Assessment of ecological risks induced by land use and land cover changes in Xiamen City,China

The landscape ecological risk (LER) in Xiamen City, China, from 1990 to 2030 was studied using an urban land use and land cover change (LUCC) model and LER analysis. The LUCC model was used to predict the LUCC of Xiamen from 2020 to 2030. We analyzed the characteristics of LUCC and landscape pattern changes and, finally, evaluated the effect of rapid LUCC on LER. Of the six landscape types investigated, built-up land and farmland demonstrated the most significant changes. The area of built-up land increased by 1.5 times in 2010 and is predicted to increase by 2.7 times in 2030 than that in 1990. The area of farmland increased from 34.5% in 1990 to 24.5% in 2010 and is predicted to decrease to 15.1% in 2030. The number of patches (NP) of built-up land decreased with increasing area, which promoted the dominance of built-up land over other landscape types. Five landscape types, those other than built-up land, increased in NP, landscape fragmentation, segmentation, and disturbance but decreased in dominance. The LER of Xiamen in 2010 was slightly lower than that in 1990. However, with the acceleration of urbanization, the LER in 2020 and 2030 will increase by 7.6% and 12.5% than that in 2010. The LER will significantly increase in areas such as the Huandong sea area, the second urban core of Xiamen, and northern Xiang'an. For the areas, some measures (e.g. optimum urban spatial growth patterns and control of coastal reclamation) must inevitably increase to reduce the LER posed by rapid urbanization.     

Multi-temporal land use and cover changing analysis: the environmental impact in Mediterranean area

ABSTRACT

Human activity shapes the levels of anthropogenic pressure that depend on the land management method adopted. This has a fundamental role in the transformation of traditional landscapes. This study focuses on a representative region of the Mediterranean area with the objective to analyse the landscape’s dynamics, to detect the spatial arrangement of class patches, to identify the main agroecosystem characters and to provide a framework to assess ecosystems services. In order to assess land use/land cover changes and landscape persistence, the period between 1960 and 2012 was analysed, taking into consideration the years 1960, 2000 and 2012 using comparable land use maps. Land use and land cover analysis show an urban area growth of 24% during 2000–2012 and of 523% over between 1960 and 2012. The very high levels of land abandonment up to the year 2000 (+7216%) have reversed their trend between 2000 and 2012 (?95%). The orchards showed a relevant increase, particularly after 2000, while the vineyards were linked to the highest value of surface erosion (?74%). The outcomes showed that urban settlements can damage the ecological network with negative effects on the landscape’s environmental sustainability in proximity of significant urban centres. Instead, the ecological network is well preserved and highly associated to the agricultural areas when there is the persistence of many land uses and low urban density, despite the presence of dynamic changes.     

Urban development and landscape change in the Yangtze River Delta region in China

The impact of large-scale urban development on land resources has long been debated by urban planners and designers. This study investigated the extent to which different urban characteristics are associated with land-cover change. The Yangtze River Delta region in China, forming one of the largest sprawling urban landscapes among the regions around the world, was chosen for the study area. Spatial analysis and multiple regression methods were applied to empirically investigate the pattern of resource sites lost to urban development in the area between the 1950s and 2017. The results showed that contrary to the widespread notion that large-sized cities are predominantly responsible for a region’s environmental degradation, city size was not a significant factor in determining the rate of resource loss. Large-sized cities gained their populations with far lesser impacts on land than small-sized cities and towns if normalized to the same number of populations. One explanation for the diminishing effect of city size on land-cover change relates to the degree of spatial dispersion of urban development and local differences in social valuation of diversified lands by cities.     

Driving mechanism and boundary control of urban sprawl

Since the reform and opening-up, China’s economy has achieved remarkable development and so does the urbanization. However, there is an unavoidable contradiction between urban sprawl and the protection of arable land and the environment. By redefining the urban sprawl boundary, this paper is to provide a solution for the conflict above on the China’s urbanization context. The ideal boundary, moderate boundary and limit boundary are defined for urban sprawl in space. Taking Nanjing city as a case, the three urban sprawl boundaries are estimated in this paper based on the calculation of agricultural land resources value in Nanjing. The results show that 1) the integrated value of agricultural (cultivated) land resources in Nanjing is 1.55 × 10⁷ CNY·hm⁻², the economic value accounts for only 8.74% of the integrated value, while 91.26% of the integrated value has not revealed itself due to the existing institutional arrangements, policy distortions, and imperfect land market; 2) it is difficult to define the ideal and moderate boundaries due to the relatively low price of North Nanjing. In South Nanjing the land price is expensive and the ideal, moderate and limit boundaries are expanded to Jiangning, Qixia, and Yuhuatai; 3) the city scale of South Nanjing should be limited within 5.82 × 10⁴ hm², which is roughly the same as the designated size of 5.81 × 10⁴ hm² in the urban planning. It is suggested that the rational scope of urban expansion should be controlled within the moderate boundary.     

