The potential implementation of green infrastructure assessment using high-resolution National Agriculture Imagery Program data for sustainable hazard mitigation

As green infrastructure gets its attention in hazard mitigation, it is necessary to improve general understanding on what makes green infrastructure important for hazard and resiliency research. To better understand how green infrastructure fits with more traditional notions of structural and nonstructural mitigation, this study examines the relationship between green infrastructure and ‘structural and nonstructural’ mitigation approaches for hazard mitigation. Also, this study discusses a new measurement of locational aspects and spatial patterns of green infrastructure by utilizing high-resolution data in urban areas, and its potential implementation in hazard mitigation. Compared to previous research using land-use land-cover datasets, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) utilizing National Agriculture Imagery Program dataset provides an ability to capture green infrastructure in greater detail. A visual comparison suggests that the NDVI data are able to capture and identify more types of ‘green’ land uses in Harris County. The total green infrastructure percentages for Harris County, Texas, based on 1-m high resolution were found to be 61.5% of the area, compared to the 51.5% based on the National Land Cover Database. This study provides support for utilizing high-resolution data to establish guidelines for green infrastructure’s spatial characteristics and sustainable hazard mitigation. The outcomes of this study will be helpful in the strategic planning and implementation of green infrastructure in urban areas with hazard issues.     

Cropland changes in times of conflict,reconstruction, and economic development in Iraqi Kurdistan

The destruction of land and forced migration during the Anfal attacks against the Kurds in Iraq in the late 1980s has been reported to have severe consequences for agricultural development. A reconstruction program to aid people in returning to their lands was launched in 1991. To assess the agricultural situation in the Duhok governorate during the pre-Anfal (A), post-Anfal (B), reconstruction (C), and present (D) periods, we mapped winter crops by focusing on inter-annual variability in vegetation greenness, using satellite images. The results indicate a decrease in cultivated area between period A and B, and a small increase between period B and C. This supports reports of a decline in cultivated area related to the Anfal campaign, and indicates increased activity during the reconstruction program. Period D showed a potential recovery with a cropland area similar to period A.     

长白山的台风灾区范围及植被恢复动态——基于遥感技术的研究

通过对1985年和1987年Thematic Mapper(TM)影像中提取出的归一化植被指数进行对比分析,提取了1986年长白山自然保护区内遭受台风袭击后的灾区范围,并通过比较1988年和2007年的TM影像,分析了风灾区的植被恢复过程。同时,结合该地区的地形、水文、土壤和公路数据对风灾区的植被恢复进行了驱动力分析。发现地形驱动因子与风灾区的恢复程度呈高度相关,随着高程、坡度和平地所占比例的减少,恢复程度逐渐变好;此外水文、土壤和人类活动都对风灾区的植被恢复产生一定影响,另外人工干预恢复对植被生长也起着积极的作用。研究结果可供风灾区内植被的进一步恢复和森林防火工作参考。     

东北地区典型农区土地利用变化对农业扩张和气候变化的响应研究

大规模的农业扩张和全球气候变化导致东北地区发生剧烈的土地利用/土地覆盖变化。本研究分析了研究区1976—2008年的土地利用变化和生长季各月气温的变化趋势,并结合农业扩张程度,探究LUCC对农业扩张和气候变化的响应,为指导农业发展规划和保障国家粮食安全提供理论依据。结果表明,1976—2008年农田面积逐步增加,生长季气温一直呈上升趋势。1976—2001年生长季气温的上升趋势不稳定,气温变化程度较大;2001—2008年,农业扩张放缓,生长季气温上升趋势显著,且上升趋势一直增加,气温变化比上一时期更稳定;且这两个时期农业扩张和气候变化对土地利用强度的影响在南北和东西方向上均存在明显差异。     

Spatial identification by satellite imagery of the crop–fallow rotation cycle in northern Laos

In the mountainous regions of northern Laos, shifting cultivation, or slash-and-burn agriculture, is widely practiced. However, the crop–fallow rotation cycle is becoming shorter owing to forest conservation policies and population pressure, causing loss of productivity that deleteriously affects farmers’ livelihoods in the region. To investigate regional land use conditions, we have developed a method of identifying the crop–fallow rotation cycle from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Enhanced Thematic Mapper+ (ETM+) data. We assessed the impact of the identified cycle on plant production measured by Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). The study site was an area in Luang Prabang Province. Using eight TM and ETM+ images acquired annually from 1995 to 2003, except for 1998, when cloud-free data were not collected, we classified land use in each year as crop or fallow by the presence of vegetation in the late dry season. Conformity with fallow age determined by field investigation was 69.1%. The cultivation frequency from 1995 to 2002 showed that 77,000 ha (17.3% of the study site) had not been used for cropping during the period, but 41,000 ha (9.2%) had been used every year. Of the study site, 129,000 ha (29.1%) was cultivated one or two times, 83,000 ha (18.7%) was three or four times, and 54,000 ha (12.2%) was five or six times. The NDVI of crops in November did not provide sufficient evidence to prove the assumption that a longer fallow period would result in better crop yields. Instead, the regeneration of fallow vegetation was evidenced by the higher NDVI values after longer fallow. More than 8 years would be needed to reach the same NDVI as forest. From the produced maps indicating fallow age and cultivation frequency, we found that areas with high potential for regeneration decreased as cultivation frequency increased. Areas near rivers were intensively used, and fallow length was accordingly short. Low-potential areas were found in the western basin of the Mekong River. This spatial information can be used to detect areas where biomass productivity is at high risk of deteriorating. Readers should send their comments on this paper to: BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

