Spatio-Temporal Changes in the Rice Planting Area and Their Relationship to Climate Change in Northeast China: A Model-Based Analysis

Rice is one of the most important grain crops in Northeast China （NEC） and its cultivation is sensitive to climate change. This study aimed to explore the spatio-temporal changes in the NEC rice planting area over the period of 1980-2010 and to analyze their relationship to climate change. To do so, the CLUE-S （conversion of land use and its effects at small region extent） model was ifrst updated and used to simulate dynamic changes in the rice planting area in NEC to understand spatio-temporal change trends during three periods： 1980-1990, 1990-2000 and 2000-2010. The changing results in individual periods were then linked to climatic variables to investigate the climatic drivers of these changes. Results showed that the NEC rice planting area expanded quickly and increased by nearly 4.5 times during 1980-2010. The concentration of newly planted rice areas in NEC constantly moved northward and the changes were strongly dependent on latitude. This conifrmed that climate change, increases in temperature in particular, greatly inlfuenced the shift in the rice planting area. The shift in the north limit of the NEC rice planting area generally followed a 1＆#176;C isoline migration pattern, but with an obvious time-lag effect. These ifndings can help policy makers and crop producers take proper adaptation measures even when exposed to the global warming situation in NEC.

Spatio-Temporal Change of Dispersal Areas of Greater Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) in Lake Bogoria Landscape, Kenya

Decline in wildlife populations is manifest globally, regionally and locally. A wildlife decline of 68% has been reported in Kenya’s rangelands with Baringo County experiencing more than 85% wildlife loss in the last four decades. Greater Kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) is endemic to Lake Bogoria landscape in Baringo County and constitutes a major tourist attraction for the region necessitating use of its photo on the County’s logo and thus a flagship species. Tourism plays a central role in Baringo County’s economy and is a major source of potential growth and employment creation. The study was carried out to assess spatio-temporal change of dispersal areas of Greater Kudu (GK) in Lake Bogoria landscape in the last four years for enhanced adaptive management and improved livelihoods. GK population distribution primary data collected in December 2022 and secondary data acquired from Lake Bogoria National Game Reserve (LBNGR) for 2019 and 2020 were digitized using in a Geographic Information System (GIS). Measures of dispersion and point pattern analysis (PPA) were used to analyze dispersal of GK population using GIS. Spatio-temporal change of GK dispersal in LBNR was evident thus the null hypothesis was rejected. It is recommended that anthropogenic activities contributing to GK’s habitat degradation be curbed by providing alternative livelihood sources and promoting community adoption of sustainable technologies for improved livelihoods.

Change Point Analysis to Detect the Effect of Pruning Severity on Tree Growth

The effect of pruning severity on tree growth was analyzed by change point detection using segmented regression. The present study applied this analysis to a well-known published data set including diameter growth response, tree age, pruning severity and pretreatment crown size. First, multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the effect of tree age, pruning severity and pretreatment crown size on diameter growth response. Next, segmented regression analysis was performed to assess the effect of pruning severity on diameter growth response. The results of the multiple regression showed that diameter growth response was significantly influenced by pruning severity and pretreatment crown size. The results of the segmented regression showed that in the whole data set, an abrupt change toward a decrease in diameter growth response was detected at 25% of the live crown removed. However, in the group of fully crowned and open-grown, diameter growth response continuously decreased with increasing pruning severity with no significant abrupt change, whereas in the group of 70% - 90% live crown, diameter growth response did not significantly decrease up to the break point (53% crown removed) and then abruptly decreased. This may be the first study to show the numerical evaluation of the effect of pruning severity on tree growth by change point analysis.