Land system architecture for urban sustainability: new directions for land system science illustrated by application to the urban heat island problem

ABSTRACT

Land system science (LSS) has expanded its research focus from the drivers of land-use and -cover change primarily in rural wildlands to include the social-environmental consequences of this change, urban areas, and sustainability practice. Land system architecture, interacting with the landscape mosaic approach in ecology, offers a special niche for the entry of rural areas and wildlands into urban sustainability research through examinations of the composition and configuration of ‘cityscapes’. Given the fine-grain data requirements of heterogeneous cityscapes, emergent land architecture-mosaic approaches have largely explored the urban heat island (UHI) problem, a topic that links LSS with the interests of urban climatology, engineering, and planning in city morphology or geometry. The subtle distinctions in the treatment of land configuration between land architecture-mosaic approaches and urban morphology-geometry approaches are identified. Several examples of the land architecture-mosaic approach illustrate the understanding gained about the UHI problem as well as its complementarity with morphology-geometry approaches. This understanding provides insights about the design of urban areas at the parcel to neighborhood scales to ameliorate extreme temperatures, an issue of increasing concern for urban areas worldwide and consistent with the sustainability problems identified by such international programs as Future Earth.     

Urban sprawl into Natura 2000 network over Europe

Urban growth is a major threat to biodiversity conservation at the global scale. Its impacts are expected to be especially detrimental when it sprawls into the landscape and reaches sites of high conservation value due to the species and ecosystems they host, such as protected areas. I analyzed the degree of urbanization (i.e., urban cover and growth rate) from 2006 to 2015 in protected sites in the Natura 2000 network, which, according to the Habitats and Birds Directives, harbor species and habitats of high conservation concern in Europe. I used data on the degree of land imperviousness from COPERNICUS to calculate and compare urban covers and growth rates inside and outside Natura 2000. I also analyzed the relationships of urban cover and growth rates with a set of characteristics of Natura sites. Urban cover inside Natura 2000 was 10 times lower than outside (0.4% vs. 4%) throughout the European Union. However, the rates of urban growth were slightly higher inside than outside Natura 2000 (4.8% vs. 3.9%), which indicates an incipient urban sprawl inside the network. In general, Natura sites affected most by urbanization were those surrounded by densely populated areas (i.e., urban clusters) that had a low number of species or habitats of conservation concern, albeit some member states had high urban cover or growth rate or both in protected sites with a large number of species or habitats of high conservation value. Small Natura sites had more urban cover than large sites, but urban growth rates were highest in large Natura sites. Natura 2000 is protected against urbanization to some extent, but there is room for improvement. Member states must enact stricter legal protection and control law enforcement to halt urban sprawl into protected areas under the greatest pressure from urban sprawl (i.e., close to urban clusters). Such actions are particularly needed in Natura sites with high urban cover and growth rates and areas where urbanization is affecting small Natura sites of high conservation value, which are especially vulnerable and concentrated in the Mediterranean region.     

Using the land transformation model to forecast vacant land

Growing or shrinking cities can experience increases in vacant land. As urban populations and boundaries fluctuate, holes can open in once tight urban areas. Many cities chase growth-oriented approaches to dealing with vacancies. It is critical to understand land-use alteration to accurately predict transformations of physical change in order to make better informed decisions about this phenomenon. This research utilizes the land transformation model (LTM), an artificial neural networking mechanism in Geographic Information Systems, to forecast vacant land. Variable influence on vacant land prediction and accuracy of the LTM is assessed by comparing input factors and patterns, using time-series data from 1990 to 2010 in Fort Worth, Texas, USA. Results indicate that the LTM can be useful in simulating vacant land-use changes but more precise mechanisms are necessary to increase accuracy. This will allow for more proactive decisions to better regulate the process of urban decline and regeneration.     

