Driving factors of forest landscape change in Yiluo River basin

The expansion of agriculture is posited as one of the main dynamics of forest landscape change globally, and the robust modeling of these processes is important for policy as well as academic concern. This paper concerns a relatively small area of Yiluo River catchment where considerable attention has been paid to slow down the process of the expansion of agriculture into the remaining natural forests. In the present study, we reconstructed the former forest landscape structure and elucidated the landscape change during a period of about 15 years. Three sets （1987, 1996 and 2002） of maps derived from Landsat-5 images were used for analyses. The result showed that there was a decrease in the area of the forest landscape from 995.60 km2 in 1987 to 650.50 km2 in 2002. Then we examined the degree to which forest landscape conversion could be attributed to a set of factors identified as significant at broader scales, namely topography, distribution of the village clusters （centroids）, distance from villages （centroids）, and distance from forest edge （1987）. By using ＂spatial analysis＂ in Arc/gis 8.3, the correlation between forest landscape change and driving factors was constructed. This study found that forest landscape conversion in this region was largely explained by elevation, slope and proximity to village.

Areal differentiation of spermatophytic flora in Henan Province

Henan province, located between 110°21＇E-116°39＇E and 31°23＇N-36°22＇N, stretches from warm-temperate to subtropical transitional zone. Its special position and resultant varied physical conditions, in its long geologic history, give rise to not only a rich but also complex and prominently transitional flora. Therefore, in-depth study of the floristic areal differentiation is of importance to Chinese florilization and in accurately drawing the boundary of warm-temperate and subtropic zones in China. Based on the recent floristic data, this paper conducts comparison and analysis of the floristic difference and resemblance among the Dabie, Tongbai, Funiu and Taihang Mts. in Henan province. The result shows that the Dabie and the Tongbai Mts. have the similar flora components, the northern and the southern slopes of the Funiu Mts. have identical flora, but the Taihang Mts. stand alone in their floristic character. Therefore these mountainous areas should be grouped into three floral regions in China： the Dabie and the Tongbai Mts. belong to East China Floral Region, the Taihang Mts. to North China Floral Region, and the two slopes of the Funiu Mts.to Central China region.