Each IGBP Transect has been designed around the variation of a major environmental factor as it influences terrestrial ecosystem structure and functioning. Most are organised around a gradient of either temperature or precipitation that varies continuously in geographical space. Transects are usually taken as tools for synthesis and integration. Synthesis and integration activities are essential for the practical application of transects research to management issues. Transect of the Yangtse River with obvious gradients both in the condition of physical environment and in the level of socioeconomic development is taken as a study area. There are 312 counties involving 11 provinces in the study area. Its total area amounts to 1.12 million km2. Land use transition refers to the changes in land use morphology, the overall pattern of actual land cover in a region at a given time, over time. It usually corresponds to the transition of regional socioeconomic development phase. The theoretical hypotheses of rural housing land transition are put forward as the following. That is the development of rural housing of every region should undergo some stages: the ratio of rural housing to increased settlements decreases gradually with the development of local economy, and the end of the transition corresponds to a new equilibrium between rural housing and other construction activities. Taking horizontal comparative research method, rural housing land transition in the study area is analyzed. Conclusions are drawn as follows: 1) In the period of 15 years from 1987 to 2001, the ratio of rural housing to increased settlements in five regions, divided according to the aggregation index of land use change, is generally decreased gradually from the upper reaches to the lower reaches. 2) Each region is in different rural housing land transition phases respectively, and it corresponds to its respective socioeconomic development level. The results successfully testified above theoretical hypotheses. Accordingly, the authors suggest that the state should set down uniform standard of rural housing according to the differentiation of socioeconomic development level and physical conditions instead of different provinces with its individual standard at present. Furthermore, aiming at the status quo of rural housing in the study area, corresponding regional policies should be set down according to their different rural housing land transition phases.
Brands are the mark of the enterprise products, its intension is a kind of value agreement which has been formed for a long time between enterprises and consumers. The value of brand reflects the market position, competitiveness, and advantage of the development of a certain product of enterprises. Value of the brand and its market achievement will influence the key competitiveness of enterprises directly, thus influencing the economic competitiveness of an area. The quantity and quality of regional famous brands will influence the development trend of this area, and therefore influence regional economic pattern of China. Based on the report of China Top 500 Brands, this paper analyzes regional distribution of China's top 500 brands. By analyzing regional distribution of brands of different industries, we explained the reason of the regional differences. Then we discussed how the regional differences of China's top 500 brands influence the regional economic development by correlation analysis of GDP and values of brands in 31 provinces. With an example from coastal region in China, we showed that values of brands are very important for regional economic development in the future. Based on the above analyses, we further drew some conclusions as follows: 1) Regional distribution of China's top 500 brands is coincident with the regional difference of economic development. The low-grade labor-intensive industries will be transferred from coast region to inland as more and more enterprises became cognizant of the importance of brands. 2) Values of brands are strongly correlated with regional economic development in China. A developing region can achieve faster increase by fostering competitive brands. 3) By studying the value of brands in three urban agglomerations in China, we found competitive brands are different in three urban agglomerations. Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration has more monopolizing brands; however, there is less regional cooperation. The Yangtze delta urban agglomeration has integrated regional cooperation and numerous foreign investments; however, it is unsuccessful in developing the local enterprises by using the investments from multinational firms. The Zhujiang delta urban agglomeration has numerous independent brands, but these brands are short of the supports from core technology and high grade labor.
Based on formal ImPACT identity which describes environmental impacts (Im) as a function of population(P), affluence(A), intensity use(C) and efficiency(T), a new “ImPACTS” identity as a framework for sustainability science was produced, where S denote the level of social resources, m is assigned to management and I is changed from formal environmental impacts to the trade-off between environmental impacts and development. Finally, we demonstrate the utility of ImPACTS by performing an empirical analysis of our integrated impacts assessment on the Earth by using existing data of Ecological footprint and Human development index. In an attempt to analyse the relationship between ecological footprint and social development using existing data, developed countries showed a great advantage over developing countries in terms of energy resource use efficiency due to their social and technological development. Global warming shows that humanity has gone beyond the sustainable scale of the Earth. We thus suggest that every country should increase its global share of ecological footprints within the sustainable scale of the Earth, rather than simply decrease its ecological footprints. The reason why current analysis contradicts the conventional ecological footprint analysis is that ecological footprint's concept simply considers the land embodied in goods and attributes a high ecological footprint value to high-income countries, and effects of trade on social development and in turn on the environment have not been considered. The ecological footprint analysis ignores the effects of development mainly in the stock of social resources on environment. The critical point in sustainable development is to harmonize environment and development. Examples from water shortage in northern China and China's food security and world energy consumption show that managing and mobilizing social resources should be considered as an alternative to mitigating human impacts on the environment and adapting to these impacts.
