GIS As A Tool For Assessing The Influence Of Countryside Designations and Planning Policies On Landscape Change

The county of Bedfordshire is typical of landscape in lowland England with land cover dominant over land form and agriculture forming the major land use. Landscape change can be influenced by planning policies through their control of land use. A number of designated areas such as Areas of Great Landscape Value, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Green Belt have been defined where particular planning priorities for the conservation of the countryside apply. This paper reports work where an attempt has been made to measure the influence of these designations on landscape change using the tools of aerial photograph interpretation and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Aerial photographs were available for the study area for 1968, 1981 and 1991. These were interpreted to a landscape classification scheme in terms of point, linear and area features such as trees, hedgerows and cultivated land, respectively. Field work was carried out to assess the accuracy of the interpretation. The resulting data were input to a GIS for each date of photography. Digital maps were created for the land cover features and tables were generated of lengths of linear features or counts of point features for each kilometre square in the study area. Spatial analysis tools provided by the GIS were used to describe the landscape character of each of the designated areas and then to measure the change that had taken place within them over the time period defined by the photography. Areas which were not designated for conservation of scenic beauty were shown to be poorer in traditional landscape features.     

“Guardianship” and the “Rural Workshop”—The First Quarter-century of U.K. Experience in Nature Conservation

In the U.K., the Countryside Act of 1968 represented the first “updating” of the pioneering National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949. Through the archival material that survives for the Ministry of Agriculture and Nature Conservancy, the paper commemorates that first quarter-century of post-war adjustment to the needs of farming and wildlife conservation. It does so through a case study of the documented discussion, both inter-agency and within separate counsels, of whether agricultural improvement grants should be paid for land scheduled as Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). The post-war assumptions of both parties were shattered by clashes over the SSSIs of Cavenham Heath (Suffolk) and Waddingham Common (Lincolnshire). Characterized as a “cold” war, there was a point beyond which antipathy served no one's interests. Fully aware of the options available to policy-makers, both parties recognized the Countryside Bill as an opportunity to obtain greater protection for SSSIs without prejudicing the larger notions of guardianship of the rural resource and the importance that continued to be given to the countryside as the farmer's “workshop”.     

我国农村人力资源的开发现状及其对策

农村人力资源的开发和利用，在很大程度上决定着农村经济发展速度和农民的收入水平，甚至决定着整个国民经济的发展潜力。我国农村人力资源开发的现状不容乐观，作者认为必须加大人力资本投资力度，把农村劳动力资源开发与乡镇企业发展及非农化进程、城镇化战略结合起来，以推动农村人力资源的开发向深度和广度迈进。     

农村商品流通网络模型及其发展趋势

农村商品流通是影响农业发展和农民消费的直接因素，完善农村商品流通网络对开拓农村市场，增加农民收入，发展农村经济具有推动作用。首先论述了农村商品流通网络的内涵；其次提出了基于主导要素的3种农村商品流通网络模型，即交易市场主导型、企业组织主导型和流通技术主导型，并对网络主体及其关系等方面进行了分析；最后提出了农村商品流通网络的发展趋势及其相应对策。     

河北省农村地区防震减灾意识调查及对策研究

通过问卷调查和深度访谈,发现河北省农村地区防震减灾意识现状不客乐观,突出表现为:对地震预报存在认识误区、震害防御意识淡薄、应急救援能力欠缺、防震减灾宣传有待深化、地震灾害中信息获取能力不足.究其原因:农村地区经济发展水平、农村社会人员结构和基层地震部门软硬件条件制约了防震减灾意识的提升.因此,相关部门应该因时、因地制宜...     

黑龙江省农村环境污染与防治

黑龙江省同全国一样,虽然农村经济发展很快,但传统粗放的农村经济发展模式并没有得到根本的转变,许多环境问题日益突出,本文根据统计数据和现状调查,揭示了黑龙江省农村环境污染情况,分析了造成污染的原因,提出了保护农村环境,防治污染的建议.     

市场经济下我国农村剩余劳动力的转移与开发

市场经济的高速发展使我国农村发生了重大变革,农村剩余劳动力问题成为社会关注的一个重要课题。本文通过对农村劳动力的基本状况和转移特征的论述,客观地分析了剩余劳动力转移的阶段性,提出了劳动力转移开发的几种模式,并就这一问题提出了建议     

农村水污染的经济损失分析与评估——以邹城市北宿镇为例

介绍了目前常用的水污染经济损失基本评估法——分解求和方法及其具体模型(农业损失模型、畜牧业损失模型、渔业损失模型、人类健康损失模型)以及水污染经济损失的计量程序。以邹城市北宿镇为例,根据相关数据,分别计算了2010年农村水污染对当地农业、畜牧业、渔业和人类健康带来的损失。     

村镇环境保护规划编制的初步研究

我国经济的迅速发展加速了城市化／城镇化的速度,由于缺乏合理的规划,导致环境问题日益突出。村镇是社会组织机体的基本单元,小城镇的迅速发展和政府对其环境保护的日益重视,使得一些污染性的工业有向村镇转移的趋势,而广大村镇脆弱的环境污染防治体系根本就没有能力来接纳和处理环境污染问题。     

人工湿地在新农村生活污水处理中的应用

针对新农村生活污水水量变化大、浓度低等特点,本文提出以厌氧发酵作为预处理的水平潜流式人工湿地处理新农村污水,该工艺具有投资少、运行费用低、处理效果好、运行稳定、操作简单等特点。人工湿地利用厌氧发酵降低有机负荷,采用单一基质避免出现短流或堵塞,投配与落干时间比为6∶1,最终使出水水质达到城镇污水处理厂污染物排放标准一级B标准。