展开更多
Degradation of land/water ecotones in China is a serious problem and it is often neglected by people. The types of ecotone degradation are described and analyzed. The degradation of land/water ecotones enhanced the wa...Degradation of land/water ecotones in China is a serious problem and it is often neglected by people. The types of ecotone degradation are described and analyzed. The degradation of land/water ecotones enhanced the water quality reduction, bank erosion, desasters such as landslide, flood and drought, biodiversity reduction, lost of fertilized lands, decrease of the resource value of water scenic beauty and many others. The paper analyzes how these problems are related with each other.展开更多
According to interpreting the LANDSAT TM/ETM images of 1986 and 2002, the spatial-temporal characteristics of land use changes were analyzed during 16 years base on GIS. In addition, the change of ecosystem services d...According to interpreting the LANDSAT TM/ETM images of 1986 and 2002, the spatial-temporal characteristics of land use changes were analyzed during 16 years base on GIS. In addition, the change of ecosystem services due to land use change was estimated by the method of vaulting global ecosystem services. The result shows that there were rapid increases in the area of cropland, saline-alkaline land, and dramatic decreases in grassland, water area and wetland between 1986 and 2002. The annual value of the ecosystem services was declined from 767.1 ×10s Yuan/a in 1986 to 624.1 × 10s Yuan/a in 2002, the estimated annual ecosystem service value declined by 18. 6 % (i. e. 1.6% per year) between 1986 and 2002. It indicates that there had been a sever harm to ecosystem functions and services, which results from the deterioration of ecological environment and the adjustment of land use that aim to currently economic benefit.展开更多
In this paper,the theory and approach of environmental impact assessment in general land use planning are studied from different aspects.First,starting from the content and concept of general land use planning,the nec...In this paper,the theory and approach of environmental impact assessment in general land use planning are studied from different aspects.First,starting from the content and concept of general land use planning,the necessity of environmental impact assessment in general land use planning is illustrated.On the basis of its evaluation theories and methodologies,it attempts to establish index system of environmental impact assessment in general land use planning,and point outs that current general land use planning requires public participation.展开更多
Anthropogenic activities are increasingly catalyzing natural climatic factors that drive land cover change at different spatial scales. Available land cover data of the Mara River basin however give a broader picture ...Anthropogenic activities are increasingly catalyzing natural climatic factors that drive land cover change at different spatial scales. Available land cover data of the Mara River basin however give a broader picture of the entire basin regardless of the heterogeneity that exists at the sub-catchment level. This study sought to establish sub-catchment specific information on land cover changes through examination of satellite images of four Mara River sub-catchments (Amala, Nyangores, Talek and Sand River) for the period 1987-2017. The relationship between temperature, rainfall and land cover was also computed. In addition, a household survey and focus group discussions were conducted in each sub-catchments to establish the socio-economic impacts of land cover change on the community’s wellbeing. Forest cover was dominant in Amala (39.8%) and Nyangores (43.7%) sub-catchments in 1987 but by 2017 crop lands had surpassed forest cover in the two sub-catchments, accounting for 53.2% and 45.7%, respectively. However, in Talek (52.8%) and Sand River (47.4%) sub-catchments, grassland was the dominant land cover type in 1987 and after the 30 year period, grasslands remained dominant in Sand River, while shrub land became dominant in Talek sub-catchment. A weak positive correlation was observed between rainfall and forest cover, shrub land and cropland, while a negative correlation was observed between rainfall and bare land. Average temperature showed a positive moderate correlation with bare land and built up areas. Analysis of survey data revealed that livestock keeping, temperature increase, type of trees, education level of household head and weak environmental laws were the main drivers of land cover change (P −0.587), beans (r = −0.5459), sorghum (r = −0.351), cow peas (r = −0.544), and pigeon peas (r = −0.337). Focus group discussions participants were supportive of environmental protective measures to reverse negative land cover changes, while planting drought resistant trees, crop diversification and awareness creation among community members were recommended as the most ideal environmental management strategies.展开更多