Analysis of spatio-temporal changes in forest biomass in China

Forests play a central role in the global carbon cycle.China's forests have a high carbon sequestration potential owing to their wide distribution,young age and relatively low carbon density.Forest biomass is an essential variable for assessing carbon sequestration capacity,thus determining the spatio-temporal changes of forest biomass is critical to the national carbon budget and to contribute to sustainable forest management.Based on Chinese forest inventory data(1999–2013),this study explored spatial patterns of forest biomass at a grid resolution of 1 km by applying a downscaling method and further analyzed spatiotemporal changes of biomass at different spatial scales.The main findings are:(1)the regression relationship between forest biomass and the associated infuencing factors at a provincial scale can be applied to estimate biomass at a pixel scale by employing a downscaling method;(2)forest biomass had a distinct spatial pattern with the greatest biomass occurring in the major mountain ranges;(3)forest biomass changes had a notable spatial distribution pattern;increase(i.e.,carbon sinks)occurred in east and southeast China,decreases(i.e.,carbon sources)were observed in the northeast to southwest,with the largest biomass losses in the Hengduan Mountains,Southern Hainan and Northern Da Hinggan Mountains;and,(4)forest vegetation functioned as a carbon sink during 1999–2013 with a net increase in biomass of 3.71 Pg.

Analysis on the Spatio-Temporal Changes of Sustainable Land Use in Tibet

By constructing evaluation indicator system of sustainable land use of Tibet from three aspects of ecological environment, economic development, resources and social advancement, this article studies the following contents respectively in two dimensions of time and space： the changes of sustainable land use of Tibet in recent 20 years and spatial characteristics of sustainable land use of Tibet in 2002. The following conclusions can be drawn from evaluation results .① With regard to com- prehensive evaluation value of sustainable land use, the trend of Tibet sustainable land use evaluation values from 1983 to 2002 are very close to the comprehensive evaluation values of ecological environment, which is up trend; ② sustainable utilization degree of land use in eastern region of Tibet is much higher than that of western region. ③ the sustainable land use evaluation value of Nyingtri County is the highest, and the counties with relatively higher land sustainable use values include Lhasa, Lhoka, Chamdo. While Nakchu, Ngari, Shigatse counties have the relatively lower evaluation values; ④ By analyzing each evaluation indicator＇s weight on sustainable land use, it can be concluded that the key limiting factors of sustainable Tibet land resource utilization are land desertification, grassland degradation and low economic level.

Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Drought in the North-Eastern Coastal Region of Vietnam Using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI)

Spatio-temporal analysis of drought provides valuable information for drought management and damage mitigation. In this study, the Standardized Precipitation Index at the time scale of 6 months (SPI-6) is selected to reflect drought conditions in the North-Eastern coastal region of Vietnam. The drought events and their characteristics from 1981 to 2019 are detected at 9 meteorological stations and 10 Chirps rainfall stations. The spatio-temporal variation of drought in the study region is analyzed on the basis of the number, duration, severity, intensity, and peak of the detected drought events at the 19 stations. The results show that from 1981 to 2019 the drought events mainly occurred with 1-season duration and moderate intensity and peak. The number, duration, severity, and peak of the drought events were the greatest in the period 2001-2010 and were the smallest in the period 2011-2019. Among the 19 stations, the drought duration tends to decrease at 11 stations, increase at 7 stations, and has a slight variant at 1 station;the drought severity tends to decrease at 14 stations, increase at 4 stations, and has not a significant trend at 1 station;the drought intensity tends to decrease at 17 stations, increase at 1 station, and has a slight variant at 1 station;and the drought peak tends to decrease at 18 stations and increase at 1 station.

Remote Sensing &GIS Based Spatio-Temporal Change Analysis of Wetland in Dhaka City, Bangladesh

Landscape of Dhaka city—one of the fastest growing mega cities in the world, is continuously changing due to un-planned urbanization. For example, the wetlands of the city have been shrinking. This study evaluates wetland changes in Dhaka Metropolitan Area (DMA), Bangladesh, between 1978 and 2009. Spatial and temporal dynamics of wetland changes were quantified using four Landsat images, a supervised classi?cation algorithm and the post-classi?cation change detection technique in GIS environment. Accuracy of the Landsat-derived wetland maps ranged from 87% to 92.5%. The analysis revealed that area of wetland and Rivers & Khals in Dhaka city decreased significantly over the last 30 years by 76.67% and 18.72% respectively. This changing trend of wetlands makes the drainage system of Dhaka City vulnerable, creating water logging problems and their consequences. Land filling and encroachment were recognized to be the main reasons for shrinking of the wetlands in the city. Development and alteration of the existing water bodies should consider the natural hydrological conditions.