This paper conducts a quantitative estimation of sustainable development status in small watershed taking Heiniuhe river as an example. Thirty-one factors were chosen from three aspects of benefit remarkability (BR), resource and environment supportability (RES) and system functional stability (SFS) and evaluation indicator was built. The mean square difference method which has a relatively high precision was introduced to ensure the index weight, avoid the subjective judgment with artificial experience and improve the objectivity and accuracy. A two-step hierarchical indicator (BR, RES, SFS) evaluation model was built using multi-hierarchical synthetic method, and a drainage system integrated evaluation model was set up using multi-objective linear weight function method. The two-step hierarchical indicator and synthetic indicator were identified for evaluating sustainable development level of this watershed. Countermeasures and suggestions specially for small watershed sustainable development were put forward.
Watershed, a kind of complex huge system incorporating lots of constituents, demands proper methods to carry out integrated planning so as to guide its sustainable development. In this paper, an integrated approach, the Inexact Multiobjective Programming (IMOP) model is promoted to solve the problem. The IMOP improves upon the existing multiobjective programming methods, such as fuzzy/stochastic MOP methods. It can bring the system components into a single framework, and efficiently coordinate and optimize objectives. Also it can better address system uncertain features, especially considering that it allows uncertainty presented as interval numbers to be directly communicated into modeling process without necessarily known possibilistic or probabilistic information. IMOP is regarded as a useful tool for system analysis and optimization, and it has already been widely employed worldwide to solve many optimization problems. It can reconcile multiple and conflicting objectives scientifically and deal with the insufficient and inexact information effectively as well. At the meantime, watershed system is characterized by dynamic, multi-objective and information insufficiency. Therefore IMOP is suitable to the watershed planning and optimizing. Resting on the watershed's characteristics, the Inexact Multi-Objective Programming on Watershed Economic-Environmental System (IMOPWEES) model is built and applied to Lake Qionghai Basin, Sichuan Province. In the case study, the optimum schemes in different periods under different scenarios are obtained. Moreover, the aspects of the plant structure, tour-service structure, water resource allocation, pollutants discharging, forest expanding and soil erosion are particularly considered in the paper to demonstrate the results and the scenario analyses. The study fully indicates the effectiveness, practicality and operability of the IMOPWEES model and its applicability to the integrated planning of watersheds. Undoubtedly, it also provides a good means for the related researches.
Villages and towns, generally spaced 0.5 km apart, are densely distributed in suburban area of Suzhou city. Urbanization has been going on quickly for recent two decades in Suzhou region; the GDP ratio in 2003 is 18% higher than the previous year. Meanwhile, in the suburbs of Suzhou, the villages and small towns have been sprawling gradually in size. However, their spatial distribution form remains unchanged. This study mainly includes the following steps. First, we selected three sampling areas around Suzhou city from satellite images in the year 2000, with 172,145 and 73 villages and small towns in each sampling area, and the densities of villages and towns in sampling areas are 2.2, 4.2 and 3.6/km2 separately. Secondly, based on GIS software, we obtained an outline map of villages and towns in the three sampling areas in vector form, and calculated area for each village or town. We classified these 390 villages and small towns by their areas, and found that the area of most villages is at the range of ten thousand to seventy thousand m2. Thirdly, we extracted pattern information of short and long axes of polygons of villages and towns from each sampling area, and found out the average length is 121 m at short axis and 428 m at long axis in the whole study area. Comparing satellite images of 1986 with those of 2000, and with the aid of vector map, we can find out that the directions of long axes of villages and towns were mainly affected by river course in the past, and influenced obviously by road course in recent decade. Finally, depending on the distance values between villages or towns, we suggest that if the distance is shorter than 400 m, the smaller village should be merged into a bigger village or town nearby.
Based on the panel and serial statistical data, the main factors of regional urbanization and eco-environment coupling, temporal-spatial distribution of the coupling degrees have been researched. The results show: 1) Through grey associative degree analysis, it can be seen that the urban population transfer, economic growth, social service function and level are the main momentums for urbanization to affect eco-environment. Furthermore, the paper selects 16 items of urbanization and 10 items of eco-environment to reveal the coupling mechanism of regional urbanization and eco-environment. 2) The distribution of the coupling degrees basically conforms to the discrepant rule that the coupling degrees are lower in the eastern belt and the western belt, and higher in the middle with an inverse "U" shape. According to the coupling degree distributions and the stages of regional urbanization and economic development, the 31 provinces can be divided into four types, i.e., that are harmony, amelioration, confliction and low-level coupling, but the conflictive type is dominant, reaching 50%. 3) There exist significant phases and undulatory characteristics for the temporal evolvement of urbanization and eco-environment coupling, in which the former stage takes on inverse "U" shape and the latter stage rising curve shape.