In the Andes, little is known about the relationships among current land uses and their effect on soil fertility. Corn (Zea mays L.) was used to evaluate soil quality for plant growth on soils of four land uses, along...In the Andes, little is known about the relationships among current land uses and their effect on soil fertility. Corn (Zea mays L.) was used to evaluate soil quality for plant growth on soils of four land uses, along an expected gradient of fertility: native forests (Nf) > pastures (Pa) > Eucalyptus globulus Labill. plantations (Eg) > Pinus patula Schlecht. plantations (Pp). Corn was grown in soils taken from four different areas, for the four land uses in each. In a common garden, a randomized block design was used with four treatments: controls (C), ammonium nitrate (N), triple superphosphate (P), and combined N and P fertilizers (N + P). On soils from Nf, Pa and Eg, fertilization response was N + P > P > N > C;corn biomass (g/pot-1) averaged 4.5 in N + P, 3.3 in P, 1.8 in N, 1.7 in C;P content (mg/pot-1) averaged 12 in N + P, 11.9 in P, 2.3 in N, 2 in C. N + P enhanced growth the most. Mortality was high on Pp soils, growth weak, and fertilization response was P > N + P > C ≥ N;corn biomass (g/pot-1) was 0.9 in P, 0.5 in N + P, 0.8 in C, 0.4 in N;P content (mg/pot-1) was 4.4 in P, 2.3 in N + P, 1.8 in C, 1 in N. All soils had P, K, Ca and Mg deficiencies. Al toxicity possibly occurred only in Pp soils. All control soils had low fertility. Responses to N and P were high except for Pp. Pastures and plantations were once natural forests converted to agriculture, then to pastures as soil fertility declined. Plantations were likely established on poorest pastures;only pine grew on poorest soils. This land use endpoint has the lowest agricultural potential;other land uses have limitations in P, N, and potentially K.展开更多
This paper modifies and uses an advanced computable general equilibrium model coupled with biophysical data on land and water resources by Agro-Ecological Zone (AEZ) at the river basin level to examine the economy-wid...This paper modifies and uses an advanced computable general equilibrium model coupled with biophysical data on land and water resources by Agro-Ecological Zone (AEZ) at the river basin level to examine the economy-wide consequences of im-provements in water use efficiency (WUE) in irrigation in South Asia. This is the first time the benefits of such improvements have been evaluated in an economy-wide context. It shows that such improvements increase production of food items, enhance food exports, and significantly improve food security in South Asia. Improvement in water use efficiency also leads to lower food prices, provides the opportunity to extend irrigated areas, decreases demand for cropland, and enhances reforestation. Im-provement in water use efficiency in irrigation also generates important net GDP gains across the South Asia region. Investments in improved WUE of up to 40% can be economically justified in Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. However, in Nepal, for an improvement of more than 20% in WUE, the economic gains are smaller than costs from the associated investments. In Pakistan and rest of South Asia, an improvement in WUE of up to 30% appears to be economically profitable.展开更多
Recently the study on the mutual relationship between urban transport and land use has been one of the hot subjects in the fields of ruban geography, urban transport planning and urban planning. This paper totes to ca...Recently the study on the mutual relationship between urban transport and land use has been one of the hot subjects in the fields of ruban geography, urban transport planning and urban planning. This paper totes to carry out some methods, such as muhi.analysis statistics method, to specify the impacts of urban land use on urban transport system. Firstly, the choice of urban transport road network affected by the characters of urban land use layout is discussed Secondly, the promotion of urban public transportation affected by high-density concentrated land use pattern is demonstrated Thirdly, the impacts of urban city-size on transport system structure characters are expatiated Finally, the impacts of urban mater planning in Guangzhou on the layout of transport system are illustrated .展开更多
Background: Ecosystem representation is one key component in assessing the biodiversity impacts of land-use changes that will irrevocably alter natural ecosystems. We show how detailed vegetation plot data can be use...Background: Ecosystem representation is one key component in assessing the biodiversity impacts of land-use changes that will irrevocably alter natural ecosystems. We show how detailed vegetation plot data can be used to assess the potential impact of inundation by a proposed hydroelectricity dam in the Mokihinui gorge, New Zealand, on representation of natural forests. Specifically we ask: 1) How well are the types of forest represented Locally, regionally, and nationally; and 2) How does the number of distinct communities (i.e. beta diversity) in the target catchment compare with other catchments nationally? Methods: For local and regional comparisons plant species composition was recorded on 45 objectively located 400 m2 vegetation plots established in each of three gorges, with one being the proposed inundation area of the Mokihinui lower gorge. The fuzzy classification framework of noise clustering was used to assign these plots to a specific alliance and association of a pre-existing national-scale classification. NationaLly, we examined the relationship between the number of alliances and associations in a catchment and either catchment size or the number of plots per catchment by fitting Generalised Additive Models. Results: The four alliances and five associations that were observed in the Mokihinui lower gorge arepresent in the region but limited locally. One association was narrowly distributed