A process model for simulating net primary productivity (NPP) based on the interaction of water-heat process and nitrogen: a case study in Lantsang valley

Terrestrial carbon cycle and the global atmospheric CO2 budget are important foci in global climate change research. Simulating net primary productivity （NPP） of terrestrial ecosystems is important for carbon cycle research. In this study, a plant-atmosphere-soil continuum nitrogen （N） cycling model was developed and incorporated into the Boreal Ecosystem Productivity Simulator （BEPS） model. With the established database （leaf area index, land cover, daily meteorology data, vegetation and soil） at a 1 km resolution, daily maps of NPP for Lantsang valley in 2007 were produced, and the spatial-temporal patterns of NPP and mechanisms of its responses to soil N level were further explored. The total NPP and mean NPP of Lantsang valley in 2007 were 66.5 Tg C and 416 g？m-2？a-1 C, respectively. In addition, statistical analysis of NPP of different land cover types was conducted and investigated. Compared with BEPS model （without considering nitrogen effect）, it was inferred that the plant carbon fixing for the upstream of Lantsang valley was also limited by soil available nitrogen besides temperature and precipitation. However, nitrogen has no evident limitation to NPP accumulation of broadleaf forest, which mainly distributed in the downstream of Lantsang valley.

A review of non-agricultural land-use in peri-urbanization area:research progress and perspectives

The peri-urbanization area as a kind of rural-urban interface is changing rapidly ,physical, economlc and social terms. The land use pattern in such area is shifting away from the assumptions of mainstream paradigms to new conceptual landscapes, which leads to a series of problems on economic development and social stabilization. There are many researches on non-agricultural land-use in peri-urbanization area. In this paper both international and domestic research literature is reviewed by dividing six parts. The first part introduces the conception of peri-ur-banization area and its driver factors. Then in the second and the third part, the paper expatiates on the progress in the non-agricultural land-use in peri-urban area on land-use problems in the research area, while the fifth part reviews the integrating ways of non-agricultrual land-use. Finally, recommendations for further study are draw with specific reference to the current and future position of non-agricultural land-use study in peri-urban area.

Comparison of CO_(2) Effluxes and Their Driving Factors Between Two Temperate Steppes in Inner Mongolia, China

Soil respiration is a key component of the global terrestrial ecosystem carbon cycle. The static opaque chamber method was used to measure the CO2 effiuxes from soil of a semiarid Aneurolepidium chinense steppe and a Stipa krylovii steppe in the Xilin River Basin of Inner Mongolia, China from March 2002 to December 2004. The results indicated that the soil respiration rates of the semiarid Aneurolepidium chinense steppe and the Stipa krylovii steppe were both relatively high from mid-May to mid-September of each year and remained low during the rest of the year. The minimum value of soil respiration occurred in December or January and negative effiuxes of CO2 appeared for several days during the non-growing season of individual years at the two sampling sites. A high annual variation was found in the two steppes with the coefficients of variance （CV） being over 94%, even high to 131%. The annual sums of soil CO2 effiux of the Aneurolepidium chinense steppe varied between 356.4 gC m^-2 yr^-1 and 408.8 gC m^-2 yr^-1, while those of the Stipa krylovii steppe in the three years were in the range of 110.6 gC m^-2 yr^-1 to 148.6 g Cm^-2 yr^-1. The mean respiration rates of the Aneurolepidium chinense steppe were significantly higher than those of the Stipa krylovii steppe in different statistical periods with the exception of the non-growing season. About 59.9% and 80.6% of the soil respiration variations in both steppes for the whole sampling period were caused by the changes of temperature and soil water content. In the Aneurolepidium chinense steppe, the soil respiration rate has significant or extremely significant positive correlation （r = 0.58 - 0.85, p 〈 0.05 or p 〈 0.01） with air temperature and ground temperature of the topsoil except in 2002; the unique contributions of temperature change to the soil respiration variation of the three years were 53.3%, 81.0% and 58.6%, respectively. But, for the Stipa krylovii steppe in the same time interval, the soil water content （especially that of the 10-20 cm layer） has a greater effect on the change of soil respiration, and the unique contributions of the change of the 10-20 cm soil water content to the variations of soil respiration in 2002 and 2003 were 60.0% and 54.3%, respectively. In 2004, in spite of the higher contribution of temperature than soil water content, the contribution of ground temperature at a depth of 10 cm was only 46.2%, much weaker than that of any single year in the Aneurolepidium chinense steppe.