Patterns and drivers of forest land cover changes in tropical semi-deciduous forests in Ghana

This study was conducted to determine the patterns and drivers of forest land cover changes in Bobiri and Oboyow Forest Reserves (BFR and OFR, respectively), Ghana. Landsat images were employed to determine forest land cover types and changes in 1990, 2000 and 2010 using supervised classification method. Factors that drive forest land cover changes in the forest reserves were determined using a semi-structured questionnaire and field observations. Generally, closed-canopy forest decreased by 49% in both forests over 20-year period resulting in a tremendous increase in open-canopy forest (BFR: 85%; OFR: 46%) and non-forest land cover types (BFR: 48–80% OFR: 127–350%). Factors such as logging manual illiteracy among timber operators, offences of authorised timber operators, ineffective community participation, harvesting schedule revision, chainsaw logging, illegal logging, bushfires, fuel gathering and weak penalty for offences were identified as contributing to rapid depletion of closed canopy forest cover in the forest reserves.     

Urban forest landscape patterns in Ma'anshan City,China

The landscape pattern of Ma'anshan City was analyzed based on theories and methodologies of landscape ecology, remote sensing, global positioning, and a geographic information system (GIS). The study area encompassed the entire built-up area of 63.88 km²; a north–south transect 3-km wide and 13-km long was established along the long axis of the city. Five major landscape elements were assessed: urban land, urban forest, agriculture, water, and grass. Urban land was the dominant land cover type, and occupied 67% of total land area; while patches of urban forest occupied 16%, with a landscape element dominance of 0.42. Urban forest was classified according to land-use category and location into six types: scenic forest, yard forest, recreational forest, roadside forest, shelter forest, and nurseries. There were 2464 urban forest patches, the largest being 185.1 ha, with an average of 0.43 ha. The low nearest neighbor index and high patch density indicated that urban forest patches tend to be aggregated and have a high degree of fragmentation. This study also demonstrated that the spatial pattern of urbanization could be quantified using a combination of landscape metrics and gradient analysis. Urban forest has distinct spatial characters that are dependent on specific landscape metrics along the urbanization gradient.     

坝上地区土地利用与覆被变化对土壤养分的影响

坝上地区是典型的农牧交错带 ,生态环境十分脆弱。研究表明 ,解放后 ,该区土地利用与土地覆被状况经历了多次反复的变动。 2 0世纪 80年代以前 ,草地大规模改变为旱地 ,部分改为林地 ;90年代初 ,旱地又逐步被改为草地、林地和水田使用。土地利用与土地覆被的变化引起土壤中有机质、全N、全P、全K、碱解N以及有效态P、K、B、Mo、Mn、Zn、Cu和Fe等养分呈有规律的改变。当土地由草地变为林地、旱地变为林地、旱地变为水田时 ,总体养分增多。但也有例外 ,尤其是碱解N、速效P和速效K以及微量元素 ,有时出现与上述规律不一致的情况。     

1996—2006年武汉市土地利用/覆被变化研究

以武汉市为研究区,利用1996和2006年Landsat5的TM影像解译结果,基于GIS空间分析与数理统计方法定量研究了1996—2006年11年间的武汉市土地利用/覆被变化。研究结果表明：（1）1996—2006年期间,武汉市土地利用覆被总体特征表现出耕地、草地和未利用地减少,林地、水域和建设用地面积增加的态势;（2）这11年间耕地转化为林地、建设用地和水域这3种变化类型分布最为广泛,转换率最大;（3）11年来武汉市土地利用综合动态度变化幅度较大,并呈缓慢上升趋势。土地利用年变化速度达到1.25%;（4）1996—2006年武汉市土地利用程度逐年提高,土地利用程度变化量和变化率均大于0,说明武汉市处于土地利用发展时期,土地利用集约度会进一步提高。     

Rural and Suburban Sprawl in the U.S. Midwest from 1940 to 2000 and Its Relation to Forest Fragmentation