nationally, but is the mostfrequent association in the Mokihinui lower gorge; inundation may have consequences of national importance to its long-term persistence. That the Mokihinui lower gorge area had nearly twice as many plots that could not be assigned to pre- existing alliances and associations than either the Mokihinui upper or the Karamea lower gorges and proportionally more than the national dataset emphasises the compositional distinctiveness of this gorge. These outlier plots in the Mokihinui lower gorge may be unsorted assemblages of species or reflect sampling bias or that native- dominated woody riparian vegetation is rare on the landscape. At a national scale, the Mokihinui catchment has a higher diversity of forest alliances and associations (i.e. beta-diversity) than predicted based on catchment size and sampling intensity. Conclusions: Our analytical approach demonstrates one transparent solution to a common conservation planning problem: assessing how well ecosystems that will be destroyed by a proposed land-use change are represented using a multi-scale spatial and compositional framework. We provide a useful tool for assessing potential consequences of land-use change that can help guide decision making.展开更多
This paper describes the current situation of China's land use and land use changes, major driving forces, and their impacts on the environment, through a review on land use studies in the past decades in China.
Semi-active landing gear can provide good performance of both landing impact and taxi situation, and has the ability for adapting to various ground conditions and operational conditions. A kind of Nonlinear Model Pred...Semi-active landing gear can provide good performance of both landing impact and taxi situation, and has the ability for adapting to various ground conditions and operational conditions. A kind of Nonlinear Model Predictive Control algorithm (NMPC) for semi-active landing gears is developed in this paper. The NMPC algorithm uses Genetic Algorithm (GA) as the optimization technique and chooses damping performance of landing gear at touch down to be the optimization object. The valve's rate and magnitude limitations are also considered in the controller's design. A simulation model is built for the semi-active landing gear's damping process at touchdown. Drop tests are carried out on an experimental passive landing gear systerm to validate the parameters of the simulation model. The result of numerical simulation shows that the isolation of impact load at touchdown can be significantly improved compared to other control algorithms. The strongly nonlinear dynamics of semi-active landing gear coupled with control valve's rate and magnitude limitations are handled well with the proposed controller.展开更多
CO2 concentrations in different plant communities (larch, birch, lilac, and grassland) were measured during the growing season in the Heilongjiang Forest Botanical Garden to study diurnal variation, seasonal and ann...CO2 concentrations in different plant communities (larch, birch, lilac, and grassland) were measured during the growing season in the Heilongjiang Forest Botanical Garden to study diurnal variation, seasonal and annual dynamics and factors that impact CO2 concentration in different spaces. CO2 concentration in different communities in green lands had an obvious diurnal variation, chronically decreasing, and temperature influenced the lilac area and the grassland. Seasonally, CO2 was lowest in the larch green land (344.03 ±23.03 μmol/mol) and highest in the grassland (360.13 ± 22.43 μmol/mol). The overall trend in CO2 concentration was autumn 〉 spring 〉 summer; temperature is the main factor controlling variation in CO2 concentrations during the growing season; the CO2 concentration at the larch, birch, lilac, and grassland types of sites was negatively correlated with land surface temperature and air temperature, and the CO2 concentration at the larch and birch sites was positively correlated with atmospheric pressure. Without any obvious annual change law, further study and observation are needed.展开更多
In the Report of the 19 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,it stated that we must put the ecological safety and green development in the first place.To achieve rural revitalization,ecological livabil...In the Report of the 19 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,it stated that we must put the ecological safety and green development in the first place.To achieve rural revitalization,ecological livability is the most important factor.Taking Luquan Yi and Miao Autonomous County(national level poor county)in Jinsha River valley of Yunnan Province as an example,using DPSIR(drivers,pressures,states,impacts,responses)model,this paper established an evaluation indicator system.Besides,using the entropy method,it determined the indicator weight.In addition,it evaluated the land ecological security of Luquan County since the implementation of targeted poverty alleviation policy(2013-2017)using multi-factor comprehensive evaluation method.This study shows that Luquan County has improved its ecological security in the past five years.The ecological status has gone through four stages,from sensitive state to severe state to critical safety to excellent ecology,and the value of the comprehensive index of land ecological security shows a rising trend.Through analyzing the ecological security value of each criterion hierarchy,it obtained the main factors affecting the ecological security of Luquan County.On this basis,it came up with feasible measures and recommendations for studying the ecological security of land in the region,so as to guide the rational use of land and sustainable economic development,provide a reference for the implementation of rural revitalization strategies,and promote the construction of regional ecological civilization.展开更多
