Soil is an important natural resource that humans rely on and civilization is based upon. As the critical component of the Earth's critical zone, pedosphere is most active in Earth's surface system. Moreover, soil processes are considered as the control point for the flows and transformations of material, energy and information. In wake of the increasing attention to soil's multi-functions, traditional soil concept on its functions and roles is being challenged. Therefore, the concept of soil security is proposed, which is a strategic framework with the aim of soil sustainable development, and it can provide guidelines for the sustainable utilization and conservation of soil resources. In this review, the connotations of Earth's critical zone and soil security, and the difference and close relationship between each other are discussed. The ecosystem services in the framework of soil security are summarized. Finally, perspectives on future soil security research needs in the context of ecosystem services are proposed.
Rapid urbanization undergoing in China has caused, and will continue to cause tremendous changes of rural settlements. Regions at various stages of economic development and with various geographical backgrounds may witness different changing patterns. This paper uses data of rural settlements covering 84 years from 1929 to 2013 in a county-level city -- Gongyi in Henan province, China, to examine whether such changes in a traditional rural area have evolved towards the urban structure. As Gongyi was one of the earliest areas of rural industries in China, its rapid industrial growth since the 1980s has dramatically transformed the traditional characteristics of rural settlements. By employing Zipf's index, fractal dimension and Gini coefficient, and village data in the county, we have found that: first, Zipf's indexes based on village sizes of the past 84 years were generally much smaller than results based on cities, but with higher speed. The larger settlements were less prominent, but increasing fast in past two decades. Second, fractal dimensions were big but delaying. The larger size in the settlements, the faster increase in their population. Third, Gini coefficient was small but significantly increasing, especially accelerating after the 1990s. Fourth, the spatial patterns have gradually changed from linear concentration pattern along the Yiluo River to more balanced patterns over the plain and the hills. The increases in large settlements and their sizes, were forming hierarchy of the central place in market principles. Along with the process of urbanization, centralization of population leads to changing patterns of rural settlements, with the first rank settlement dominating rank size hierarchy in a region.
Strategy transformation regionalization for the agricultural comprehensive development (ACD) was presented by Ministry of Finance of the People's Republic of China (MOF) in 2014. It is the premise and basis of the adaptation to the requirement of insisting sustainable development and improving competitive power in the new situation of agriculture. Based on the environment factors related to agriculture, like cropland, climate, water resource, terrain, geomorphology, project pattern, ecology, etc., we built 13 indices using the geographic comprehensive regionalization method. The indices are considered in the combination of dynamic and static, qualitative and quantitative, as well as agricultural and ecological factors. Also, the reasonable and operable technique flow was presented for the regionalization. Finally, this paper gave the strategy transformation regionalization for ACD in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China. The regionalization included seven types (prioritized, protective, restricted regions and four transitional types including prioritized and restricted, protective and restricted region, restricted and prioritized, restricted and protective regions) and 24 subtypes. The regionalization results showed that prioritized regions are mainly in the northern Ningxia, which is the best region for agriculture. The protective and restricted regions are in the central and southern Ningxia. In the central Ningxia, drought is the limiting factor for agriculture, and water saving projects should be supported. The ecological environment is fragile in the southern Ningxia, so the ecological agriculture should be applied. This regionalization was presented for two goals: agricultural conservation and eco-environmental protection. This research is the requirement of scientific regionalization including three types of regions (prioritized, protective, restricted regions) presented by the MOF, and it is also applied at the town scale in the provincial or autonomous region for the first time. This study can be an important basis for the overall layout of the strategy transformation for the ACD. It not only presents the foundation of the application of the strategy transformation for the ACD in Ningxia, but also gives the reference to other provinces for the regionalization of the ACD.
