Land use and cover change and influencing factor analysis in the Shiyang River Basin,China

Land use and cover change(LUCC)is the most direct manifestation of the interaction between anthropological activities and the natural environment on Earth's surface,with significant impacts on the environment and social economy.Rapid economic development and climate change have resulted in significant changes in land use and cover.The Shiyang River Basin,located in the eastern part of the Hexi Corridor in China,has undergone significant climate change and LUCC over the past few decades.In this study,we used the random forest classification to obtain the land use and cover datasets of the Shiyang River Basin in 1991,1995,2000,2005,2010,2015,and 2020 based on Landsat images.We validated the land use and cover data in 2015 from the random forest classification results(this study),the high-resolution dataset of annual global land cover from 2000 to 2015(AGLC-2000-2015),the global 30 m land cover classification with a fine classification system(GLC_FCS30),and the first Landsat-derived annual China Land Cover Dataset(CLCD)against ground-truth classification results to evaluate the accuracy of the classification results in this study.Furthermore,we explored and compared the spatiotemporal patterns of LUCC in the upper,middle,and lower reaches of the Shiyang River Basin over the past 30 years,and employed the random forest importance ranking method to analyze the influencing factors of LUCC based on natural(evapotranspiration,precipitation,temperature,and surface soil moisture)and anthropogenic(nighttime light,gross domestic product(GDP),and population)factors.The results indicated that the random forest classification results for land use and cover in the Shiyang River Basin in 2015 outperformed the AGLC-2000-2015,GLC_FCS30,and CLCD datasets in both overall and partial validations.Moreover,the classification results in this study exhibited a high level of agreement with the ground truth features.From 1991 to 2020,the area of bare land exhibited a decreasing trend,with changes primarily occurring in the middle and lower reaches of the basin.The area of grassland initially decreased and then increased,with changes occurring mainly in the upper and middle reaches of the basin.In contrast,the area of cropland initially increased and then decreased,with changes occurring in the middle and lower reaches.The LUCC was influenced by both natural and anthropogenic factors.Climatic factors and population contributed significantly to LUCC,and the importance values of evapotranspiration,precipitation,temperature,and population were 22.12%,32.41%,21.89%,and 19.65%,respectively.Moreover,policy interventions also played an important role.Land use and cover in the Shiyang River Basin exhibited fluctuating changes over the past 30 years,with the ecological environment improving in the last 10 years.This suggests that governance efforts in the study area have had some effects,and the government can continue to move in this direction in the future.The findings can provide crucial insights for related research and regional sustainable development in the Shiyang River Basin and other similar arid and semi-arid areas.

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.

Trends of Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Savannah Ecological of the Protected Area Reserve Partielle de Dosso, Niger

Information on the dynamics of savannah is important to a country's plan to overcome the problems of uncontrolled development and environmental hazards. Taking the reserve partielle de Dosso, Niger as the case study area, this paper analyzed the long-term land use land cover change from 2002 to 2022. Satellite images were processed by using Google Earth Engine (GEE). Therefore, four major land cover classes were identified based on spectral characteristics of Land sat, namely, built-up, vegetation, cropland, bare land and water. The result revealed that barren and built-up areas increased at the expense of vegetation and water. From the four major land use land cover the large area is covered by vegetation which comprises about 192963.5 hectares followed by cropland and water consisting of 32506.43 and 1596.4 hectares respectively. The built-up area gained substantial area (most) during the study period. The reduction in some of the land cover/uses underlines the dangerous trend of the pressure poised by population growth and the changing functionality. Land cover change is influenced by a variety of societal factors operating on several spatial and temporal levels. The area estimates and spatial distributions of the LULC classes produced from the current study will assist local authorities, managers, and other stakeholders in decision-making and planning regarding forest land cover and uses.