Remote Sensing and GIS for the Spatio-Temporal Change Analysis of the East and the West River Bank Erosion and Accretion of Jamuna River (1995-2015), Bangladesh

Jamuna River is one of the principal rivers of Bangladesh, changing continuously due to erosion and accretion over the past decades. This analysis evaluates the East Bank and the West Bank erosion and accretion between 1996 and 2015 for Jamuna River. An unsupervised classification algorithm and post-classification change employing skills in Geographic Information System are performed to evaluate spatial and temporal dynamics of erosion and accretion for different points of Jamuna River using Bangladesh. Landsat image (1995, 2005, 2015). The correctness of the Landsat-produced map ranges from 82% to 84%. It has been evidently observed that changes in the proportion of erosion and accretion differ in different points of Jamuna River. The highest eroded area is 3.82 square kilometers (km2) during the period of 1995 to 2005 and the highest accreted area is 6.15 square kilometers (km2) during the period of 1995 to 2015. The erosion and accretion values fluctuated from place to place. The changing trend of Riverbank is creating many socio-economic problems in the proximate areas.

Spatiotemporal changes in sunshine duration and its influential factors in Chongqing,China from 1961 to 2020

The surface solar radiation in most parts of the world has undergone a phenomenon known as global dimming and brightening,characterized by an initial decrease followed by an increase.As a result,the sunshine duration(SD)has decreased in the past 60 years.Against the backdrop of global dimming and brightening,SD has decreased to varying degrees in many regions of China.Using the observed data of SD,cloud amount(total cloud amount and low cloud amount,abbreviated as TCA and LCA),precipitation,and relative humidity(RH)from 34 meteorological stations in Chongqing during the period of 1961-2020,along with a digital elevation model(DEM)with a resolution of 90 m,this study analyzed the spatiotemporal variations and influencing factors of SD.The analysis employed methods such as linear regression,Mann-Kendall test,wavelet transformation,and DEM-based possible SD distributed model.The results showed that the annual SD in Chongqing has significantly decreased over the last 60 years,with a decreasing interannual trend rate(ITR)of 40.4 h/10a.Except for no obvious trend in spring,SD decreased significantly in summer,autumn and winter at the ITR of 21.1 h/10a,8.5 h/10a and 7.5 h/10a,respectively.An abrupt decrease in the annual SD was found in 1979.The difference before and after the abrupt decrease was 177.7 h.The difference before and after the abrupt decrease was 177.7 h.The annual SD possessed the oscillation period of 11a.The spatial heterogeneity of the mean annual SD during the last 60 years was obvious.The distribution of SD in Chongqing is high in the northeast and low in the southeast.In addition,about 73%of the total area in Chongqing showed a significant and very significant decreasing trend.The regions with significant changes are mainly concentrated in the regions with altitudes of 200~1000 m.The increasing LCA was the main cause of the decrease of the annual SD in the regions with 200-400 m altitude decreased the most and changed the most.Increasing LCA is the primary cause of the reduction in annual SD,showing a strong negative correlation coefficient of-0.7292.In Chongqing,PM2.5 concentration showed a significant decrease trend in annual,spring,autumn and winter during 2000-2020,but the significant correlation between PM2.5 concentration and SD was only in autumn and reached an extremely significant level.