In this paper, we discussed a theoretical framework based on analysis of provincial eco-compensation difference and presented the measurement methods. Via the use of coefficient of variation, Atkinson index, and Gini coefficient, we probed the overall differences of Chinese provincial eco-compensation time series data from 2004 to 2011 and studied the driving mechanism underlying such differences. Results show that: (1) The provincial eco-compensation standard has geographical features. For example, the provinces crossed by the "HU Huanyong Line" or located to its northwestern side have obtained extensive eco-compensation. (2) The eco-compensation difference presents an increasing trend, but with some fluctuations in 2006 and 2009 by coefficient of variation, in 2005, 2007 and 2011 by Gini coefficient, in 2007, 2008 and 2011 by Atkinson index. (3) Time series curves indicate that while the three signals (coefficient of variation, Atkinson index, and Gini coefficient) differ in the short-term analysis, they show the same tendency in the longer term. The results indicate that it is necessary to evaluate the eco-compensation difference at provincial level for a long period of time. (4) Via the calculation of the virtual Gini coefficient, we found that, among the factors that influence provincial eco-compensation difference, the economic value of eco-resources plays a decisive role, explaining more than 73% of the difference. The cost of environmental pollutant governance is the second most important factor, contributing to more than 19% of the difference. The input to environmental pollution amelioration has the least influence, contributing to less than 8% of the difference. The research results agree with facts and other researches, and could give references to policy makers.
In today's world, the innovation of science and technology has become the key support for improving comprehensive national strength, also the strong lead for changing the mode of social production and lifestyle. Which country has world-class scientific and technological innovation cities maximizes the attraction to global innovation factors. Which country maximizes the attraction to global innovation factors wins strategic initiative in international competition. Based on urban ZIP code spatial database, the evaluation system of urban innovation was established in the perspective of innovation output, and the spatial evolutionary mode, which is concerning the structure of innovation space of Shanghai and Beijing from 1991 to 2014, was discussed. The results of the research indicated that ZIP districts provided a fresh perspective to study the growth of spatial structure of urban innovation. And the result, which is of the evaluation of spacial structure of urban innovation using urban ZIP code spatial database established by connecting random edge points and Voronoi, was relatively ideal. So the promotional value exists. During the 25 years, the growth of spatial structure of innovation of Shanghai and Beijing demonstrated a lot of common features: with the increase of urban space units participated in innovation year by year, although the overall gap of regional innovation output has narrowed, the trend of spatial agglomeration has strengthened. The growth of spatial structure of innovation of Shanghai and Beijing demonstrated the differences among common features during the 25 years as well: in the trend of the suburbanization of innovation resources, the spatial structure of innovation of Shanghai indicated that the driver has evolved from the single-core driver to the multi-core resonance evolution. Radiation effect using traffic arteries as spatial diffusion corridors was prominent. Accordingly, the spatial correlation effect of its innovation output also indicated the city center hollowness; the spatial structure of innovation of Beijing was single-core (the city center) oriented structure all the way. In the trend that innovation resources were agglomerated in the center, the spatial correlation effect of innovation output indicated the characteristics of the evolutionary feature where "rural area encircles cities". The spatial structure of innovation of Shanghai and Beijing has intrinsic consistency with the spatial structure of their respective regions (Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration), which suggested that the principle of proportional and disproportional distribution of city-scale pattern of technological and innovational activities is closely related to its regional innovation pattern.
The rational space division of producer services in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei metropolitan region plays an extremely important role in promoting coordinated and integrated regional development. In this research, we use the prefecture-level panel data of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei metropolitan region for the period of 2003-2012 to estimate the spatial characteristics and industrial features of the producer service division in the region. We also estimate the spatial spillover effects of various producer service industries among the cities on the basis of a spatial panel econometric model. The main conclusions can be drawn as follows. (1) Beijing and Tianjin exhibit diversification in the division system of their producer services, whereas 11 cities in Hebei Province show specialization, mostly focusing on the development of their financial service and transportation sectors. (2) The division index of the producer services between Beijing and Tianjin is relatively low, and the producer service structures of these cities show a convergence trend. (3) The division indexes of the financial, business, and information service sectors in the region are relatively high, whereas those of the technology and real estate service sectors are significantly low. (4) The spillover effects of the real estate and technology service sectors with a low division index are remarkable. However, as a result of the limitation of transaction cost and the demand for "face-to-face" contact, the spatial spillovers perform best at a distance of around 150 km. When the distance goes beyond this specified range, the spatial spillovers are evidently reduced. The spillover effects of the transportation, finance service, and business service sectors with a high division index are not significant and should improve the industrial linkage between cities in the future. The scope of the spatial effect of the information service sector is exceedingly limited, as it only reflects the correlation among neighboring cities. Results of this study demonstrate that spatial spillover performs satisfactorily, whereas the localization of the service sector is poor.