This paper deals with land use and land cover change in China in the last 500 years. It aims at sensitizing related fields in giving due consideration on integration of environmental change and social economic develo...This paper deals with land use and land cover change in China in the last 500 years. It aims at sensitizing related fields in giving due consideration on integration of environmental change and social economic development process and at proposing a framework for discussion towards further study. Based on historical review,several important changes were summarized as: natural vegetation were replaced by secondary or cultivated Plants, land cover changes differ from time to time and from place to place:and cropping pattern change is a sensitive indicator of land cover change in China. In the history of Cnina, many factors contributed to land use and land cover change either in positive or negative Ways. Four major driving forces were concluded, namely, climatic change, social transformation and turbulence, technology improvement, and international trade competition. In the last Part of tne Paper, a proposal on 'land use/land cover cnange' is framed, so as to calling comments on improving tne study and collaborations from varied authorities and researcn institutions.展开更多
基金Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41371190,31021001)Scientific and Tech-nical Projects of Western China Transportation Construction,Ministry of Transport of China(No.2008-318-799-17)
文摘The structure and function of network is a central issue in landscape ecology.Road networks with hierarchical structure are crucial for understanding landscape dynamics.In this study,we compared the distribution of national road,provincial road,county road and rural road in the Three Parallel Rivers Region(TPRR)in Yunnan Province of China,and estimated the effect of roads(and other factors)on the spatial patterns of land use and land cover with logistic regression.In addition,we analyzed the land use and land cover change(LUCC)and landscape fragmentation in 1989–2005 along a buffer zone of the primary traffic corridor,national road G214.The results showed that,county and rural roads had much higher percentage of length extending into more natural habitats at higher elevation and steeper slope,compared with the higher level roads in this region.While the distributions of natural land cover types were dominated by environmental factors,human land use types i.e.,building land and farmland types were significantly related with roads,linking more closely with lower level roads.The LUCC dynamics(1989–2005)of the G214 buffer zone showed a general trend of land transformation from conifer forests and valley arid shrubs to building land and farmland,and from ice and snow to alpine shrubs and forests.With the length of G214 unchanged during the time,the overall landscape pattern changed little in the buffer zone,but habitat fragmentation and area decrease had occurred for the natural vegetation types,in contrast to patch mergence and expansion of human land use types,and landscape fragmentation was intensified above 2500 m a.s.l.but declined below the elevation.The results indicated the dynamics of landscape composition and patch type level distribution in spite of the stability of the overall landscape pattern,and implied the potential role of roads,especially the low level roads on landscape changes.
基金funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.42120104002,41941019)the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region,China(Grant No.AoE/E-603/18).
文摘During long-term operation,the performance of obstacles would be changed due to the material accumulating upslope the obstacle.However,the effects of retained material on impact,overflow and landing dynamics of granular flow have not yet been elucidated.To address this gap,physical flume tests and discrete element simulations are conducted considering a range of normalized deposition height h0/H from 0 to 1,where h0 and H represent the deposition height and obstacle height,respectively.An analytical model is modified to evaluate the flow velocity and flow depth after interacting with the retained materials,which further serve to calculate the peak impact force on the obstacle.Notably,the computed impact forces successfully predict the experimental results when a≥25°.In addition,the results indicate that a higher h0/H leads to a lower dynamic impact force,a greater landing distance L,and a larger landing coefficient Cr,where Cr is the ratio of slope-parallel component of landing velocity to flow velocity just before landing.Compared to the existing overflow model,the measured landing distance L is underestimated by up to 30%,and therefore it is insufficient for obstacle design when there is retained material.Moreover,the recommended Cr in current design practice is found to be nonconservative for estimating the landing velocity of geophysical flow.This study provides insightful scientific basis for designing obstacles with deposition.