The basic characteristics of Yinchuan as a central place city are diagnosed through the analysis of statistical data and questionnaire investigations, with the emphasis on the radiation range of traditional service center and the space-time characteristics of modern service industries. The statistics we collected include passenger and freight flows transported through different ways, and long-distance call flows. The field investigations were conducted on 2596 market customers, 46 house-purchasers of real estate development items, 10123 builders, 528 dining cars, and 858 middle school students. Then, two basic forms of central place system evolution, which influence the spatial structure of China's regional development, are studied theoretically, and the laws underlying service industry changes in regional central cities in recent years are concluded. The key points can be summarized into four groups: (1) the influential coverages of regional central cities depend mainly on their comprehensive strengths and economic links with other cities; (2) great differences in influential coverage exist between different cities providing service functions, and the difference is closely associated with the capacity contrast between central city and the region hosting it in providing service functions; (3) the law of distance decay of central place still exists, and the economic function of threshold is conspicuous; and (4) strengthening of the central city service functions depends on the constant structural upgrading of service industries. Finally, key measures towards strengthening the service functions of cities in western China are proposed.
This paper regards advertising industry as a service and production system with features of cultural economy. By applying the advertising industry classification system used by current professional practice in advertisement rather than by government statistical and management system, the authors establish and analyze the structure and characteristics of advertising industry based on a case study of Shenzhen. By using the tool of GIS, the authors identify and discuss the spatial distribution and clusters of Shenzhen advertising industrial units. Six cluster formation models, which are named as clients domination cluster, media dependent cluster, inter-firm linkage cluster, cost driven cluster, milieu driven cluster and social relationship cluster, are put forward and explained based on deep interviews with advertising agencies. The dynamics of advertising industrial development, esp. the advertising enterprises' existence, growth, location choice, spatial movement and regional strategy, are influenced by a sort of gaming triangle relationship formed by advertising agencies, clients and media as well as these three partners' geographical extension of development. Any change of any partner will influence the whole ecology of advertising industry in one city or region.
Spatial distribution of population density is crucial for analyzing the relationship among economic growth, environment protection and resource utilization. In this study, population density of China in 1998 at 1-km resolution grids was simulated by integrating DMSP/OLS non-radiance calibrated nighttime light image, SPOT/VEGETATION 10-day maximum NDVI data, population census data and vector data of county boundary. Not only the population density in light patches but also that out of them was estimated in four types of areas. For each area, in light patches, the model for population density estimation was developed based on the significant correlation between light intensity and population, and in "dark area", the models for population density estimation were developed based on Coulomb's law and field superposing theory. Compared with the existed methods for spatializing population density, our method is simpler and more cost saving. The result of the study is consistent with those of other researches on the whole, but the spatial difference is more distinct and the information is richer. The maximum population density simulated is 41096 persons/km2 and average population density at inhabitable area of China is 189 persons/km2. It indicates that the 1-km resolution non-radiance calibrated DMSP/OLS nighttime lights image has the potential to provide population density estimation at 1-km grids.
The ability to change scale is one of the main development topics in GIS and RS. GIS and image processing systems have offered some tools for multi-scale approaches. But the capabilities are limited. Scaling of multi-scale Geo-data is one of the suitable methods to deal with this problem. In this paper, the detailed review was done by comparing different methods in different research areas. Areal interpolation is the most important way to solve the scaling problems in GISci. And sociologists and economists have developed the small area statistics to solve the problem of the changing of the statistical units. And the review shows that there are some similar principles in different methodologies, and each one has its special pivots.
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The ecological condition is closely linked with landscape dynamics in the semi-arid area. In order to discuss ecological response of landscape dynamics, this paper chooses Loess Plateau of northern Shaanxi as a study area and analyses the relationship between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series of one year and landscape dynamics that consist of various landscape types and the components of landscape types. The result of NDVI estimation is obtained based on smooth curve characteristics such as growing season, peak season, the length of NDVI high period and low period, and maximum or minimum values.Spatial analysis methods can be used to obtain the distribution of landscape change. However, it is not enough to understand the interaction of landscape dynamics and regional ecological response. So we need to further study landscape dynamics by enhancing its resolution. Because the varieties of landscape types are not distinct enough to define in the study area, the study attempted to quantify the relationship between the components of landscape types and NDVI. According to the correlation analysis, we found that the curve style and relativity of NDVI and landscape are complex, landscape types could respond to the degree of NDVI at regional scale, but that also needs to integrate landscape dynamic types in drainage scale. In order to optimize landscape pattern by understanding the characteristics of landscape pattern and dynamics in the Loess Plateau exactly and its ecological response, this paper suggests enhancing basic data definition in temporal and spatial scales.