Public service facilities land is the main part of urban land system. The agglomeration and diffusion of it can reveal the evolution of urban spatial structure and urban center features in a more direct way. This paper focuses on the central city of Changchun. Using GIS software and topographic data and urban land use maps from 2003 to 2013, we calculate the kernel density, as well as patch density and cohesion indexes, and explore the temporal-spatial features and mechanisms of the evolution of public service spaces. The main results obtained in this paper can be summarized as follows. First, the growth rate of the public service land is lower than that of the built-up area. And the ratio of the public service land to the built-up area is slightly lower than it was before. Second, the evolution of the public service land in each circle area clearly shows spatial differences. Third, the pattern of the public service land changes significantly. The space interaction shifted from the diffusion force to cohesive force. The spatial structure turned from the simplification core area plus multi-sub-centers area to the diversification core area plus multi-sub-centers area. The spatial pattern changed from the large range dispersion plus small scale concentration to the large scale concentration plus small range dispersion. Fourth, different types of public service facilities land show different evolution characters. Fifth, the evolution of the public service spaces is forced by the overall improvement of urban functional spaces, coupling action of the main functional spaces, competition in the urban land market, upgrade of the transportation network, regulation of the urban plan, and promotion of urban great events.
Centrality and power show important network structure characteristics of a major city. However, research on the city network often ignores the connection and the differences between these concepts. We explain the basic concepts underpinning both centrality and power. We introduce two concepts: recursive centrality and recursive power, to describe degree centrality and betweenness centrality as applied to a city's position and power in a network, respectively. We form a complete set of relational data based on a matching relationship between Chinese auto parts supply and demand in 2009. Finally we review China's urban network topology characteristics, such as node distribution and link relationships, and identify the relationship between the center and the power index. Empirical studies show that (1) the Chinese city network (based on auto parts supply and demand) is of low density, polycentric, and is characterized by the "rich club". (2) Shanghai, Changchun, Beijing, Chongqing and Shiyan show the highest level of centrality in their city networks within the six major auto industry regions (northeast China, Beijing-Tianjin, central China, Sichuan-Chongqing, and the Yangtze River Delta). (3) There are six major network power city clusters in China: the Yangtze River Delta, Beijing-Tianjin, Shandong Province, Guangxi autonomous region, Hubei Province, and Sichuan-Chongqing. Among them, the Yangtze River Delta is the most powerful one. (4) With regards to measuring centrality and power in a network, recursive centrality and recursive power are both discernible and accurate. (5) City network distribution features can be classified as either core cities, with high centrality and high power, or peripheral cities, with low centrality and low power. The damping effect of distance influences the degree of connection within a city. Other relationships exist, such as center city clusters, with high center and low power, and powerful gateway cities, with low centrality and high power.
Sociospatial justice is a long-standing theme in geography. This paper presents a new, integrated analytical framework for interpreting housing rights, housing differentiation and housing justice in post-reform China. It makes both methodological and empirical contributions to the literature related to the right to the city and urban China geography. Methodologically, the proposed framework employs latest methods of structural equation modeling (SEM) to test complex structural relationships among different processes of housing differentiation, and uses a strategy inspired by the Pratt index of relative importance to obtain quantitative scores of justice from causal factors according to their contribution to the outcome of housing differentiation. Empirically, this paper applies the proposed framework in a case study of Guangzhou using first hand survey data collected in 2009. The case study has tested two well-conceived but rarely tested hypotheses, including the successive effects of institutional bias and the mediating role of housing tenure in the process of housing differentiation. Moreover, it provides a quantitative portrayal of institutional (in) justice, which had not been realized in the past in spite of its wide recognition. With these contributions, this paper hopes to shed new light on how to bridge the socio-political and empirical traditions in urban geographical studies about China, a crucial step for Chinese geographers to engage in studies of social justice in China.