文摘This work assessed the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) change on the socio-economic conditions of the inhabitants in the Mount Bambouto Caldera from 1980-2016. To achieve this, three time series satellite images;Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) (1980), Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper (ETM) (2001), and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) (2016) scenes were employed to investigate the changes in LULC. The use of satellite images was supplemented with individual interviews, discussions with focus groups and key informants, and direct field observations. Five categories of LULC classes were identified namely: thick woody vegetation (natural forest and oil palms), light vegetation (croplands), savannah (grasslands), buildings (settlements), and bare grounds. The results showed that between 1980 and 2016, croplands, buildings and bare lands increased by 4%, 0.43% and 5.7% respectively while savannah/grassland and natural forest decreased by 4.4% and 5.8% respectively. Household survey revealed soil fertility decline and lack of credit schemes to be major constraints to crop production. Many religious holidays contribute to seasonal food shortages and the community faces a host of socio-economic and institutional challenges. Consequently, majority of house-holds are destitute, live in abject poverty;which is an indication of the need for interventions by government and other development stakeholders to tackle the problems of soil fertility, land use change and food insecurity.
文摘This report provides an overall assessment of land fragmentation problems in East Africa. Many parts of East Africa have become highly fragmented, putting development systems and activities in these areas at risk of complete collapse. Land fragmentation occurs when land gets converted for agriculture, industrialization, or urbanization, invaded by non-local plants, or enclosed for individual use and by subdividing farmlands into subsequent smaller units called parcels with varying average farm sizes. Fragmentation results from inappropriate agricultural development processes and ineffective land use planning that fails to recognize how farmland is used, and the importance of its interconnected areas. Insecurity of tenure and resource rights are key factors in making this possible. Land fragmentation is one of the key reasons why the ability of most resources in East Africa becomes scarcer, and those remaining become “privatized” by more powerful community members—keen to maintain their access to them. Such individualistic attitudes are new and disadvantage the poorest even further by affecting the traditional customary safety nets and agricultural outputs. Neither the government nor customary governance systems effectively protect resource access for the poorest. This review summary report identifies the key causes, measures, and implications, government interventions, and the common remedies to land fragmentation problems in the East African Countries of Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania including neighboring Ethiopia, and the Sudan. The findings indicated from 2005 to 2015, the population kept increasing for all the named countries in East Africa with Rwanda and Uganda having a substantial increase in population density. The study review further explores the trend in the performance of agriculture by average farm sizes within the intervals of five years by highlighting their strong linkages and found that the average farm size has declined drastically, especially for Kenya. This can only mean that small farms kept becoming smaller and smaller and that there were more small-scale farmers. The results further depicted that the major and commonly cultivated food crops among the East African countries include maize, sorghum, rice, cassava, sweet potatoes, bananas, Irish potatoes, beans, peas, etc., with maize yields (Mt/ha) in 2003 for Uganda being the highest (1.79 Mt/ha) and the lowest in Rwanda (0.77 Mt/ha) respectively. Therefore, from the review results, recommendations are being made as to how the negative impacts of land fragmentation on agricultural productivity can be reduced or mitigated. One way is by community sensitization and awareness about the importance of land consolidation and its proposition on farm productivity.
文摘Rainfall-induced landslides,exacerbated by climate change,require urgent attention to identify vulnerable regions and propose effective risk mitigation measures.Extensive research underscores the significant impact of vegetation on soil properties and slope stability,emphasizing the necessity to incorporate vegetation effects into regional landslide susceptibility mapping.This review thoroughly examines research integrating vegetation into landslide susceptibility mapping,encompassing qualitative,semi-quantitative,and quantitative forecasting methods.It highlights the importance of incorporating vegetation aspects into these methods for comprehensive and accurate landslide susceptibility assessment.This review explores the diverse roles of vegetation in slope stability,covering both aggregated impacts and individual influences,including mechanical and hydrological effects on soil properties,as well as the implications of evapotranspiration and rainwater interception on slope stability.While aggregated roles are integrated into non-deterministic methods as input layers,individual roles are considered in deterministic methods.In the application of deterministic methods,it is noteworthy that a considerable number of studies primarily concentrate on the mechanical impact,particularly the reinforcement provided by root cohesion.The review also explores limitations and highlights future research prospects.In the context of mapping landslide susceptibility amid changing climatic conditions,data-driven techniques encounter challenges,while deterministic methods present their advantages.Stressing the significance of hydrological impacts,the paper recommends incorporating vegetation influences on unsaturated soil properties,including the soil water characteristic curve and soil permeability,along with pre-wetting suction due to evapotranspiration and potential rainwater interception.