Accumulation and Fractionation of Rare Earth Elements in Soil-Rice Systems

Accumulation and fractionation of rare earth elements （REEs） were studied through applications of exogenous REEs in soils with pot-cultured rice for 2 years. The results show that the biomass of rice consistently decreases at sprouting and maturity stages when the amount of exogenous REEs are over 400 mg· kg^- 1. It illustrates that the endurance of rice to exogenous REE exposure is much weaker than that of wheat. The distribution patterns of REEs in rice of the control are similar to that in the soil, both exhibiting light REE （LREE） enrichment and positive Tb in the roots and the aboveground parts. Applications of exogenous REEs ranging from 400 to 1200 mg· kg^- 1 have significant effects on the distribution patterns of REEs in roots, some effects in stems and leaves, and almost no effects in grains. Accumulation rates of REEs in different organs follow the order of roots 〉 leaves 〉 stems 〉 panicle axes and crusts 〉 grains. The roots take up different REEs at almost the same rates, except for the selective accumulation of Th. In the aboveground parts, the accumulation rates of middle REEs （MREEs） and heavy REEs （HREEs） are higher than those of LREEs, there are significant selective accumulations of Eu and Tb. Accumulation rates of REEs in the roots, stems and leaves increase with the increasing applications of exogenous REEs, but they change slightly in the panicle axes, crusts and grains, demonstrating that it is easier for the roots, stems and leaves to accumulate exogenous REEs. Selective accumulation and fractionation of exoge nous Nd are also observed in rice organs including grains.

Expansion of Urban Space and Land Use Control in the Process of Urbanization: an Overview

Urban expansion brought by the rapid progress of urbanization has caused many problems in China. It is a significant issue to evaluate the extent of urban expansion and to make appropriate controls over the sprawl of urban areas. With a comparative study of international experiences, this article analyzed the mechanism and consequences of urban expansion, reviewed the typical planning and financial policies adopted by other countries for controlling urban sprawl, and discussed the suitable densities of urban areas. The analysis results suggested that Chinese cities have no better choice but compact urban forms. To achieve the goal of compact development, intensive use of public transportation and high proportion of collective houses should be encouraged, and 60–100 m2 per capita is recommended as the reasonable range of urban density in large cities.

Spatial distribution of vegetation and the influencing factors in Qaidam Basin based on NDVI

The spatial distribution of vegetation in Qaidam Basin was analyzed using GIMMS（Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies） /NDVI（Normalized Difference Vegetation Index） data set from January 1982 to December 2006.Based on the data of precipitation,terrain,stream systems,land use and the map of vegetation distribution in Qaidam Basin,we studied the factors influencing the spatial distribution of vegetation.The results showed that the vegetation was generally low in Qaidam Basin and there was a clear semi-ring structure from southeast to northwest.In some areas,the existence of rivers,lakes and spring belts turned this semi-ring structure into a non-continuous state and formed distinct bright spots and continuous linear features.There were four main factors that affected the spatial distribution of vegetation coverage in Qaidam Basin,i.e.,precipitation,hydrological conditions,altitude and human activities.Precipitation and altitude have a correlation and determine the basic pattern of vegetation distribution in Qaidam Basin.The impacts of hydrological conditions and human activities were mainly embodied in partial areas,and often broke the pattern of vegetation distribution dominated by precipitation and altitude.

The Grain-population Relationship and the Effect of Main Food Producing Areas in China

With the increase of global population,grain-population relationship has attracted great attention worldwide.In China,grain-population relationship has become an increasingly important economic concern.Of central importance to the food security debate in China is the geography of grain supply and demand.This paper uses a grain demand and supply index (DSR) to analyze the spatial-temporal relationship between population and grain in China from 1949 to 2007 at national and provincial scales.The results are examined in three periods.(1) From 1949 to 2007,with the increase of grain production,the relationship between population and grain of China improved considerably.(2) Over the past 35 years (1970-2005),on the whole the grain producing areas have had grain surplus and contributed to the nation by providing grain,but the ability to provide sufficient grain is not stable.(3) Over the past 15 years (1990-2005),decreases in planting area brought pressure on national grain food security.The paper concludes that the key to providing more food for the main food producing provinces is increasing yield on the basis of steady plant area.