China is a country with exuberant cultural traditions, yet little of which has been paid attention to in rapidly urbanizing context in contemporary China. Lineage refers to the organized group of descendants of a single ancestor by which the lineage membership is determined. Despite the disappearance of many villages in the city, the ancestral hall often survived as the symbolic tie between the single-lineage villagers. Previous studies on Chinese rural restructuring mainly focus on the societal and cultural consequences. What these two aspects in studies of rural areas tend to vanish, or only take it implicitly, is the spatial processes that is closely related to the societal and cultural restructuring. Therefore, this paper intends to apply the sociological architecture thinking in space syntax methodology to explore the social logic behind the transforming spatial character of the typical lineage architecture, the ancestral hall. Taking two typical ancestral halls located respectively in Liede and Zhucun urban villages in Guangzhou as the research objects, the paper has unfolded the relationship between the morphological characteristics and behavioral patterns of villagers. Through field survey and mapping and face-to-face interviews in the Leide and Zhucun villages, it is found that (1) The newly-built ancestral hall in Liede village shows great difference compared with the old one in Zhucun village owing to the need to adapt to the new social functions, which is embodied in such transformation in spatial form as the breaking of axial symmetry pattern and the declining position of the sacred space in the overall spatial organization; (2) The decline and restructuring of spatial functions and the correspondent spatial organization highly conforms to the waning of the lineage consciousness, in which many traditional sacrificing activities are replaced by entertainment activities, and recreation and feasting have become the primary activities for villagers in the ancestral halls. Compared with the old ancestral halls, the newly-built ones in the central locations, as in our Leide case, evolved into non-excluded space that is aimed at profit-generating in the course of urbanization; (3) As the representative for lineage culture, the evolving spatial morphology of the ancestral halls is the intuitive evidence of lineage culture's recession and reconstruction, reflecting the changing mode of villager behaviors; (4) In the time of the couple made??families after the 20th century, the lineage consciousness of villagers is in the gradual recession, especially when the overall cultural environment for traditions has changed drastically. To sum up, the study not only provides new perspective for studying the traditional architectural type and traditional villages, but also in practical terms gives valuable suggestions to the protection and regeneration of traditional architecture and milieu in the context of rapid urbanization.
It is commonly agreed that the preference or behavior of people ought to be examined within specific geographical contexts. Because of the existence of uncertain geographic context problem, the way for defining the areal unit of geographic context may significantly affect the behavioral pattern. It is thus essential to select an appropriate spatial scale for analyzing the characteristics of transportation activities in cities. The concept of behavior zone (BZ) is proposed based on homogeneous assumption of behaviors to analyze an area-based pattern of people's travel behaviors in the whole city. Behavior zone is identified through spatial analysis of residents' daily travel behaviors with respect to the environments. With a daily travel survey conducted in Beijing's sample residential areas, the critical indices for identifying different types of behavior zones are revealed, including second-hand housing price, development intensity, population density, accessibility to public transportation. With these indices, the residential areas all over the central districts of Beijing are clustered by five representative behavior zone types: luxury villa, suburban, traditional, high-density, and mature areas. The population characters and behavior features, such as dominant income groups, average commuting distance, and share of commuting travel mode, differed obviously from community to community. These results provide great implications for fine transportation resources allocation since behavior zones are areas where the modal choice behaviors of inhabitants are projected. Besides, behavior zones are critically important to data transformation in terms of their area-based features.
The selection of weight assignment methods in multi-factor comprehensive evaluation has been rarely discussed in geographical research. There are fewer reports concerning comprehensive evaluation of human geography journals. In this paper we propose a selection model of weight assignment methods (SWAM) for multi-factor comprehensive evaluation so as to obtain rational and appropriate weight assignment methods among a pool of candidates. Specifically, each weight assignment method SWAM conducted a 'Similar-Different' comparison to analyze the change of weight distribution, as well as the evaluation score and indicator order, according to different parameter settings and adoption of clustering. Then through the comparison of 'Good-Bad', the rational and appropriate indicator-weight assignment methods were picked up. Focusing on seven objective weight assignment methods, SWAM was finally applied for comprehensive evaluation of 70 journals of human geography sorted as geography in the database of "Journal Citation Reports" from the scientific network (Web of Science, WoB) in which the data spans from 1st January 1900 to 31st December 2012. The research results show: (1) Objective weight assignment methods in this research can be divided into five groups, namely maximizingDev, variationCoe, factorAna; greyCor-0.5; entropy; principalComAna-0.8; informationGra-0.5; (2) Change of indicator clustering parameters led to change of indicator clustering results, and has influence on weight assignment; (3) SWAM selects maximizingDev, variationCoe, factorAna-0.9 and informationGra-0.5 as the rational methods for the case study; (4) When the size of sample is relatively large, the output of grade in multi-factor comprehensive evaluation is more informative than the output of order; (5) 14 journals, led by Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions, are marked as first-grade high-prestige group in 70 human geography journals in JCR; (6) Journal's impact factor is important, but the H-index, the distribution of authors of citing articles and the quality of citing articles, can better reflect the journal's level and international influence. This study highlights to improve the multi-factor comprehensive evaluation research and enrich the knowledge about human geography journals.