Investigating the Long-Term Relationship between Aerosol Optical Thickness and Land Use/Cover Change in Guangxi Coastal Cities, China

Land Use/Cover Change (LUCC) has an impact on AOD to a certain extent. It is of great significance for ecological environment and public health to pay attention to and explore the response mechanism of AOD to LUCC. Based on remote sensing satellite technology, using landsat8 and MODIS data, this paper analyzes the correlation between different land use types and AOD in Beibu Gulf coastal urban belt under the background of wide-scale region and long time series, and further discusses the difference value and contribution level of each LUCC to AOD. The results show that: 1) there is a positive correlation between PM concentration and cultivated land, urban land, water area and other types of land, and the correlation coefficient increases in turn, R is 0.812, 0.685, 0.627, 0.416, respectively, which indicates that the increase of cultivated land and urban land increases PM concentration to a certain extent;2) there is a significant negative correlation between PM concentration and forest land, R is -0.924, The results show that the decrease of woodland is an important factor for the increase of atmospheric particulate matter concentration in the study area from 2015 to 2019;3) through the contribution analysis method, the contribution of cultivated land to AOD is the largest, followed by urban land, and the water area is the smallest in 2015-2019, which indicates that the land use mode is closely related to AOD. It can be helpful to reasonably plan land use types and scientifically optimize land use structure. It can effectively reduce the concentration of air pollution particles.

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.

Land Use Land Cover Analysis for Godavari Basin in Maharashtra Using Geographical Information System and Remote Sensing

The dynamic transformation of land use and land cover has emerged as a crucial aspect in the effective management of natural resources and the continual monitoring of environmental shifts. This study focused on the land use and land cover (LULC) changes within the catchment area of the Godavari River, assessing the repercussions of land and water resource exploitation. Utilizing LANDSAT satellite images from 2009, 2014, and 2019, this research employed supervised classification through the Quantum Geographic Information System (QGIS) software’s SCP plugin. Maximum likelihood classification algorithm was used for the assessment of supervised land use classification. Seven distinct LULC classes—forest, irrigated cropland, agricultural land (fallow), barren land, shrub land, water, and urban land—are delineated for classification purposes. The study revealed substantial changes in the Godavari basin’s land use patterns over the ten-year period from 2009 to 2019. Spatial and temporal dynamics of land use/cover changes (2009-2019) were quantified using three Satellite/Landsat images, a supervised classification algorithm and the post classification change detection technique in GIS. The total study area of the Godavari basin in Maharashtra encompasses 5138175.48 hectares. Notably, the built-up area increased from 0.14% in 2009 to 1.94% in 2019. The proportion of irrigated cropland, which was 62.32% in 2009, declined to 41.52% in 2019. Shrub land witnessed a noteworthy increase from 0.05% to 2.05% over the last decade. The key findings underscored significant declines in barren land, agricultural land, and irrigated cropland, juxtaposed with an expansion in forest land, shrub land, and urban land. The classification methodology achieved an overall accuracy of 80%, with a Kappa Statistic of 71.9% for the satellite images. The overall classification accuracy along with the Kappa value for 2009, 2014 and 2019 supervised land use land cover classification was good enough to detect the changing scenarios of Godavari River basin under study. These findings provide valuable insights for discerning land utilization across various categories, facilitating the adoption of appropriate strategies for sustainable land use in the region.

Effects of land use/cover change(LUCC) on the spatiotemporal variability of precipitation and temperature in the Songnen Plain,China

Understanding the effects of land use/cover change(LUCC) on regional climate is critical for achieving land use system sustainability and global climate change mitigation. However, the quantitative analysis of the contribution of LUCC to the changes of climatic factors, such as precipitation & temperature(P&T), is lacking. In this study, we combined statistical methods and the gravity center model simulation to quantify the effects of long-term LUCC on P&T in the Songnen Plain(SNP) of Northeast China from 1980–2018. The results showed the spatiotemporal variability of LUCC. For example, paddy field had the largest increase(15 166.43 km2) in the SNP, followed by dry land, while wetland had the largest decrease(19 977.13 km;) due to the excessive agricultural utilization and development. Annual average precipitation decreased at a rate of –9.89 mm per decade, and the warming trends were statistically significant with an increasing rate of 0.256°C per decade in this region since 1980. The model simulation revealed that paddy field, forestland, and wetland had positive effects on precipitation, which caused their gravity centers to migrate towards the same direction accompanied by the center of precipitation gravity, while different responses were seen for building land, dry land and unused land. These results indicated that forestland had the largest influence on the increase of precipitation compared with the other land use types.The responses in promoting the temperature increase differed significantly, being the highest in building land, and the lowest in forestland. In general, the analysis of regional-scale LUCC showed a significant reduction of wetland, and the increases in building land and cropland contributed to a continuous drying and rapid warming in the SNP.