Abstract:  Housing growth and its environmental effects pose major conservation challenges. We sought to (1) quantify spatial and temporal patterns of housing growth across the U.S. Midwest from 1940–2000, (2) identify ecoregions strongly affected by housing growth, (3) assess the extent to which forests occur near housing, and (4) relate housing to forest fragmentation. We used data from the 2000 U.S. Census to derive fine-scale backcasts of decadal housing density. Housing data were integrated with a 30-m resolution U.S. Geological Survey land cover classification. The number of housing units in the Midwest grew by 146% between 1940 and 2000. Spatially, housing growth was particularly strong at the fringe of metropolitan areas (suburban sprawl) and in nonmetropolitan areas (rural sprawl) that are rich in natural amenities such as lakes and forests. The medium-density housing (4–32 housing units/km²) category increased most in area. Temporally, suburban housing growth was especially high in the post-World War II decades. Rural sprawl was highest in the 1970s and 1990s. The majority of midwestern forests either contained or were near housing. Only 14.8% of the region's forests were in partial block groups with no housing. Housing density was negatively correlated with the amount of interior forest. The widespread and pervasive nature of sprawl shown by our data is cause for conservation concern. Suburban sprawl has major environmental impacts on comparatively small areas because of the high number of housing units involved. In contrast, rural sprawl affects larger areas but with less intensity because associated housing densities are lower. The environmental effects per house, however, are likely higher in the case of rural sprawl because it occurs in less-altered areas. Conservation efforts will need to address both types of sprawl to be successful.     

基于多维特征优选支持向量机算法的城市土地利用变化遥感监测

随着遥感影像时、空、谱、辐分辨率和数据处理能力的提升,综合多维影像特征已成为提高土地利用分类精度的关键.目前并非所有特征均有助于分类,且传统分类仍拘泥于单一特征,因此,急需有效的特征优化选择方法.基于光谱指数、穗帽变换、最小噪声分离、高斯滤波、灰度共生矩阵等变换提取了Landsat TM/ETM+/OLI影像的31维特...     

江门市区冬季地表热环境与土地覆盖类型关系的研究

应用美国陆地资源卫星Landsat ETM＋影像资料,反演了江门市区的地表温度（LST）,并提取研究区的NDVI、NDBI和MNDWI指数。分析了江门市区冬季LST的空间分布特征及城市地表热环境与土地覆盖类型之间的关系。结果表明：江门市区LST分布具有空间差异性,不同土地覆盖类型有较大差异,存在城市热岛效应;LST与3种归一化指数存在相关性,其中LST与NDVI存在非线性相关、与NDBI存在线性正相关、与MNDWI存在线性负相关。     

Effects of land use on water quality of two high-altitude lakes and catchments in Yunnan Province,China

SUMMARY

Reclaiming farmland from lakes in China in the 1950s damaged the water quality of many lakes. Tremendous efforts have been made since the late 1990s to restore vegetation around the damaged lakes. This paper examines water quality of Fuxian and Qilu Lakes and land-use characteristics within the two catchments in the high-altitude area of Yunnan Province, China. Landsat TM data acquired in 1989, 1994, 1999 and 2005 were used to extract land use and land cover (LULC) information. Measurements of five water quality indices (WQIs), BOD, COD, pH, TN and TP, for the same period of time were examined. The results showed that the area of residential and forest/shrub increased, whereas that of cropland and barren land decreased from 1989 to 2005 in both catchments. Qilu Lake was much more polluted than Fuxian Lake, and pollution worsened over time for both lakes. The differences in water quality between the two lakes were caused by differences in LULC composition and continued degradation in water quality was caused by intensive farming and urban sprawl. Unless the landscape is converted back to its pre-1950 composition and structure, water quality in both lakes cannot be significantly improved and will continue to threaten sustainable development in the region.     

城市绿地系统动态及与土地利用关系研究—以上海西南地区为例

以上海西南地区为例,对城市边缘区包括公共绿地,大田,菜地,水体等在内地城市绿地系统特征及其演变进行分析,同时将其动态与其他土地利用类型进行比较研究,并在此基础上提出城市绿地系统建设的对策,要使城市绿化不滞后于城市建设,避免今后用昂贵的代价来发展绿化,关键是城市绿化应该扩大其概念的内涵,着重从城市绿地系统的角度来发展城市绿化,同时规划在前,确保土地资源,加强绿地系统研究,以提高城市生态质量。     

Modeled historical land use and land cover for the conterminous United States

The landscape of the conterminous United States has changed dramatically over the last 200 years, with agricultural land use, urban expansion, forestry, and other anthropogenic activities altering land cover across vast swaths of the country. While land use and land cover (LULC) models have been developed to model potential future LULC change, few efforts have focused on recreating historical landscapes. Researchers at the US Geological Survey have used a wide range of historical data sources and a spatially explicit modeling framework to model spatially explicit historical LULC change in the conterminous United States from 1992 back to 1938. Annual LULC maps were produced at 250-m resolution, with 14 LULC classes. Assessment of model results showed good agreement with trends and spatial patterns in historical data sources such as the Census of Agriculture and historical housing density data, although comparison with historical data is complicated by definitional and methodological differences. The completion of this dataset allows researchers to assess historical LULC impacts on a range of ecological processes.     