Profile of Methane Concentrations in Soil and Atmosphere in Alpine Steppe Ecosystem on Tibetan Plateau

The methane concentration profile from -1.5m depth in soil to 32m height in air was measured in alpine steppe lo-cated in the permafrost area. Methane concentrations showed widely variations both in air and in soil during the study period. The mean concentrations in atmosphere were all higher than those in soil, and the highest methane concentration was found in air at the height of 16m with the lowest concentration occur-ring at the depth of 1.5m in soil. The variations of atmospheric methane concentrations did not show any clear pattern both temporally and spatially, although they exhibited a more steady-stable state than those in soil. During the seasonal variations, the methane concentrations at different depths in soil were sig-nificantly correlated (R2>0.6) with each other comparing to the weak correlations (R2<0.2) between the atmospheric concentra-tions at different heights. Mean methane concentrations in soil significantly decreased with depth. This was the compositive influence of the decreasing production rates and the increasing methane oxidation rates, which was caused by the descent soil moisture with depth. Although the methane concentrations at all depths varied widely during the growing season, they showed very distinct temporal variations in the non-growing season. It was indicated from the literatures that methane oxidation rates were positively correlated with soil temperature. The higher methane concentrations in soil during the winter were deter-mined by the lower methane oxidation rates with decreasing soil temperatures, whereas methane production rates had no reaction to the lower temperature. Relations between methane contribution and other environmental factors were not discussed in this paper for lacking of data, which impulse us to carry out further and more detailed studies in this unique area.

Analyzing and Pondering on the Regulation of Urban Construction Land Expansion

Along with the economic development and the acceleration of urbanization,urban construction land expands rapidly in China,and has resulted in a series of socio-economic problems.This article summarized the major points of controlling the unchecked and rash expansion of construction land in the academic circle,and analyzed the problems of regulating the expansion of construction land from three aspects.First,this article analyzed the relationships between socio-economic development and urbanization from the historical viewpoints,and pointed out that the expansion of construction land is a historical phenomenon which will be surely appeared in the development of human race.Second,the authors utilized two-sector model to analyze the importance of urbanization in the socio-economic development from the academic angles.At last,the authors utilize four-quadrant model and bidrent curve model to analyze the influence that brought by the strict control of construction land expansion.Through analysis,this article drew some conclusions.First,the expansion of construction land is a phenomenon which will surely appear in the social development.It is impossible to accomplish the national modernization on the basis of dualistic structure between urban and rural areas.Second,under the function of rent gradient gap,strict control of construction land expansion will not only obtain the anticipated effects,but also cause a series of socio-economic problems,such as land-levying contradiction,the appearance of limited property right house,and being dependant on lease instead of expropriation.Third,unreasonable policies and governmental behaviors are the roots of the unchecked and rash expansion of urban construction land.Based on these conclusions,this article proposed that three transformations should be realized to regulate the unchecked and rash expansion of construction land:transfers from quantity regulation to quality regulation,from direct regulation to indirect regulation,and from single-measure regulation to multi-measures regulation.

The Sustainable Development of ICTs in China:An Empirical Study of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

The wide application of new information and communication technologies(ICTs) has been argued to be critical to business success of small and medium-sized enterprises(SMEs) ,especially to those in the developing countries.Drawing upon existing literature,this article will examine the determinants of ICTs application in SMEs in China based on data collected from interviews with top managers and/or owners of 70 SMEs.We identify 20 factors affecting ICTs application in SMEs in China and divide them into four broad categories,namely pressures,firm specific factors,technical factors and local milieu.We also pay special attention to the Chinese business environment affecting ICTs application.Our analysis shows that local ICT infrastructure,external pressures from competitors and ICT knowledge of employees are the determinants of Internet application by SMEs,while product characteristics and market target are important factors of e-commerce adoption.