Spatiotemporal characteristics and driving mechanisms of land use/land cover(LULC)changes in the Jinghe River Basin,China

Understanding the trajectories and driving mechanisms behind land use/land cover(LULC)changes is essential for effective watershed planning and management.This study quantified the net change,exchange,total change,and transfer rate of LULC in the Jinghe River Basin(JRB),China using LULC data from 2000 to 2020.Through trajectory analysis,knowledge maps,chord diagrams,and standard deviation ellipse method,we examined the spatiotemporal characteristics of LULC changes.We further established an index system encompassing natural factors(digital elevation model(DEM),slope,aspect,and curvature),socio-economic factors(gross domestic product(GDP)and population),and accessibility factors(distance from railways,distance from highways,distance from water,and distance from residents)to investigate the driving mechanisms of LULC changes using factor detector and interaction detector in the geographical detector(Geodetector).The key findings indicate that from 2000 to 2020,the JRB experienced significant LULC changes,particularly for farmland,forest,and grassland.During the study period,LULC change trajectories were categorized into stable,early-stage,late-stage,repeated,and continuous change types.Besides the stable change type,the late-stage change type predominated the LULC change trajectories,comprising 83.31% of the total change area.The period 2010-2020 witnessed more active LULC changes compared to the period 2000-2010.The LULC changes exhibited a discrete spatial expansion trend during 2000-2020,predominantly extending from southeast to northwest of the JRB.Influential driving factors on LULC changes included slope,GDP,and distance from highways.The interaction detection results imply either bilinear or nonlinear enhancement for any two driving factors impacting the LULC changes from 2000 to 2020.This comprehensive understanding of the spatiotemporal characteristics and driving mechanisms of LULC changes offers valuable insights for the planning and sustainable management of LULC in the JRB.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of land use/land cover(LULC)changes and its impact on land surface temperature:A case study in New Town Kolkata,eastern India

Rapid urbanization creates complexity,results in dynamic changes in land and environment,and influences the land surface temperature(LST)in fast-developing cities.In this study,we examined the impact of land use/land cover(LULC)changes on LST and determined the intensity of urban heat island(UHI)in New Town Kolkata(a smart city),eastern India,from 1991 to 2021 at 10-a intervals using various series of Landsat multi-spectral and thermal bands.This study used the maximum likelihood algorithm for image classification and other methods like the correlation analysis and hotspot analysis(Getis–Ord Gi^(*) method)to examine the impact of LULC changes on urban thermal environment.This study noticed that the area percentage of built-up land increased rapidly from 21.91%to 45.63%during 1991–2021,with a maximum positive change in built-up land and a maximum negative change in sparse vegetation.The mean temperature significantly increased during the study period(1991–2021),from 16.31℃to 22.48℃in winter,29.18℃to 34.61℃in summer,and 19.18℃to 27.11℃in autumn.The result showed that impervious surfaces contribute to higher LST,whereas vegetation helps decrease it.Poor ecological status has been found in built-up land,and excellent ecological status has been found in vegetation and water body.The hot spot and cold spot areas shifted their locations every decade due to random LULC changes.Even after New Town Kolkata became a smart city,high LST has been observed.Overall,this study indicated that urbanization and changes in LULC patterns can influence the urban thermal environment,and appropriate planning is needed to reduce LST.This study can help policy-makers create sustainable smart cities.

Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Maximum and Minimum Temperature Trends in Northern Sudan during (1990-2019)

The study addresses an urgent and globally significant issue of climate change by focusing on the detailed spatial and temporal analysis of temperature trends in Northern Sudan. It fills a critical research gap by providing localized data over a substantial period (1990-2019), which could help in understanding the nuanced impacts of climate change in Sahel regions like Northern Sudan. In addition, the comprehensive coverage of both spatial and temporal dimensions, supported by a substantial dataset from five meteorological stations, provides a thorough understanding of the subject area. The utilization of robust statistical methods (Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope analysis) for analyzing temperature trends adds scientific rigor and credibility to the findings. Our results reveal a consistently increasing trend in maximum temperatures across most stations, particularly during the hot season (AMJ). However, the wet season (JAS) shows high maximum temperatures but no significant trend. Moreover, significant increasing trends in minimum temperatures were observed in all stations except Abu Hamed, where the trend, although increasing, did not reach statistical significance during the hot and cold seasons, and the coldest temperatures were observed during the cold season. These findings underscore the complex temperature dynamics in Northern Sudan and highlight the need for continued monitoring and adaptive measures in response to ongoing climate changes in the region.