Based on the monitoring data collected from 40 monitoring wells at 9 sections in the lower reaches of the Tarim River, the regulation of groundwater chemical variations impacted by eco-water conveyance from May 2000 to November 2002 were studied. It indicates that the groundwater chemical characteristics have changed a lot, due to the impacts of five times intermittent water transport. At the beginning of the impact caused by water transferring, the concentration of main ions and total dissolved solid (TDS) in groundwater increased obviously; in the intermediate stage, the concentration decreased, the speed of the decrease is fast at first and then slow; and in the later stage, the major ions and TDS increased step by step. The movement mechanism of hydro-salinity is also analyzed in this article. Through the discussion of variation of groundwater chemical characteristics, it is found that the impact of eco-water conveyance on groundwater chemical characteristics is only to dilute the consistence, not reducing the amount of salinity. A series of engineering and managing measures should be taken to decrease groundwater salinity.
Based on spatial analysis function of GIS, spatial heterogeneity of groundwater mineralization and its relationship with land use dynamics in Minqin oasis of Shiyang river watershed were studied using semivariogram and ordinary Kriging of geostatistics in this paper. Spherical model was fit for both data sets in 1987 and 2001, and the results of an F-test showed that the difference was significant. The spatial heterogeneity of groundwater mineralization caused by random factors was very small, and that caused by automatic factors accounted for 99.9%. Results of mapping of groundwater mineralization by Kriging and comparison with landscape maps in the same period show that: the area with groundwater mineralization lower than 3.0 g/L decreased from 75.26% in 1987 to 58.54% in 2001, and the area with groundwater mineralization greater than 4.5g/L is distributed in Huqu, northern part of Minqin oasis. Also, area of farmland with groundwater mineralization greater than 3.0 g/L increased from 7.03% in 1987 to 14.32% in 2001.
Inorganic nitrogen fluxes at the sediment-water interface of seven typical sites in tidal flats of the Yangtze estuary had been determined seasonally during more than three years. The results revealed that the sediment-water exchanges of inorganic nitrogen appeared to be of complicated spatial differences and seasonal variations. The measured fluxes of NO-3-N and NH+4-N in the Yangtze estuary were higher than those in other estuaries, varying respectively from -32.82 to 24.13 mmol·m-2·d-1 and from -18.45 to 10.65 mmol·m-2·d-1. However, the fluxes of NO-2/sub>-N were very low, and only varied from -1.15 to 2.82 mmol·m-2·d-1. The spatial and seasonal differences between the upper and lower estuary for the NO-3-N fluxes were observed clearly, but the NH+4-N fluxes exhibited the spatial and seasonal differences between the south and north bank. It had been recognized that the NH+4-N exchange behavior was mainly controlled by the salinity, whereas the NO-3-N exchange behavior was influenced by the different combinations of the sediment grain size, nitrate concentration in overlying water, sediment organic matter content, water temperature and dissolved oxygen concentration.
The sediment deposition amount of the Yichang-Wuhan reach in the middle Yangtze River has been determined using the concept of sediment budget at channel-reach scale, based on which the fill-scour process of the middle Yangtze River in the period from 1956-1998 in response to the variation in sediment load and flow inputs has been studied. The results show that the studied river reach has a function of "more input, more output", and on average, 11.85% of the net input sediment was deposited in the studied river reach. Since 1956, the output sediment load of the studied reach had increased with time to 1980, followed by a decline. The increase before 1980 can be related with the decrease in the sediment load diverted through the three distributaries from the Yangtze main stream to the Dongtinghu Lake which is equivalent to the increase in the net sediment input, and with the man-made bend neck-cutoff, which increased the sediment-carrying ability of the river and thereby the river could transport more sediment to the outlet of the studied river reach. The decrease in the sediment load output after 1980 was directly related to the decrease in sediment load at Yichang station. A regression equation with data covering annual sediment amount of deposition in the Yichang-Hankou river reach and annual suspended load at Yichang station has been established, by which the critical suspended sediment load at Yichang station of 3×108 t/a was determined, and at which the Yichang-Hankou river reach might be in a non-fill, non-scour state.