Function Zoning of the Major Function Development-optimized County:A Case in Shangyu,Zhejiang

The 11th Five Year Plan has divided national functional zones in the basic unit of county-level administrative region.After implementation of national Major Function-oriented Zones (MFOZ) at prefecture and county levels,the spatial development sequence must be specified,development intensity must be limited,oriented zones must be designated and "red line" areas of spatial governance must be defined.In view of the above,choosing a typical county area and exploring its functional zoning after orienting its major functions will supply reference for carrying out the national spatial planning in the 12th Five Year Period,and it will also provide experience for the study of function regionalization which is the theme of MFOZ in the present academic circles.In this paper,the authors take Shangyu County as an example to study the general principles,train of thought of county-level functional regionalization in development-optimized areas,and to explore its reasonable functional zoning plan.Consequently,the authors present five principles and suggest a function-oriented zoning plan with 2 levels and 4 types.

Benefit Assessment of Forest Function in Reducing Soil Erosion and Nutrient Loss in Anji County of Taihu Lake Basin

The non-point source pollution arising from soil erosion is one of the main reasons for the deterioration of the water quality of the Taihu Lake Basin. Forest plays an important role in controlling soil erosion and reducing nutrient loss. Based on the survey data on forest resources in Anji County, we estimate the amount of soil erosion and nutrient loss of nitrogen and phosphorus reduced by forest, using soil erosion modulus method and soil nutrient content. In accordance with the degradation coefficient of pollutant and regional compensation standards of environmental resources, we assess the ecological benefits of forest function in reducing nutrient loss of nitrogen and phosphorus in Anji County. The results show that the forest in Anji County can reduce the soil erosion amount at 1.51 million t annually on the average, so as to control the nutrient loss of 1 409 t of total nitrogen and 577 t of total phosphorus in soil, equivalent to annually avoiding the flow of 824 t of total nitrogen and 410 t of total phosphorus into river water; this ecological service function can make forests in Anji County get 92.55 million yuan of ecological compensation funds (about 688 yuan/hm2·a), equivalent to 15 times of the current ecological compensation standard (47 yuan/hm2). The study reveals the importance of forest function in controlling soil erosion and nutrient loss in the upper reaches of Taihu Lake Basin to water environment protection in the basin, conducive to carrying out pollution control and protection work of the water environment in the basin.

China's Land Carrying Capacity Based on Man-grain Relationships

With population growth and increasing pressure on land resources,land carrying capacity(LCC) and food safety have been attracting great attention worldwide.From the point of man-grain relationship and by establishing LCC and land carrying capacity index(LCCI) models,this article firstly analyzes the spatial-temporal dynamics of LCC of China from 1949 to 2005 at county,provincial and national levels.Choosing 2005 as a representative year,this article then evaluates the LCC of 264 pastoral regions(semipastoral regions),663 urban regions and 592 poverty stricken regions of the country.The results show that:(1) from 1949 to 2005,with the increase of grain production,the LCC of China has been improved conspicuously,but due to the rapid population growth,the production can only maintain a low level grain consumption;(2) over the past 25 years(1980-2005),the number of population overloading provinces decreased from 23 to 15 and the mangrain relationship has been improved gradually,but there were more overloading provinces than surplus provinces in China;(3) at county level,there were 1572 overloading counties in 1980 accounting for 68.26% of the total counties of the country and where were 649 million people lived,while in 1990,2000 and 2005,the number of overloading counties were 1066,1133 and 1087 respectively,which shows that the man-grain relationship has been improved obviously during the past 25 years;as for spatial distribution,the surplus counties were mainly concentrated in agriculture developed regions,such as Northeast Plain,North China Plain,middle and lower Reaches of the Yangtze River Plain,and overloading counties were mainly located in regions with poor natural environment and low grain production capacity,such as Northwest China,Tibetan Plateau and Loess Plateau and economically developed urban regions,such as Beijing,Tianjin and Shanghai;(4) animal husbandry improved greatly the LCC of pastoral and semi-pastoral regions,while urban regions were overloading for increasing population pressure and more than half of poverty stricken regions were overloading due to critical natural environment and poor economic conditions.

