Perspective of Chinese GF-1 high-resolution satellite data in agricultural remote sensing monitoring

High-resolution satellite data have been playing an important role in agricultural remote sensing monitoring. However, the major data sources of high-resolution images are not owned by China. The cost of large scale use of high resolution imagery data becomes prohibitive. In pace of the launch of the Chinese ＂High Resolution Earth Observation Systems＂, China is able to receive superb high-resolution remotely sensed images （GF series） that equalizes or even surpasses foreign similar satellites in respect of spatial resolution, scanning width and revisit period. This paper provides a perspective of using high resolution remote sensing data from satellite GF-1 for agriculture monitoring. It also assesses the applicability of GF-1 data for agricultural monitoring, and identifies potential applications from regional to national scales. GF-1＇s high resolution （i.e., 2 m/8 m）, high revisit cycle （i.e., 4 days）, and its visible and near-infrared （VNIR） spectral bands enable a continuous, efficient and effective agricultural dynamics monitoring. Thus, it has gradually substituted the foreign data sources for mapping crop planting areas, monitoring crop growth, estimating crop yield, monitoring natural disasters, and supporting precision and facility agriculture in China agricultural remote sensing monitoring system （CHARMS）. However, it is still at the initial stage of GF-1 data application in agricultural remote sensing monitoring. Advanced algorithms for estimating agronomic parameters and soil quality with GF-1 data need to be further investigated, especially for improving the performance of remote sensing monitoring in the fragmented landscapes. In addition, the thematic product series in terms of land cover, crop allocation, crop growth and production are required to be developed in association with other data sources at multiple spatial scales. Despite the advantages, the issues such as low spectrum resolution and image distortion associated with high spatial resolution and wide swath width, might pose challenges for GF-1 data applications and need to be addressed in future agricultural monitoring.

Geographical Patterns of Chinese Ethnic Minority Population Composition and Ethnic Diversity

Ethnicity is a carrier of language and culture.Spatial distribution of ethnic diversity is fundamental for identifying and reconstructing the migration patterns and evolution histories of cultures and languages.Utilizing the Chinese 4th National Census (1990) data,we investigated the specific time geographical patterns of population and diversity of Chinese ethnicminorities.As anticipated,results show that Chineseminorities are chiefly concentrated in dis-tant plateaus and mountains in the southwest,northwest and northeast of China.Further,population density centers of the 10 majorminorities are rather scattered,alternatively dominating at different parts of the country.This study pro-vides a first comprehensive quantitative test on a prevailing notion of 'six plates and three corridors' on the empirical clustering patterns of Chinese ethnicminorities.There are more consistent evidences supporting this notion in the north of China,with the central and southern regions showing more complex patterns,potentially transformed by processes such as migration,fragmentation,and percolation.The results of this study suggest that a geographical ap-proach can provide heuristic and complementary information for better understanding of historical social processes.

Effect of Aspect on Climate Variation in Mountain Ranges of Shennongjia Massif, Central China

The aim of this study was to better understand the mechanisms of regional climate variation in mountain ranges with contrasting aspects as mediated by changes in global climate. It may help predict trends of vegetation variations in native ecosystems in natural reserves. As measures of climate response, temperature and precipitation data from the north, east, and south-facing mountain ranges of Shennongjia Massif in the coldest and hottest months(January and July), different seasons(spring, summer, autumn, and winter) and each year were analyzed from a long-term dataset(1960 to 2003) to tested variations characteristics, temporal and spatial quantitative relationships of climates. The results showed that the average seasonal temperatures and precipitation in the north, east, and south aspects of the mountain ranges changed at different rates. The average seasonal temperatures change rate ranges in the north, east, and south-facing mountain ranges were from –0.0210℃/yr to 0.0143℃/yr, –0.0166℃/yr to 0.0311℃/yr, and –0.0290 ℃/yr to 0.0084℃/yr, respectively, and seasonal precipitation variation magnitude were from –1.4940 mm/yr to 0.6217 mm/yr, –1.6833 mm/yr to 2.6182 mm/yr, and –0.8567 mm/yr to 1.4077 mm/yr, respectively. The climates variation trend among the three mountain ranges were different in magnitude and direction, showing a complicated change of the climates in mountain ranges and some inconsistency with general trends in global climate change. The climate variations were significantly different and positively correlated cross mountain ranges, revealing that aspects significantly affected on climate variations and these variations resulted from a larger air circulation system, which were sensitive to global climate change. We conclude that location and terrain of aspect are the main factors affecting differences in climate variation among the mountain ranges with contrasting aspects.

Changing provenance of late Cenozoic sediments in the Jianghan Basin

The Yangtze River is one of the most important components of the East Asia river system. In this study, sediments in the Jianghan Basin, middle Yangtze River, were selected for trace element and rare earth element （REE） measurements, in order to decipher information on the change of sediment provenance and evolution of the Yangtze River. According to the elemental variations, the late Cenozoic sediments of the Jianghan Basin could be divided into four parts. During 2.68-2,28 Ma and 1.25-0 Ma, proveJ nance of the sediments was consistent, whereas sediments were derived from variable sources during 2.28-1.25 Ma. Comparison of the elemental compositions between the Pliocene and Quaternary sediments revealed a change in sediment source from a more felsic source area to a more basic source area around the Pliocene--Quaternary boundary. Input from the Emeishan LIP should account for this provenance change, Based on the provenance analysis of sediments in the Jianghan Basin, we infer that the Yangtze River developed into a large river with its drainage basin extended to the Emeishan LIP no later than the Pliocene-Quaternary boundary.