Knowledge flow analysis of knowledge co-production-based climate change adaptation for lowland rice farmers in Bulukumba Regency,Indonesia

To increase the resilience of farmers’livelihood systems,detailed knowledge of adaptation strategies for dealing with the impacts of climate change is required.Knowledge co-production approach is an adaptation strategy that is considered appropriate in the context of the increasing frequency of disasters caused by climate change.Previous research of knowledge co-production on climate change adaptation in Indonesia is insufficient,particularly at local level,so we examined the flow of climate change adaptation knowledge in the knowledge co-production process through climate field school(CFS)activities in this study.We interviewed 120 people living in Bulukumba Regency,South Sulawesi Province,Indonesia,involving 12 crowds including male and female farmers participated in CFS and not participated in CFS,local government officials,agriculture extension workers,agricultural traders,farmers’family members and neighbors,etc.In brief,the 12 groups of people mainly include two categories of people,i.e.,people involved in CFS activities and outside CFS.We applied descriptive method and Social network analysis(SNA)to determine how knowledge flow in the community network and which groups of actors are important for knowledge flow.The findings of this study reveal that participants in CFS activities convey the knowledge they acquired formally(i.e.,from TV,radio,government,etc.)and informally(i.e.,from market,friends,relatives,etc.)to other actors,especially to their families and neighbors.The results also show that the acquisition and sharing of knowledge facilitate the flow of climate change adaptation knowledge based on knowledge co-operation.In addition,the findings highlight the key role of actors in the knowledge transfer process,and key actors involved in disseminating information about climate change adaptation.To be specific,among all the actors,family member and neighbor of CFS actor are the most common actors in disseminating climate knowledge information and closest to other actors in the network;agricultural trader and family member of CFS actor collaborate most with other actors in the community network;and farmers participated in CFS,including those heads of farmer groups,agricultural extension workers,and local government officials are more willing to contact with other actors in the network.To facilitate the flow of knowledge on climate change adaptation,CFS activities should be conducted regularly and CFS models that fit the situation of farmers’vulnerability to climate change should be developed.

Analysis of Land Use Change and Driving Factors in Mojiang County Based on PLUS Model

[Objectives]To explore the characteristics of land use change and its main influencing factors in Mojiang County from 2000 to 2020,and try to provide a scientific reference for alleviating the contradiction between man and land in Mojiang County and realizing the sustainable development of regional land resources.[Methods]Based on the land cover data and socio-economic data of Mojiang County from 2000 to 2020,the dynamic degree of land use,land use transfer matrix and center-of-gravity transfer model were calculated,and the temporal and spatial change characteristics and driving factors of various types of land use were calculated by PLUS model.[Results]From 2000 to 2020,the area and proportion of grassland,waters and construction land in Mojiang County showed an upward trend,while the area and proportion of cultivated land and forest land showed a downward trend.Among them,cultivated land was mainly converted into forest land and grassland,and some were converted into waters and construction land;forest land was mainly converted into cultivated land and grassland,and part of it was converted into waters and construction land.From 2000 to 2020,the center-of-gravity of cultivated land,forest land and construction land in Mojiang County moved to the southeast of the county,and the moving rates were 0.66,1.97 and 10.58 km/yr,respectively;the center-of-gravity of grassland and waters moved to the southwest of the county,and the moving rates were 1.30 and 20.20 km/yr,respectively.Distance from road,distance from government and distance from waters are the main driving forces affecting land use change in Mojiang County;the forecast shows that in 2040,the area of grassland and forest land in Mojiang County will continue to decrease,the area of cultivated land will turn to rise,and the area of waters and construction land will continue to rise.[Conclusions]Reasonable planning and optimizing the allocation of cultivated land and forest land structure and strict control of the expansion scale of construction land are necessary measures to ensure the coordinated development of regional land rational use and economic construction.