RESEARCH ACTIVITIES ON LAND USE/COVER CHANGE IN THE PAST TEN YEARS IN CHINA USING SPACE TECHNOLOGY

Land use/cover change, which in China is characterized by urbanization resulting in a decrease in arable land in the east along with a large area of grassland being cultivated in the west, has been accelerated by rapid economic development in the last years. All of the above changes will affect sustainable development in the next century. The Chinese Academy of Sciences is conducting a study of land use/cover change over the last ten years based on the integration of remote sensing and GIS technology to establish a multitemporal database covering all of China. Fundamental data for land use/cover for the year 1996 has already been developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In order to reconstruct fundamental land use/cover data for the year 1986, a central data processing and analyzing system and a regional data acquisition, processing and analyzing system have been established and are joined together as a network. After the 1986 database is established, the comparative research on the reduction in arable land, urbanization, desertification, changes in forest and grassland, and lake and wetland land use/cover change will be carried out. In addition, a transect for a key regional comparative study was selected along the Changjiang (Yangtze) River. The driving forces of these changes also will be extracted. The result of this study will be not only make a contribution to global land use/cover change research, but will also support decision making for sustainable national development.

Impacts of Regional-Scale Land Use/Land Cover Change on Diurnal Temperature Range

The NCAR Community Atmosphere Model(CAM4.0)was used to investigate the climate efects of land use/land cover change(LUCC).Two simulations,one with potential land cover without significant human intervention and the other with current land use,were conducted.Results show that the impacts of LUCC on diurnal temperature range(DTR)are more significant than on mean surface air temperature.The global average annual DTR change due to LUCC is–0.1℃,which is three times as large as the mean temperature change.LUCC influences regional DTR as simulated by the model.In the mid-latitudes,LUCC leads to a decrease in DTR,which is mainly caused by the reduction in daily maximum temperature.However,there are some diferences in the low latitudes.The reduction in DTR in East Asia is mainly the result of the decrease in daily maximum temperature,while in India,the decrease in DTR is due to the increase in daily minimum temperature.In general,the LUCC significantly controls the DTR change through the changes in canopy evaporation and transpiration.

Validation of CA-Markov for Simulation of Land Use and Cover Change in the Langat Basin, Malaysia

Validity of CA-Markov in land use and cover change simulation was investigated at the Langat Basin, Selangor, Malaysia. CA-Markov validation was performed using validation metrics, allocation disagreement, quantity disagreement, and figure of merit in a three-dimensional space. The figure of merit, quantity error, and allocation error for total landscape simulation using the 1990-1997 calibration data were 5.62%, 3.53%, and 6.13%, respectively. CA-Markov showed a poor performance for land use and cover change simulation due to uncertainties in the source data, the model, and future land use and cover change processes in the study area.

Spatial features of land use/land cover change in the United States

With the classifi cation data covering American land-use/land-cover (LUCC) with 30 m resolu tion from the project of National Land Cover Data (NLCD), we normalize d them and made their resolution changed into 1 km ×1 km, created the data of American land-use grade and analyzed the spatial distribution and featur es of American LUCC as well as the influence of population and altit ude on the land-use grade in light of methods of sampling analysis a nd correlation study. Based on the analysis, we concluded that forestr y and grassland, accounting for 71.24% of the whole country, has taken the main part of American land cover, and besides, construction and arable land has occupied 19.22% of the total land, the rest of land cover types, including water area, wetland and underdeveloped land, is 9. 54% of the country's total. The developing potential of American land resources is enormous with less destroyed and disturbed ecological environment. Although, in some sense, the population and altitude influence the sp atial variation of American land-use grade respectively, the influence of spatial variation of altitude and population density on that of la nd-use grade is not significanct.