Dike Breach Risks of Different Flood Conditions in the Lower Yellow River

Based on the analysis of hanging rivers' actuality in the lower Yellow River and researches related to the evaluation of dike breach risks,it is put forward that the influencing factors of dike beach risks in the lower Yellow River should involve four aspects,the flow and sediment movement,the regional crustal stability,the variation of river regime and the stability of river dikes.With this,the evaluation indexes system of dike breach risks is established,and with the support of geographic information systems technology,the model of multi-hierarchical fuzzy comprehensive judgment is applied to estimate the dike beach risks of the hanging rivers in the lower Yellow River under different flood conditions.The evaluation results of dike breach risks show the following distributing regularities of dike breach risks in the lower Yellow River:(1) Dike breach risks increase with the increase of the flood.(2) Dike breach risks decrease with the changes of river patterns along the channel.(3) There are great risks of dike breach in the wandering reaches,and it is relatively higher in the south bank than in the north in wandering reaches.(4) There is a higher dike breach risk in the north bank than in the south in winding reaches.Simultaneously,the evaluation results manifest that the evaluation indexes system established from the flow and sediment movement,the regional crustal stability,the variation of river regime and the stability of river dikes can represent the actual situation of the lower Yellow River more comprehensively.The application of multihierarchical fuzzy comprehensive judgment can preferably resolve the problem of hanging river dike breach,which has numerous influencing factors and complicated functionary mechanisms.The applications of geographic information systems technology with powerful spatial analysis functions make dike beach risks quantificationally displayed in different spatial positions,and reflect the differences of dike beach risks in different spatial positions of the channel in the lower Yellow River.

Comprehensive Assessment on Tourism Eco-environment of Gansu Province Based on Spatial Data

The article studies tourism eco-environment of 14 cities of Gangsu Province, China, based on GIS with many kinds of multi-subject spatial database, such as remote sensing data, observation data and literature data. The research results were as follows. First, spatial features of 14 cities' tourism eco-environment are displayed with five levels of vulnerability respectively. The vulnerability in Gansu becomes worse from Gannan City, located in southern Gansu to Hexi Corridor which lies in northwestern Gansu. Second, the areas of above the middle vulnerability level make up 75% of the total areas of Gansu Province. Third, more than 70% of high-level human and natural tourism resources are in the areas with high vulnerability eco-environment. Fourth, it is crucial to develop comprehensive tourism industry in order to improve the harmonious development between tourism industry and eco-environment in Gansu Province.

The Effect of the Geomorphologic Type as Surrogate to the Time Factor on Digital Soil Mapping

Many environmental variables are frequently used to predict values of soil in locations where they are not measured. Digital soil mapping (DSM) has a long-standing convention to describe soils as a function of climate, organisms, topography, parent material, time and space. It is obvious that terrain, climate, parent material and organisms are used frequently in the prediction of soil properties while time and space factors are rarely used. Time is the indirect factor for the formation and development of soil. Moreover, it is very useful to explicit and implicit estimates of soil age for DSM. However, it is often difficult to obtain time factor. In the absence of explicit soil age data, geomorphologic data are commonly related to soil relative age. Consequently, this study adopts the geomorphologic types (genesis type of geomorphology) as surrogate to the time factor and analyzes its effect on DSM. To examine this idea, we selected the Ili region of northwestern China as the study area. This paper uses geomorphologic data from a new digital geomorphology map as the implicit soil age in predictive soil mapping. For this study, Soil-landscape inference model (SoLIM) was used to predict soil properties based on the individual representation of each sample. This model applies the terrain (topography), climate, parent material (geology) and time (geomorphologic type) to predict soil values in the study area where they are not measured. And the independent sample validation method was used to estimate the precision of results. The validation result shows that the use of geomorphologic data as surrogate to the time factor in the individual representation leads to a considerable and significant increase in the accuracy of results. In other words, implicit estimates of soil age by genesis type of geomorphology are very useful for DSM. This increase was due to the high purity of the geomorphologic data. This means that the geomorphologic variable, if used, can improve the quality of DSM. Predicted value through the proposed approach comes closer to the real value.