Comparative Analysis of Climatic Change Trend and Change-Point Analysis for Long-Term Daily Rainfall Annual Maximum Time Series Data in Four Gauging Stations in Niger Delta

The aim of this study is to establish the prevailing conditions of changing climatic trends and change point dates in four selected meteorological stations of Uyo, Benin, Port Harcourt, and Warri in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Using daily or 24-hourly annual maximum series (AMS) data with the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and the modified Chowdury Indian Meteorological Department (MCIMD) models were adopted to downscale the time series data. Mann-Kendall (MK) trend and Sen’s Slope Estimator (SSE) test showed a statistically significant trend for Uyo and Benin, while Port Harcourt and Warri showed mild trends. The Sen’s Slope magnitude and variation rate were 21.6, 10.8, 6.00 and 4.4 mm/decade, respectively. The trend change-point analysis showed the initial rainfall change-point dates as 2002, 2005, 1988, and 2000 for Uyo, Benin, Port Harcourt, and Warri, respectively. These prove positive changing climatic conditions for rainfall in the study area. Erosion and flood control facilities analysis and design in the Niger Delta will require the application of Non-stationary IDF modelling.

Spatiotemporal Analysis of Land Use Land Cover Mapping and Change Detection in Dambatta Local Government Area

This research studied the spatiotemporal changes in land use(LU)/land cover(LC)in Dambatta local government area,with a view to identifying the effect arising from the observable changes in land use patterns.The imageries used in the study were obtained from the National Space Research and Development Agency(NARSDA),Abuja.Spatial analytical techniques and descriptive statistical techniques were employed to analyze the data.The results showed 66.8%reduction in agricultural lands,45.5%reduction in vegetation cover,223.2%increase in built-up areas,269.1%increase in bare lands and 70%increase in water bodies within the 20 years.Spatio-temporal analysis of the three imageries revealed that agricultural lands were largely been taken over by urbanization while vegetation had rapidly given way to bare lands within the 20 years.It was observed that these changes resulted from anthropogenic activities,environmental factors and climate change.These result in the loss of farmlands,inadequate food supply,unemployment,inadequate industrial raw materials,reduction in revenue generated,forest depletion,desertification,wildlife extinction and temperature increase.While it is recommended that reforestation,land reclamation and irrigation agriculture should be promoted in the area,it is also suggested that further research should focus on the impact of climate change on land cover change in the area.

Spatio-Temporal Changes of Soil Salinity in Arid Areas of South Xinjiang Using Electromagnetic Induction

The aim of this paper was to research the spatio-temporal changes in total soluble salt content （TS） in a typical arid region of South Xinjiang, China, where the climate is arid and soil salinization happens easily. The total soluble salt content was interpreted by measurements made in the horizontal mode with EM38 and EM31. The electromagnetic induction （EM） surveys were made three times with the apparent soil electrical conductivity （ECa） measurements taken at 3 873 locations in Nov. 2008, 4 807 locations in Apr. 2009 and 6 324 locations in Nov. 2009, respectively. For interpreting the ECa measurements into total soluble salt content, calibtion sites were needed for EM survey of each time, e.g., 66 sites were selected in Nov. 2008 to measure ECa, and soils-core samples were taken by different depth layers of 0-10, 10-20 and 20-40 cm at the same time. On every time duplicate samples were taken at five sites to allevaite the local-scale variability, and soil temperatures in different layers through the profiles were also measured. Factors including TS, pH, water content, bulk density were analyzed by lab experiments. ECa calibration equations were obtained by linear regression analysis, which indicated that soil salinity was one primary concern to ECa with a determination coefficient of 0.792 in 0-10 cm layer, 0.711 in 10-20 cm layer and 0.544 in 20-40 cm layer, respectively. The maps of spatial distribution were predicted by Kriging interpolation, which showed that the high soil salinity was located near the drainage canal, which validated the trend effect caused by the irrigation canal and the drainage canal. And by comparing the soil salinity in different layers, the soluble salt accumulated to the top soil surface only in the area where the soil salinization was serious, and in the other areas, the soil salinity trended to increase from the top soil surface to 40 cm depth. Temporal changes showed that the soil salinity in November was higher than that in April, and the soil salinization trended to aggravate, especially in the top soil layer of 0-10 cm.