文摘Degradation of land/water ecotones in China is a serious problem and it is often neglected by people. The types of ecotone degradation are described and analyzed. The degradation of land/water ecotones enhanced the water quality reduction, bank erosion, desasters such as landslide, flood and drought, biodiversity reduction, lost of fertilized lands, decrease of the resource value of water scenic beauty and many others. The paper analyzes how these problems are related with each other.
文摘According to interpreting the LANDSAT TM/ETM images of 1986 and 2002, the spatial-temporal characteristics of land use changes were analyzed during 16 years base on GIS. In addition, the change of ecosystem services due to land use change was estimated by the method of vaulting global ecosystem services. The result shows that there were rapid increases in the area of cropland, saline-alkaline land, and dramatic decreases in grassland, water area and wetland between 1986 and 2002. The annual value of the ecosystem services was declined from 767.1 ×10s Yuan/a in 1986 to 624.1 × 10s Yuan/a in 2002, the estimated annual ecosystem service value declined by 18. 6 % (i. e. 1.6% per year) between 1986 and 2002. It indicates that there had been a sever harm to ecosystem functions and services, which results from the deterioration of ecological environment and the adjustment of land use that aim to currently economic benefit.
基金Supported by Zhaoqing Science and Technology Plan Project(2018N001)Special Innovative Project of Guangdong Education Department(Natural Science)(2018KTSCX251)
文摘In this paper,the theory and approach of environmental impact assessment in general land use planning are studied from different aspects.First,starting from the content and concept of general land use planning,the necessity of environmental impact assessment in general land use planning is illustrated.On the basis of its evaluation theories and methodologies,it attempts to establish index system of environmental impact assessment in general land use planning,and point outs that current general land use planning requires public participation.
文摘Anthropogenic activities are increasingly catalyzing natural climatic factors that drive land cover change at different spatial scales. Available land cover data of the Mara River basin however give a broader picture of the entire basin regardless of the heterogeneity that exists at the sub-catchment level. This study sought to establish sub-catchment specific information on land cover changes through examination of satellite images of four Mara River sub-catchments (Amala, Nyangores, Talek and Sand River) for the period 1987-2017. The relationship between temperature, rainfall and land cover was also computed. In addition, a household survey and focus group discussions were conducted in each sub-catchments to establish the socio-economic impacts of land cover change on the community’s wellbeing. Forest cover was dominant in Amala (39.8%) and Nyangores (43.7%) sub-catchments in 1987 but by 2017 crop lands had surpassed forest cover in the two sub-catchments, accounting for 53.2% and 45.7%, respectively. However, in Talek (52.8%) and Sand River (47.4%) sub-catchments, grassland was the dominant land cover type in 1987 and after the 30 year period, grasslands remained dominant in Sand River, while shrub land became dominant in Talek sub-catchment. A weak positive correlation was observed between rainfall and forest cover, shrub land and cropland, while a negative correlation was observed between rainfall and bare land. Average temperature showed a positive moderate correlation with bare land and built up areas. Analysis of survey data revealed that livestock keeping, temperature increase, type of trees, education level of household head and weak environmental laws were the main drivers of land cover change (P −0.587), beans (r = −0.5459), sorghum (r = −0.351), cow peas (r = −0.544), and pigeon peas (r = −0.337). Focus group discussions participants were supportive of environmental protective measures to reverse negative land cover changes, while planting drought resistant trees, crop diversification and awareness creation among community members were recommended as the most ideal environmental management strategies.