Effects of climate change and land use/cover change on the volume of the Qinghai Lake in China

Qinghai Lake is the largest saline lake in China.The change in the lake volume is an indicator of the variation in water resources and their response to climate change on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau(QTP)in China.The present study quantitatively evaluated the effects of climate change and land use/cover change(LUCC)on the lake volume of the Qinghai Lake in China from 1958 to 2018,which is crucial for water resources management in the Qinghai Lake Basin.To explore the effects of climate change and LUCC on the Qinghai Lake volume,we analyzed the lake level observation data and multi-period land use/land cover(LULC)data by using an improved lake volume estimation method and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Trade-offs(InVEST)model.Our results showed that the lake level decreased at the rate of 0.08 m/a from 1958 to 2004 and increased at the rate of 0.16 m/a from 2004 to 2018.The lake volume decreased by 105.40×10^(8) m^(3) from 1958 to 2004,with the rate of 2.24×10^(8) m^(3)/a,whereas it increased by 74.02×10^(8) m^(3) from 2004 to 2018,with the rate of 4.66×10^(8) m^(3)/a.Further,the climate of the Qinghai Lake Basin changed from warm-dry to warm-humid.From 1958 to 2018,the increase in precipitation and the decrease in evaporation controlled the change of the lake volume,which were the main climatic factors affecting the lake volume change.From 1977 to 2018,the measured water yield showed an"increase-decrease-increase"fluctuation in the Qinghai Lake Basin.The effects of climate change and LUCC on the measured water yield were obviously different.From 1977 to 2018,the contribution rate of LUCC was -0.76% and that of climate change was 100.76%;the corresponding rates were 8.57% and 91.43% from 1977 to 2004,respectively,and -4.25% and 104.25% from 2004 to 2018,respectively.Quantitative analysis of the effects and contribution rates of climate change and LUCC on the Qinghai Lake volume revealed the scientific significance of climate change and LUCC,as well as their individual and combined effects in the Qinghai Lake Basin and on the QTP.This study can contribute to the water resources management and regional sustainable development of the Qinghai Lake Basin.

Hydrological response to land use and land cover changes in a sub-watershed of West Liaohe River Basin,China

In recent years, the streamflow of the Laohahe Basin in China showed a dramatic decrease during the rainy season as a result of climate change and/or human activities. The objective of this work was to document significant streamflow changes caused by land use and land cover （LULC） changes and to quantify the impacts of the observed changes in Laohahe Basin. in the study area, the observed streamflow has been influenced by LULC changes, dams, and irrigation from rivers, industry, livestock and human consumption. Most importantly, the growth of population and gross domestic product （GDP） accompanied by the growth in industrial and agricultural activities, which led to LULC changes with increased residential land and cropland and decreased grassland since 2000s. Statistical methods and Variable Infiltration Capacity （VIC） hydrological model were used to estimate the effects of climate change and LULC changes on streamflow and evaportranspiration lET）. First, the streamflow data of the study area were divided into three sub-periods according to the Pettitt test. The hydrological process was then simulated by VIC model from 1964 to 2009. Furthermore, we compared the simulated results based on land use scenarios in 1989, 1999 and 2007, respectively for exploring the effect of LULC changes on the spatio-temporal distribution of streamflow and ET in the Laohahe Basin. The results suggest that, accompanied with climate change, the LULC changes and human water consumption appeared to be the most likely factors contributing to the sig- nificant reduction in streamflow in the Laohahe Basin by 64% from1999 to 2009.

The spatial-temporal changes of the land use/cover in the Dongting Lake area during the last decade

The research on the land use/cover change is one of the frontiers and the hot spots in the global change research. Based on the Chinese resource and environment spatial-temporal database, and using the Landsat TM and ETM data of 1990 and 2000 respectively, we analyzed the spatial-temporal characteristics of land use/cover changes in the Dongting Lake area during the last decade. The result shows that during the last ten years there were three land-use types that had changed remarkably. The cultivated land decreased by 0.57% of the total cultivated land. The built-up land and water area expanded, with an increase of 8.97% and 0.43% respectively. The conversion between land use types mostly happened among these three land-use types, especially frequently between cultivated land and water area. The land-use change speed of land-use type is different. Three cities experienced the greatest degree of land-use change among all the administrative districts, which means that the land use in these cities changed much quickly. The following changed area was the west and south of the Dongting Lake area. The slowest changed area is the north and east area.