Regional Disparities in China's Mainland at Provincial Level Between 2000 and 2005

Based on the methodology provided by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development,we analyze regional disparities in China's mainland at provincial level between 2000 and 2005.It regards regional GDP growth as the joint result of contribution of a number of factors,i.e.capital productivity,capital per manpower,specialization,employment rate,active population,and population.The results show that for all provincial units,capital per manpower is a dominant contributing factor to the growth of GDP per capita during the period from 2000 to 2005 while capital productivity has quite significant negative impacts.Specialization contributes differently in different provinces.In most provincial units,employment rate and age activity have a positive impact on growth of GDP per capita,though not very significantly.

China Lags behind in Marine Resources Technology

With the growing need for resources brought about by economic development, countries throughout the world have attached greater importance to the development and exploitation of marine resources.However,the scope and sphere of marine resources development are limited by the development level of marine resources technology.This paper introduces the achievements and problems of China’s marine resources development and exploitation,as well as the achievements,advantages and disadvantages in the scientific and technological development of our marine resources.It also discusses the general aims,key fields,preferred options and advanced techniques in the development of marine resources technology during the 11th Five-Year Plan,and offers policy suggestions for enhancing the creative abilities of marine resources technology.

Tourism spatial reconstruction of Chengde City under the influence of Holiday Tourism Circle of Beijing

Holiday Tourism Circle of Beijing (HTCB) is one of the nine key regions of Chinese tourism industry in the period of the 11th Five-Year Project. According to Tourist Marginal Utility Theory, Time-Distance Method is used to define HTCB in this paper. Chengde City, famous for its cultural tourism, is regard as one of the regions in Holiday Tourism Circle of Beijing. And this geographical advantage, in the context of the boom of tourism in China, is featured by the changes of tourist product structure and development model. In this paper, the influence upon Chengde tourism spatial structure has been discussed from tourist market, location and transportation. Chengde tourism spatial structure has been rebuilt with particular references to the factors of tourism destination district, tourist area, nodes, routes, and origin markets. In this paper, Chengde will develop tourism industry with the central heritage area as the center and northern forest and pasture area and southern mountain and lake area as the two wings.

Impact of Irrigation Methods on Soil Salt Content and Their Differences in Whole Cotton Growing Season in Arid Area of Northwest China

Research for changes of soil water and salt is an important content of land sciences and agriculture sciences in arid and semi arid regions. In this paper, sampling in actual agricultural fields, laboratory analysis of soil samples and statistical analysis methods are used to quantitatively analyze soil salinity changes under different ir- rigation methods throughout the cotton growing season in Shihezi reclamation area. The results show that irrigation methods play an important role in soil salt content in the surface soil （0-20 cm） and sub-deep soil （40-60 cm）, fol- lowed by deep soil layer （60-100 cm） and root soil layer （20-40 cm）. Furrow irrigation yields the maximum soil salt content in deep layer （60-100 cm） or sub-deep layer （40-60 cm） and the maximum salinity occurs in the first half of the cotton growing season （June or earlier）. In contrast, drip irrigation yields the maximum soil salinity in the root layer （20-40 cm） or sub-deep （40-60 cm）, and this usually appears in the second half growing season （July or af- ter）. The ratio of chloride ion to sulfate ion （Cl-/SO2- 4） and its change in the soil are on the rise under furrow irrigation while the value first increased and then decreased with a peak point in June under drip irrigation. This suggests that furrow irrigation may shift the type of soil salinization to chloride ion type moreso than drip irrigation. Potassium and sodium ion contents of the soil show that soil sodium＋potassium content will drop after the first rise under furrow irrigation and the value is manifested by fluctuations under drip irrigation. Potassium＋sodium content change is relatively more stable in the whole cotton growth period under irrigation methods. The maximum of sodium and potassium content of the soil usually occur in deep soil layer （60-100 cm） or sub-deep soil layer （40-60 cm） in most sample points under furrow irrigation while it is inconsistent in different sample points under drip irrigation. A non- parametric test for paired samples is used to analyze differences of soil salt content under different irrigation methods. This analysis shows that the impact of irrigation on soil salinity is most significant in July, followed by August, June, May, and April in most sample points. The most significant impact of irrigation methods occurs in the surface soil layer （0-20 cm）, followed by deep layer （60-100 cm）, root layer （20-40 cm） and sub-deep （40-60 cm）. These conclusions will be benefitial for mitigation of soil salinization, irrigation and fertilization and sustainable land use.