Delineation of eco-geographic regional system of China

Eco-geographic regionalization has been one of the most important topics in China's regionalization researches since the end of the 20th century. It is a major ecosystem in geographic zonality. A hierarchical system, which is formed by division or combination of natural features based on geographic relativity and comparison of major ecosystem factors (including biological and non-biological) and geographic zonality, is called eco-geographic regional system. This paper introduces process of China's regionalization development. The first level unit, temperature zone, is delineated with main criteria of temperature. The second level unit, humidity region, is based on criteria of water/moisture states. The third level unit, natural region, is divided according to medium geomorphologic units. Vegetation types and soils are applied as supplementary criteria to indicate temperature and water/moisture states. Mapping process from qualitative to quantitative and China's eco-geographic regional system are also explained in this paper.

Delineation of boundary between tropical/subtropical in the middle section for eco-geographic system of South China

This paper discusses division on tropical/subtropical boundary of middle section in South China. This discussion results in new understanding on eco-geographic regions and their boundaries, especially on gradual changes of natural conditions between eco-geographic regions. It analyzes results of the same area by other researchers, clarifies differences and causes of the differences for the results. Boundaries of eco-geographic regions cannot be drawn as a line as changes from tropical to subtropical are gradual. Therefore, for an eco-geographic region like tropical zone, definite boundaries must be mapped while gradual changes are considered. Temperature, vegetation and soil are the indexes to divide tropical and subtropical. After indexes of tropical zone are confirmed, data of annual average index reflect general state of the tropical zone. Line from such data is called “tropical boundary”. On the other hand, affected by the monsoon climate, some years are hotter and some are cooler. In hotter years, temperature of north area of tropical boundary reaches tropical state whereas in cooler years, such area moves southward. Boundary of the hottest year is called annual tropical line and that of the coolest year true tropical line. Temperatures in areas south to annual tropical line can probably reach tropical in some years. Temperatures in areas south to real tropical line reach tropical every year. The area from true tropical to annual tropical is called tropical fluctuating zone. Therefore, new concepts of tropical, annual tropical, true tropical and tropical fluctuating zone are formed to understand tropical area from a new point of view in the paper. Based on the indexes of climate, vegetation and soil, boundaries of tropical, annual tropical, true tropical and tropical fluctuating zone of the study area are established. The tropical fluctuating zone explains different locating of different researchers. The paper also puts forward a new method to display boundary for eco-geographic regions.

THE ECO-GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF FOREST INSECTS IN CHINA

The ceo-geographical division of forest insects in China is generally divided into 4 levels: region, subrcgion, area and province. The region is formed by isolation of ocean, high mountain and desert etc. The division of subrcgion is on the basis of resistance of extreme temperature humidity in winter. The division of area or province is on the basis of landform, type of vegetation in forest zone and temperature zone.

Genetic Structure and Eco-Geographical Differentiation of Cultivated Keng Rice(Oryza sativa L.subsp.japonica) in China Revealed by Microsatellites

China is one of the largest centers of genetic diversity of Oryza sativa L. and is the original centers of Oryza sativa L. subspecies japonica. Using a genetically representative core collection of 1 442 rice landraces of japonica in China, the genetic structure, differentiation, and geographic diversity were analyzed. The model-based structure analysis on varieties within three ecotypes revealed 16 eco-geographical types, which are partially accorded with some of the ecological zones in China. The differentiation of eco-geographical types contributed to the local ecological adaption and physical isolation, and maybe could be used to develop the heterotic groups of japonica. To facilitate the identification of different ecotypes and eco-geographical types, we provided the SSR character alleles of each ecotype or geographical eco-group and a rapid discriminated method based on these character alleles. Lastly, investigation on genetic diversity, genetic differentiation indicated that southwest region of China, including south of Yunnan Province, northwest of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and southwest of Guizhou Province, possessed the highest genetic diversity and all the necessary conditions as a center of genetic diversity and should be the center of genetic diversity of rice landraces of japonica in China.