Advances in environmental behaviors and effects of dissolved organic matter in aquatic ecosystems

Dissolved organic matter(DOM) is a group of compounds that have complex chemical structures and multiple interactions with their surrounding materials. More than one trillion tons of DOM are stocked in the world's aquatic ecosystems. DOM is a very important part of aquatic ecosystem productivity and plays a crucial role in global carbon cycling. DOM has rich environmental behaviors and effects such as influencing the bioavailability of contaminants, serving as an important inducer of reactive oxygen species(ROS), and protecting aquatic organisms from the harm of dangerous ultraviolet radiation. There have been many systematic studies on the composition, structure, and sources of DOM because such studies are much easier to conduct than studies on the environmental behaviors and effects of DOM. Due to many factors, the research systems of DOM's environmental behaviors and effects are still being developed and have become a hotspot of environmental science. This review paper focuses on some critical progress, problems, and trends of DOM's environmental behaviors and effects in aquatic ecosystems, including mutual exchange mechanisms between DOM and particulate organic matter(POM) with influencing factors, photochemical behaviors of DOM especially inducing ROS, binding interactions between DOM and anthropogenic organic contaminants(AOC), interactions between DOM and microorganisms, effects of DOM on pollutants' bioavailability, ecotoxicity, and ecological risks. Hopefully, this paper will contribute to a more systematic understanding of the DOM environmental behaviors and effects and to promoting further relevant studies.

Estimating the crop leaf area index using hyperspectral remote sensing

The leaf area index（LAI） is an important vegetation parameter,which is used widely in many applications.Remote sensing techniques are known to be effective but inexpensive methods for estimating the LAI of crop canopies.During the last two decades,hyperspectral remote sensing has been employed increasingly for crop LAI estimation,which requires unique technical procedures compared with conventional multispectral data,such as denoising and dimension reduction.Thus,we provide a comprehensive and intensive overview of crop LAI estimation based on hyperspectral remote sensing techniques.First,we compare hyperspectral data and multispectral data by highlighting their potential and limitations in LAI estimation.Second,we categorize the approaches used for crop LAI estimation based on hyperspectral data into three types：approaches based on statistical models,physical models（i.e.,canopy reflectance models）,and hybrid inversions.We summarize and evaluate the theoretical basis and different methods employed by these approaches（e.g.,the characteristic parameters of LAI,regression methods for constructing statistical predictive models,commonly applied physical models,and inversion strategies for physical models）.Thus,numerous models and inversion strategies are organized in a clear conceptual framework.Moreover,we highlight the technical difficulties that may hinder crop LAI estimation,such as the ＂curse of dimensionality＂ and the ill-posed problem.Finally,we discuss the prospects for future research based on the previous studies described in this review.

基于模型的中国东北地区土地利用时空格局变化研究（英文）

Spatially explicit modeling techniques recently emerged as an alternative to monitor land use changes. This study adopted the well-known CLUE-S(Conversion of Land Use and its Effects at Small regional extent) model to analyze the spatio-temporal land use changes in a hot-spot in Northeast China(NEC). In total,13 driving factors were selected to statistically analyze the spatial relationships between biophysical and socioeconomic factors and individual land use types. These relationships were then used to simulate land use dynamic changes during 1980–2010 at a 1 km spatial resolution,and to capture the overall land use change patterns. The obtained results indicate that increases in cropland area in NEC were mainly distributed in the Sanjiang Plain and the Songnen Plain during 1980–2000,with a small reduction between 2000 and 2010. An opposite pattern was identified for changes in forest areas. Forest decreases were mainly distributed in the Khingan Mountains and the Changbai Mountains between 1980 and 2000,with a slight increase during 2000–2010. The urban areas have expanded to occupy surrounding croplands and grasslands,particularly after the year 2000. More attention is needed on the newly gained croplands,which have largely replaced wetlands in the Sanjiang Plain over the last decade. Land use change patterns identified here should be considered in future policy making so as to strengthen local eco-environmental security.

2000–2050年东北三省土地利用时空格局变化过程模拟及其生态服务影响研究（英文）

Land use and its dynamics have attracted considerable scientific attention for their significant ecological and socioeconomic implications.Many studies have investigated the past changes in land use,but efforts exploring the potential changes in land use and implications under future scenarios are still lacking.Here we simulate the future land use changes and their impacts on ecosystem services in Northeast China(NEC) over the period of 2000–2050 using the CLUE–S(Conversion of Land Use and its Effects at Small regional extent) model under the scenarios of ecological security(ESS),food security(FSS) and comprehensive development(CDS).The model was validated against remote sensing data in 2005.Overall,the accuracy of the CLUE–S model was evaluated at 82.5%.Obtained results show that future cropland changes mainly occur in the Songnen Plain and the Liaohe Plain,forest and grassland changes are concentrated in the southern Lesser Khingan Mountains and the western Changbai Mountains,while the Sanjiang Plain will witness major changes of the wetlands.Our results also show that even though CDS is defined based on the goals of the regional development plan,the ecological service value(ESV) under CDS is RMB 2656.18 billion in 2050.The ESV of CDS is lower compared with the other scenarios.Thus,CDS is not an optimum scenario for eco-environmental protection,especially for the wetlands,which should be given higher priority for future development.The issue of coordination is also critical in future development.The results can help to assist structural adjustments for agriculture and to guide policy interventions in NEC.