20世纪初以来沂蒙山区森林植被动态及其对气候变化的响应——基于遥感和树轮的研究

遥感能够直接反映植被生长信息,但目前观测时间较短;树轮资料可以弥补遥感手段的不足,但往往缺乏与植被生长状况（如植被生产力）的直接关联。已有研究往往计算不同植被指数指标和树轮指数的相关性,并基于此来重建长时间尺度的植被动态信息。但基于相关性所选取的指标在不同地区存在较大差异,不利于空间对比研究。以沂蒙山区为研究区,选取能够有效表征植被年初级生产力的生长季NDVI累积值指标,利用Bootstrap法建立了其与树轮宽度的关系,重建了20世纪初期以来植被动态时间序列,并分析了变化特征及其与气候变化的关系。结果表明：沂山地区生长季NDVI累积值的多年平均值为7.36,低于蒙山和塔山地区;蒙山地区植被状况呈现好转趋势,特别是20世纪90年代之后植被好转趋势更加明显,而塔山和沂山地区植被无显著变化。小波分析结果表明研究区植被动态存在较显著的2 a、4 a或8 a尺度的周期变化,与生长季帕尔默干旱指数及平均温度的周期变化相一致,但干旱指数与植被动态具有更高的相关性。本研究综合运用树轮与遥感技术发展了长时间尺度植被动态时间序列重建方法,有助于更好地理解植被动态及其对气候变化的响应。     

呼伦贝尔草原植被覆盖时空动态变化监测定量方法研究

开展植被动态监测与评价,是评估生态保护措施、环境管理政策和全球变化研究的重要基础。论文以呼伦贝尔草原为例,基于1998—2008年间SPOT_VGT NDVI旬数据,通过分析生长期间的植被年均NDVI值、年NDVI最大值、年NDVI最小值、季节性动态性与物候的变化状况及其趋势,反映研究区植被覆盖空间特征,监测植被覆盖动态变化情况。结果表明:研究区植被覆盖区域特征为:以林地为主的区域草地-耕地-林地过渡区以耕地为主的区域以草地为主的区域;11 a来,研究区植被覆盖呈减弱趋势,植被覆盖最佳期提前,以林地为主的区域、草地-耕地-林地过渡区和以耕地为主的区域植被覆盖季节性动态变化较小,植被覆盖稳定性较强,而以草地为主的地区植被覆盖最小值日期推后,其季节性动态变化较大,生态环境稳定性较差。     

近50a东江流域径流变化及影响因素分析

以1956—2005年降雨、径流与气象资料为基础,应用Mann-Kendall趋势检验、小波分析以及R/S分析等多种方法,探讨了东江流域径流年际变化特征及其对气候变化以及植被覆盖变化的响应。结果表明:①50 a来流域年径流序列变化趋势不明显,存在4 a、7~9 a、11~13 a、16~22 a等4类尺度的周期性变化规律;河源、岭下站径流序列具有较强的状态持续性,博罗站持续性很小。②厄尔尼诺现象出现的当年,东江流域年径流量普遍减少;厄尔尼诺现象出现的次年,年径流量普遍增加。太阳黑子数的急剧变化,与东江径流量的丰、枯也有良好的响应关系。③50 a来,在降雨量呈不显著减少趋势的背景下,河源、岭下站径流仍然呈不显著增加趋势的主要原因是蒸发量下降的缘故,是气候因素和流域植被退化共同作用的结果。     

黄土高原近30年植被变化特征及其气候驱动

The use of Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data acquired with multiple satellite sensors has become a necessity in research fields such as agriculture, Land-Use and Land-Cover Change (LUCC) and changes in the natural environment. In this paper, vegetation 10-day composite (VGT-S10) NDVI data with a 1 km×1 km resolution, covering the period from April 1982 to December 2011 and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Global Inventory Modelling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) NDVI data with a 8 km×8 km resolution, covering the period from April 1998 to December 2006 were used. The VGT NDVI covering the period from 2007 to 2011 was converted to the GIMMS NDVI for the same period. The vegetation trend during 1982 to 2011 was calculated using the extended NDVI data set. Climate change has a large impact on the vegetation dynamics. A series of statistical analyses were employed to demonstrate the relationship between NDVI and meteorological data during 1982 to 2005. A multiple correlation analysis was applied to validate the association between the two climatic factors and monthly maximum NDVI (MNDVI). The partial correlation coefficient of MNDVI and each climate factor were calculated respectively to describe the singular influence of each meteorological variable. The results indicated that temperature made a significant positive influence on vegetation growth in the whole Loess Plateau. Precipitation is the most important climatic factor that closely correlates with MNDVI, particularly in arid and semi-arid environments. However, in some wet regions, precipitation is not a limiting factor on vegetation growth.     

基于RS和GIS的都江堰市热岛效应研究

随着人类社会的发展,城市的规模也不断扩张。持续加速的城市化对城市气候及环境产生了深远的影响。本次研究采用遥感与GIS相结合的方法来分析都江堰市城市热环境的时空变化。根据1994和2007年两个时相的LandSatTM影像提取了研究区的土地覆盖、亮温信息和植被覆盖信息。通过统计分析和空间分析对这13年来都江堰的热岛时空变化及其与土地覆盖和植被覆盖变化的关系进行了深入研究。分析结果表明,城市热岛与城区的空间分布之间存在明显的一致性,与植被覆盖有较强的负相关关系。