Eco-geographical Regionalization of China:An Approach Using the Rough Set Method

Eco-geographical regionalization involves dividing land into regions by considering both intra-regional consistency and interregional disparity and is based on the pattern of differentiation of eco-geographical elements.Owing to the complexity of the land surface,and the limitation of data and appropriate methods,regions in China have hitherto been mapped manually,meaning that the process of mapping was non-repeatable.To make the regionalization technique repeatable,this study aimed to extract and quantify the expert knowledge of regionalization using an automated method.The rough set method was adopted to extract rules of regionalization based on the existing eco-geographical regionalization map of China,as well as its corresponding meteorological and geological datasets.Then,the rules for regionalization were obtained hierarchically for each natural domain,each temperature zone,and each humidity region.Owing to differences in zonal differentiation,the rule extraction sequence for the eastern monsoon zone and Tibetan Alpine zone was temperature zone first followed by humidity region,with the reverse order being applied for the northwest arid/semi-arid zone.Results show that the extracted indicators were similar to those of the existing(expert-produced)regionalization scheme but more comprehensive.The primary indicator for defining temperature zones was the≥10℃ growing season,and the secondary indicators were the January and July mean temperatures.The primary and secondary indicators for identifying humid regions were aridity index and precipitation,respectively.Eco-geographical regions were mapped over China using these rules and the gridded indicators.Both the temperature zones and humidity regions mapped by the rules show≥85%consistency with the existing regionalization,which is higher than values for mapping by the commonly used simplified method that uses the classification of one indicator.This study demonstrates that the proposed rough set method can establish eco-geographical regionalization that is quantitative and repeatable and able to dynamically updated.

Northward-shift of temperature zones in China＇s eco-geographical study under future climate scenario

Despite the well-documented effects of global climate change on terrestrial species＇ ranges, eco-geographical regions as the regional scale of ecosystems have been poorly studied especially in China with diverse climate and ecosystems. Here we analyse the shift of temperature zones in eco-geographical study over China using projected future climate scenario. Projected climate data with high resolution during 1961-2080 were simulated using regional climate model of PRECIS. The number of days with mean daily temperature above 10℃ and the mean temperature of January are usually regarded as the principal criteria to indicate temperature zones, which are sensitive to climate change. Shifts due to future climate change were calculated by comparing the latitude of grid cells for the future borderline of one temperature zone with that for baseline period （1961-1990）. Results indicated that the ranges of Tropical, Subtropical, Warm Temperate and Plateau Temperate Zones would be enlarged and the ranges of Cold Temperate, Temperate and Plateau Sub-cold Zones would be reduced. Cold Temperate Zone would probably disappear at late this century. North bor- derlines of temperature zones would shift northward under projected future climate change, especially in East China. Farthest shifts of the north boundaries of Plateau Temperate, Subtropical and Warm Temperate Zones would be 3.1°, 5.3° and 6.6° latitude respectively. Moreover, northward shift would be more notably in northern China as future temperature increased.

Effects of longitudinal range-gorge terrain on the eco-geographical pattern in Southwest China

China＇s southwestern special terrain pattern as parallel arrangement between lon- gitudinal towering mountains and deep valleys has significant effects on the differentiation of local natural environment and eco-geographical pattern in this region. The 1：50,000 Digital Elevation Model （DEM） data of Longitudinal Range-Gorge Region （LRGR）, meteorological observation data from the station establishment to 2010, hydrological observation data, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index （NDVI） and Net Primary Productivity （NPP） products of MOD13 and MOD17 as well as 1：1,000,000 vegetation type data were used. Moisture in- dices including surface atmospheric vapor content, precipitation, aridity/humidity index, sur- face runoff, and temperature indices including average temperature, annual accumulated temperature, total solar radiation were selected. Based on ANUSPLIN spline function, GIS spatial analysis, wavelet analysis and landscape pattern analysis, regional differentiation characteristics and main-control factors of hydrothermal pattern, ecosystem structure and function in this region were analyzed to reveal the effects of terrain pattern o~ regional dif- ferentiation of eco-geographical elements. The results show that： influenced by terrain pattern moisture, temperature and heat in LRGR have shown significant distribution cllaracteristics as intermittent weft differences and continuous warp extension. Longitudinal mountains and valleys not only have a north-south corridor function and diffusion effect on the transfer of major surface materials and energy, but also have east-west barrier function and blocking effect. Special topographic pattern has important influences on vegetation landscape diversity and spatiat pattern of ecosystem structure and function, which is the main-control factor on vegetation landscape diversity and spatial distribution of ecosystem. Wavelet variance analysis reflects the spatial anisotropy of environmental factors, NDVI and NPP, while wavelet consistency analysis reveals the control factors on spatial distribution of NDVI and NPP as well as the quantitative relationship with control degree. Special terrain pattern in LRGR is the major influencing factor on eco-geographical regional differentiation in this region. Under the combined effect of zonality and non-zonality laws with ＂corridor-barrier＂ functior as the main characteristic, special spatial characteristics of eco-geographical regional system in LRGR is formed.