NDVI changes in China between 1989 and 1999 using change vector analysis based on time series data

Change vector analysis (CVA) and principal component analysis in NDVI time-trajectories space are powerful tools to analyze land-cover change. The magnitude of the change vector indicates amplitude of the change, while its direction indicates the nature of the change. CVA is applied to two remotely sensed indicators of land surface conditions, NDVI and spatial structure, in order to improve the capability to detect and categorize land-cover change. The magnitude and type of changes are calculated in China from 1989 to 1999. Through the research, the main conclusions are drawn as follows: 1) The changes of NDVI are quite different between eastern China and western China, and the change range in the east is bigger than that in the west. The trend in NDVI time series is smoothly increasing, the increases happen mostly in Taiwan, Fujian, Sichuan and Henan provinces and the decreases occur in Yunnan and Xinjiang. 2) The spatial structure index can indicate changes in the seasonal ecosystem dynamics for spatially heterogeneous landscapes. Most of spatial structure changes, which occurred in southern China, correlated with vegetation growth processes and strike of mountains.

Analysis of Characteristics of Spatio-temporal Evolution of Land Use in Inhabited Islands of Pearl River Estuary

Under the support of the remote sensing and geographical information system(GIS) techniques,we acquire the land use data in 1990 and 2008 regarding 6 inhabited islands,namely Longxue Island,Hengmen Island,Weiyuan Island,Qi'ao Island,Hengqin Island and Gaolan Island in Pearl River Estuary.By using dynamic degree of land use,land use change intensity,relative change rate and other indicators,we conduct quantitative description,and thus quantitatively and qualitatively analyse characteristics of temporal evolution and law of spatial pattern change concerning land use of each island.The study indicates that in the period 1990-2008,the area of construction land and water in 6 islands increased,while the area of agricultural land and unused land increased in some islands and decreased in others.The land use change shows spatial disparity;the holistic land use change degree in Hengmen Island is higher than that of other islands;the dynamic degree of land use,intensity of land use,and relative change rate differ in different islands.

Spatio-temporal changes of underground coal fires during 2008-2016 in Khanh Hoa coal field(North-east of Viet Nam) using Landsat time-series data

Underground coal fires are one of the most common and serious geohazards in most coal producing countries in the world. Monitoring their spatio-temporal changes plays an important role in controlling and preventing the effects of coal fires, and their environmental impact. In this study, the spatio-temporal changes of underground coal fires in Khanh Hoa coal field(North-East of Viet Nam) were analyzed using Landsat time-series data during the 2008-2016 period. Based on land surface temperatures retrieved from Landsat thermal data, underground coal fires related to thermal anomalies were identified using the MEDIAN+1.5×IQR(IQR: Interquartile range) threshold technique. The locations of underground coal fires were validated using a coal fire map produced by the field survey data and cross-validated using the daytime ASTER thermal infrared imagery. Based on the fires extracted from seven Landsat thermal imageries, the spatiotemporal changes of underground coal fire areas were analyzed. The results showed that the thermalanomalous zones have been correlated with known coal fires. Cross-validation of coal fires using ASTER TIR data showed a high consistency of 79.3%. The largest coal fire area of 184.6 hectares was detected in 2010, followed by 2014(181.1 hectares) and 2016(178.5 hectares). The smaller coal fire areas were extracted with areas of 133.6 and 152.5 hectares in 2011 and 2009 respectively. Underground coal fires were mainly detected in the northern and southern part, and tend to spread to north-west of the coal field.