Land use and land cover change within the Koshi River Basin of the central Himalayas since 1990

Land change is a cause and consequence of global environmental change.Land use and land cover have changed considerably due to increasing human activities and climate change,which has become the core issue of major international research projects.This study interprets land use and land cover status and the changes within the Koshi River Basin(KRB)using Landsat remote sensing(RS)image data,and employs logistic regression model to analyze the influence of natural and socioeconomic driving forces on major land cover changes.The results showed that the areas of built-up land,bare land and forest in KRB increased from 1990 to 2015,including the largest increases in forest and the highest growth rate in construction land.Areas of glacier,grassland,sparse vegetation,shrub land,cropland,and wetland all decreased over the study period.From the perspective of driving analysis,the role of human activities in land use and land cover change is significant than climate factors.Cropland expansion is the reclamation of cropland by farmers,mainly from early deforestation.However,labor force separation,geological disasters and drought are the main factors of cropland shrinkage.The increase of forest area in India and Nepal was attributed to the government’s forest protection policies,such as Nepal’s community forestry has achieved remarkable results.The expansion and contraction of grassland were both dominated by climatic factors.The probability of grassland expansion increases with temperature and precipitation,while the probability of grassland contraction decreases with temperature and precipitation.

Investigating the Use of Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques to Detect Land Use and Land Cover Change: A Review

The accuracy of change detection on the earth’s surface is important for understanding the relationships and interactions between human and natural phenomena. Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have the potential to provide accurate information regarding land use and land cover changes. In this paper, we investigate the major techniques that are utilized to detect land use and land cover changes. Eleven change detection techniques are reviewed. An analysis of the related literature shows that the most used techniques are post-classification comparison and principle component analysis. Post-classification comparison can minimize the impacts of atmospheric and sensor differences between two dates. Image differencing and image ratioing are easy to implement, but at times they do not provide accurate results. Hybrid change detection is a useful technique that makes full use of the benefits of many techniques, but it is complex and depends on the characteristics of the other techniques such as supervised and unsupervised classifications. Change vector analysis is complicated to implement, but it is useful for providing the direction and magnitude of change. Recently, artificial neural networks, chi-square, decision tree and image fusion have been frequently used in change detection. Research on integrating remote sensing data and GIS into change detection has also increased.

Scenario simulation of water retention services under land use/cover and climate changes: a case study of the Loess Plateau, China

Comprehensive assessments of ecosystem services in environments under the influences of human activities and climate change are critical for sustainable regional ecosystem management. Therefore,integrated interdisciplinary modelling has become a major focus of ecosystem service assessment. In this study, we established a model that integrates land use/cover change(LUCC), climate change, and water retention services to evaluate the spatial and temporal variations of water retention services in the Loess Plateau of China in the historical period(2000–2015) and in the future(2020–2050). An improved Markov-Cellular Automata(Markov-CA) model was used to simulate land use/land cover patterns, and ArcGIS 10.2 software was used to simulate and assess water retention services from 2000 to 2050 under six combined scenarios, including three land use/land cover scenarios(historical scenario(HS), ecological protection scenario(EPS), and urban expansion scenario(UES)) and two climate change scenarios(RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, where RCP is the representative concentration pathway). LUCCs in the historical period(2000–2015) and in the future(2020–2050) are dominated by transformations among agricultural land, urban land and grassland. Urban land under UES increased significantly by 0.63×10^(3) km^(2)/a, which was higher than the increase of urban land under HS and EPS. In the Loess Plateau, water yield decreased by 17.20×10^(6) mm and water retention increased by 0.09×10^(6) mm in the historical period(2000–2015),especially in the Interior drainage zone and its surrounding areas. In the future(2020–2050), the pixel means of water yield is higher under RCP4.5 scenario(96.63 mm) than under RCP8.5 scenario(95.46mm), and the pixel means of water retention is higher under RCP4.5 scenario(1.95 mm) than under RCP8.5 scenario(1.38 mm). RCP4.5-EPS shows the highest total water retention capacity on the plateau scale among the six combined scenarios, with the value of 1.27×10^(6) mm. Ecological restoration projects in the Loess Plateau have enhanced soil and water retention. However, more attention needs to be paid not only to the simultaneous increase in water retention services and evapotranspiration but also to the type and layout of restored vegetation. Furthermore, urbanization needs to be controlled to prevent uncontrollable LUCCs and climate change. Our findings provide reference data for the regional water and land resources management and the sustainable development of socio-ecological systems in the Loess Plateau under LUCC and climate change scenarios.