文摘In the Andes, little is known about the relationships among current land uses and their effect on soil fertility. Corn (Zea mays L.) was used to evaluate soil quality for plant growth on soils of four land uses, along an expected gradient of fertility: native forests (Nf) > pastures (Pa) > Eucalyptus globulus Labill. plantations (Eg) > Pinus patula Schlecht. plantations (Pp). Corn was grown in soils taken from four different areas, for the four land uses in each. In a common garden, a randomized block design was used with four treatments: controls (C), ammonium nitrate (N), triple superphosphate (P), and combined N and P fertilizers (N + P). On soils from Nf, Pa and Eg, fertilization response was N + P > P > N > C;corn biomass (g/pot-1) averaged 4.5 in N + P, 3.3 in P, 1.8 in N, 1.7 in C;P content (mg/pot-1) averaged 12 in N + P, 11.9 in P, 2.3 in N, 2 in C. N + P enhanced growth the most. Mortality was high on Pp soils, growth weak, and fertilization response was P > N + P > C ≥ N;corn biomass (g/pot-1) was 0.9 in P, 0.5 in N + P, 0.8 in C, 0.4 in N;P content (mg/pot-1) was 4.4 in P, 2.3 in N + P, 1.8 in C, 1 in N. All soils had P, K, Ca and Mg deficiencies. Al toxicity possibly occurred only in Pp soils. All control soils had low fertility. Responses to N and P were high except for Pp. Pastures and plantations were once natural forests converted to agriculture, then to pastures as soil fertility declined. Plantations were likely established on poorest pastures;only pine grew on poorest soils. This land use endpoint has the lowest agricultural potential;other land uses have limitations in P, N, and potentially K.
文摘This paper modifies and uses an advanced computable general equilibrium model coupled with biophysical data on land and water resources by Agro-Ecological Zone (AEZ) at the river basin level to examine the economy-wide consequences of im-provements in water use efficiency (WUE) in irrigation in South Asia. This is the first time the benefits of such improvements have been evaluated in an economy-wide context. It shows that such improvements increase production of food items, enhance food exports, and significantly improve food security in South Asia. Improvement in water use efficiency also leads to lower food prices, provides the opportunity to extend irrigated areas, decreases demand for cropland, and enhances reforestation. Im-provement in water use efficiency in irrigation also generates important net GDP gains across the South Asia region. Investments in improved WUE of up to 40% can be economically justified in Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. However, in Nepal, for an improvement of more than 20% in WUE, the economic gains are smaller than costs from the associated investments. In Pakistan and rest of South Asia, an improvement in WUE of up to 30% appears to be economically profitable.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40401019)Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (04300547).
文摘Recently the study on the mutual relationship between urban transport and land use has been one of the hot subjects in the fields of ruban geography, urban transport planning and urban planning. This paper totes to carry out some methods, such as muhi.analysis statistics method, to specify the impacts of urban land use on urban transport system. Firstly, the choice of urban transport road network affected by the characters of urban land use layout is discussed Secondly, the promotion of urban public transportation affected by high-density concentrated land use pattern is demonstrated Thirdly, the impacts of urban city-size on transport system structure characters are expatiated Finally, the impacts of urban mater planning in Guangzhou on the layout of transport system are illustrated .
基金funded by Meridian Energy Limited,New Zealandby Core funding for Crown Research Institutes from the New Zealand Ministry of Business,Innovation and Employment’s Science and Innovation Group
文摘Background: Ecosystem representation is one key component in assessing the biodiversity impacts of land-use changes that will irrevocably alter natural ecosystems. We show how detailed vegetation plot data can be used to assess the potential impact of inundation by a proposed hydroelectricity dam in the Mokihinui gorge, New Zealand, on representation of natural forests. Specifically we ask: 1) How well are the types of forest represented Locally, regionally, and nationally; and 2) How does the number of distinct communities (i.e. beta diversity) in the target catchment compare with other catchments nationally? Methods: For local and regional comparisons plant species composition was recorded on 45 objectively located 400 m2 vegetation plots established in each of three gorges, with one being the proposed inundation area of the Mokihinui lower gorge. The fuzzy classification framework of noise clustering was used to assign these plots to a specific alliance and association of a pre-existing national-scale classification. NationaLly, we examined the relationship between the number of alliances and associations in a catchment and either catchment size or the number of plots per catchment by fitting Generalised Additive Models. Results: The four alliances and five associations that were observed in the Mokihinui lower gorge arepresent in the region but limited locally. One association was narrowly distributed nationally, but is the mostfrequent association in the Mokihinui lower gorge; inundation may have consequences of national importance to its long-term persistence. That the Mokihinui lower gorge area had nearly twice as many plots that could not be assigned to pre- existing alliances and associations than either the Mokihinui upper or the Karamea lower gorges and proportionally more than the national dataset emphasises the compositional distinctiveness of this gorge. These outlier plots in the Mokihinui lower gorge may be unsorted assemblages of species or reflect sampling bias or that native- dominated woody riparian vegetation is rare on the landscape. At a national scale, the Mokihinui catchment has a higher diversity of forest alliances and associations (i.e. beta-diversity) than predicted based on catchment size and sampling intensity. Conclusions: Our analytical approach demonstrates one transparent solution to a common conservation planning problem: assessing how well ecosystems that will be destroyed by a proposed land-use change are represented using a multi-scale spatial and compositional framework. We provide a useful tool for assessing potential consequences of land-use change that can help guide decision making.