不同土地利用方式对城市土壤活性有机碳的影响——以开封市为例

以开封市为例,采集不同土地利用方式下城市表层土壤并测定其有机碳含量,进而探讨土地利用方式对城市土壤活性有机碳特性的影响。结果表明:土地利用方式对城市土壤活性有机碳的影响差异显著,其中易氧化态和水溶性有机碳含量依次为近郊蔬菜地>城区>近郊非农业区>远郊,微生物量有机碳含量则为近郊蔬菜地>近郊非农业区>城区>远郊,这与不同土地利用方式下土壤有机碳总量的变化情况不一样;土壤活性有机碳占总有机碳的比率也随土地利用方式的不同而变化,但其变化与土壤活性有机碳的变化情况不一致;土壤易氧化态、水溶性和微生物量有机碳之间有较强的相关性,其变化趋势在同一土地利用方式下近于一致。     

城市生态气象监测评估初步研究与实践——以北京为例

气象条件作为影响生态系统最活跃、最直接的驱动因子,影响着生态系统的质量和人类生存的环境,关系着生态保护和建设的成果,而城市生态系统具有与其他系统不一样的气候特征,目前还未形成一套有关城市的生态气象监测评估方法。基于生态气象学理论,分别从城市气候环境、与气候相关的陆表环境、大气环境、人居环境以及城市高影响天气气候事件等5个方面选择不同的要素和指标开展了城市生态气象监测评估初步研究,并以北京为例,利用2018年国家和区域自动气象站资料、大气成分观测资料、2002—2018年MODIS卫星资料、Landsat及环境一号卫星资料,开展了2018年北京城市生态气象监测评估。监测评估显示,(1)2018年北京城市“热岛”和“干岛”气候特征明显,并在北京二环与五环之间存在一个“冂”形风速低值区。(2)2018年北京陆表生态环境、大气环境、人居环境进一步好转:其中植被覆盖度达61.6%,创2002年以来新高,气象条件贡献率达50%,生态涵养区植被生态质量处于正常偏好的面积比例达93.2%;中心城区陆表温度为2011年以来最低值;重要水源地密云水库、官厅水库水体面积均为2000年以来最大值;气溶胶光学厚度、霾日数、大气静稳指数分别较过去4年平均值下降14%、31%和8%,大气扩散条件偏好,对霾日减少贡献率达21%,外地污染传输对PM2.5贡献达到53%;城市生态冷源较2013年明显增加,城市“热岛”得到缓解。(3)历史罕见的夏季高温闷热、冬季阶段低温、极端强降水以及持续无降水等高影响天气气候事件给城市安全运行和生态环境带来不利影响。综合评估表明2018年北京气象条件总体利于陆表生态环境改善,有利的气候条件提高了生态环境的质量,但城市生态质量仍面临着极端天气气候事件、城市热岛、低风速以及外来大气污染输送等风险。     

哈尔滨市城市用地扩展时空特征及驱动机制分析

在RS和GIS的支持下集成多源数据,提取哈尔滨市1989—2008年城市土地利用扩张信息。利用单一土地利用动态度和弹性系数模型分析了近20年城市用地扩展时空特征。结果表明：1）近20年城市用地面积增加了123.93km2,其中1996—2002年和2002—2008年增长较快,年均增长率分别为3.24%和3.52%。2）1989—1996年城市扩展规模在合理的范围内上下波动;1996—2002年城市用地扩展速度过快,高于城市人口增长速度;2002—2008年城市用地仍在持续扩展,但扩展速度小于人口增长速度。3）1989—1996年西南南方向上扩展面积较大,为3.61 km2;1996—2002年西北北和西南西方向扩展程度较大,分别为18.37 km2和8.78 km2;2002—2008年西北西方向扩展较为集中,面积为20.45 km2,主要表现在松北区大规模开发建设。4）从经济增长、人口数量、交通牵引和政策与城市规划等因素探讨了哈尔滨市城市用地扩展驱动机制,对指导城市合理规划和促进城市理性发展具有一定理论参考价值。