LAND USE/COVER CHANGE AND DRIVING FORCES IN SOUTHERN LIAONING PROVINCE SINCE 1950S

Land use/cover change (LUCC) is a key aspect of global environment change, and in a sense indicates the influence of human activities on natural environment. Regional case study is the core of LUCC research. Taking the southern Liaoning Province, a coastal area facing the Bohai Sea and the Huanghai Sea, as an example, supported by ARCVIEW and ARC/INFO, this paper reconstructed LUCC patterns in three periods of 1954, 1976 and 2000, and analyzed their spatial-temporal changes from 1954 to 2000. On the base of these, it also studied the LUCC’s driving mechanism. The results show that the land transformation mainly occurs among cultivated land, forestland and urban and industrial land. Industrialization and urbanization in rural area are the major driving forces for cultivated land change, and the extension of the built-up area in cities is mainly the result of economic development and tertiary industry development, etc., which is at expense of cultivated land.

Influence of Land Use/Cover Change on Storm Runoff—A Case Study of Xitiaoxi River Basin in Upstream of Taihu Lake Watershed

Land use/cover change (LUCC) is one of the main boundary conditions which influence many hydrologic processes. In view of the importance of Taihu Lake Watershed in China and the urgency of discovering the impacts of LUCC on storm runoff, two flood events under five land cover scenarios in the Xitiaoxi River Basin of the upstream of Taihu Lake watershed were simulated by distributed hydrologic modeling system HEC-HMS. The influences of each land cover on storm runoff were discussed. It was concluded that under the same rainstorm the ascending order of runoff coefficient and peak flow produced by the 5 different land covers were woodland, shrub, grassland, arable land, and built-up land; the descending order of swelling time were woodland, shrub, grassland, arable land, and built-up land. Scenario of built-up land was the first to reach peak flow, then arable land, grassland, shrub, and woodland. There were close relationships between the runoff coefficients produced by the 5 different land covers. The degrees of impacts on runoff coefficient of land cover change modes were sorted by descending: woodland to built-up land, shrub to built-up land, grassland to built-up land, arable land to built-up land, woodland to arable land, shrub to arable land, arable land to grassland, shrub to grassland, grassland to arable land, and woodland to shrub. Urbanization will contribute to flood disaster, while forestation will mitigate flood disaster.

Effects of land use and cover change on surface wind speed in China

The surface wind speed(SWS)is affected by both large-scale circulation and land use and cover change(LUCC).In China,most studies have considered the effect of large-scale circulation rather than LUCC on SWS.In this study,we evaluated the effects of LUCC on the SWS decrease during 1979-2015 over China using the observation minus reanalysis(OMR)method.There were two key findings:(1)Observed wind speed declined significantly at a rate of 0.0112 m/(s·a),whereas ERA-Interim,which can only capture the inter-annual variation of observed data,indicated a gentle downward trend.The effects of LUCC on SWS were distinct and caused a decrease of 0.0124 m/(s·a)in SWS;(2)Due to variations in the characteristics of land use types across different regions,the influence of LUCC on SWS also varied.The observed wind speed showed a rapid decline over cultivated land in Northwest China,as well as a decrease in China’s northeastern and eastern plain regions due to the urbanization.However,in the Tibetan Plateau,the impact of LUCC on wind speed was only slight and can thus be ignored.