文摘This paper describes the current situation of China's land use and land use changes, major driving forces, and their impacts on the environment, through a review on land use studies in the past decades in China.
基金Aeronautical Science Foundation of China (98B52023), (04B52012)
文摘Semi-active landing gear can provide good performance of both landing impact and taxi situation, and has the ability for adapting to various ground conditions and operational conditions. A kind of Nonlinear Model Predictive Control algorithm (NMPC) for semi-active landing gears is developed in this paper. The NMPC algorithm uses Genetic Algorithm (GA) as the optimization technique and chooses damping performance of landing gear at touch down to be the optimization object. The valve's rate and magnitude limitations are also considered in the controller's design. A simulation model is built for the semi-active landing gear's damping process at touchdown. Drop tests are carried out on an experimental passive landing gear systerm to validate the parameters of the simulation model. The result of numerical simulation shows that the isolation of impact load at touchdown can be significantly improved compared to other control algorithms. The strongly nonlinear dynamics of semi-active landing gear coupled with control valve's rate and magnitude limitations are handled well with the proposed controller.
文摘CO2 concentrations in different plant communities (larch, birch, lilac, and grassland) were measured during the growing season in the Heilongjiang Forest Botanical Garden to study diurnal variation, seasonal and annual dynamics and factors that impact CO2 concentration in different spaces. CO2 concentration in different communities in green lands had an obvious diurnal variation, chronically decreasing, and temperature influenced the lilac area and the grassland. Seasonally, CO2 was lowest in the larch green land (344.03 ±23.03 μmol/mol) and highest in the grassland (360.13 ± 22.43 μmol/mol). The overall trend in CO2 concentration was autumn 〉 spring 〉 summer; temperature is the main factor controlling variation in CO2 concentrations during the growing season; the CO2 concentration at the larch, birch, lilac, and grassland types of sites was negatively correlated with land surface temperature and air temperature, and the CO2 concentration at the larch and birch sites was positively correlated with atmospheric pressure. Without any obvious annual change law, further study and observation are needed.
文摘In the Report of the 19 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China,it stated that we must put the ecological safety and green development in the first place.To achieve rural revitalization,ecological livability is the most important factor.Taking Luquan Yi and Miao Autonomous County(national level poor county)in Jinsha River valley of Yunnan Province as an example,using DPSIR(drivers,pressures,states,impacts,responses)model,this paper established an evaluation indicator system.Besides,using the entropy method,it determined the indicator weight.In addition,it evaluated the land ecological security of Luquan County since the implementation of targeted poverty alleviation policy(2013-2017)using multi-factor comprehensive evaluation method.This study shows that Luquan County has improved its ecological security in the past five years.The ecological status has gone through four stages,from sensitive state to severe state to critical safety to excellent ecology,and the value of the comprehensive index of land ecological security shows a rising trend.Through analyzing the ecological security value of each criterion hierarchy,it obtained the main factors affecting the ecological security of Luquan County.On this basis,it came up with feasible measures and recommendations for studying the ecological security of land in the region,so as to guide the rational use of land and sustainable economic development,provide a reference for the implementation of rural revitalization strategies,and promote the construction of regional ecological civilization.
文摘This paper deals with land use and land cover change in China in the last 500 years. It aims at sensitizing related fields in giving due consideration on integration of environmental change and social economic development process and at proposing a framework for discussion towards further study. Based on historical review,several important changes were summarized as: natural vegetation were replaced by secondary or cultivated Plants, land cover changes differ from time to time and from place to place:and cropping pattern change is a sensitive indicator of land cover change in China. In the history of Cnina, many factors contributed to land use and land cover change either in positive or negative Ways. Four major driving forces were concluded, namely, climatic change, social transformation and turbulence, technology improvement, and international trade competition. In the last Part of tne Paper, a proposal on 'land use/land cover cnange' is framed, so as to calling comments on improving tne study and collaborations from varied authorities and researcn institutions.