Remote sensing of global change: growth in China's Jiangsu Province

SUMMARY

This paper examines how remote-sensing data and regional social and economic data can be used together to identify changes in land-use patterns in particular regions. Study of the spatiotemporal dynamics of remote-sensing data can identify trends in competing uses of land, water and other natural resources for agriculture, industrial development and urban settlements. When combined with information on trends in industrial production, population, agricultural production, pollutant releases, water usage and natural forest coverage, these data reveal patterns of anthropogenic disturbance that can provide early signals of problems in resource decline or land-use management. This study focuses on land-cover changes in southern Jiangsu Province of the People's Republic of China between 1976 and 1984. This region, to the west of Shanghai and to the south of the Yangtze River, experienced unprecedented economic growth after the end of the Cultural Revolution. Remote-sensing imagery reveals the rapid growth of urban centres, commensurate declines in surface water area, and changing patterns of agriculture. The observed changes cast doubt on the ability of the region to sustain such rapid and intense land-use conflicts over a long period.     

Urban expansion of oasis cities between 1990 and 2007 in Xinjiang,China

An oasis is not only the most concentrated area of human activity in an arid area but also the largest area where artificial disturbances occur at a regional scale. The study of oasis urban expansion and related factors is important to understand the development of cities in arid areas, guide the evolution of rational urban expansion and promote sustainable development of oasis cities. Although there have been several studies on urban expansion in Xinjiang over past decades, a lack of quantitative data and methods impedes further research. In this paper, urban expansion of the studied area in 1990, 2000 and 2007 is evaluated using 39 Landsat satellite images, a geographical information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS). We also analyse the related factors of urban expansion using quantitative and qualitative methods. We found that economic development and the area of the urban administrative region greatly effect urban expansion. Too rapid growth and outward urbanized expansion paradigms should not be applied blindly in arid areas from the point of view of sustainability. Historic–geographic features of oases and urban planning influence oasis urban morphology. Compact urban morphology is relatively better for protecting precious water and arable resources, and reducing ecology damage to the surrounding oasis. The relationship between urban expansion and population growth was not coordinate before 2000, and effectively only improved after that date. City growth should be moderated, with lower elastic coefficients, slower expansion and higher elasticity coefficients. Oasis cities in Xinjiang are expanding under the combined effects of urbanization, economic development, transportation, environment, resources, policy and planning.     

Growth in urban extent and allometric analysis of West African cities

Urban area expansion is happening at much faster rates in Asian and African cities than elsewhere in the world. This study uses multi-temporal Landsat images to map the urban extent of six small to large cities in West Africa at four different time steps from the early 1970s–2010. The selected cities are Kumasi of Ghana, Daloa of Cote d’Ivoire, Abuja and Kano in Nigeria, Kindia of Guinea, and Ouagadougou of Burkina Faso. All cities revealed significant urban growth in both urban area and population; however, it was apparent that there was a lot of variability in urban area development. Exponential urban growth rates in the cities were measured as ranging between 0.026 and 0.077, with allometric scaling factors matching those of other countries.     

Methodology for an urban ecological footprint to evaluate sustainable development in China

The ecological footprint (EF) is a method for measuring sustainable development through ecological impact. A methodology is presented for predicting urban ecological footprints. Urban energy use and natural resource consumption were analyzed to calculate an EF based on land type (arable, pasture, forest, fossil energy land, built-up area and water area) and consumption (food, housing, transportation, goods, services and waste). The result was then compared with the local ecological carrying capacity to develop criteria for sustainable ecological footprints. Case studies of four cities in China (Guangzhou, Ningbo, Suzhou and Yangzhou) illustrate the urban EF approach. The time series of EF in a case study of Guangzhou for 1991–2001 was analyzed and the consumption–land-use matrix of urban EF was established. The results show that the cities are ecologically unsustainable, with average ecological conflicts per capita of more than 2 ha. The urban EF method is useful to measure urban sustainable development and provides policy proposals for decision-making. However, the EF method still has limitations and weaknesses.     

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。     

Exploring long-term land cover changes in an urban region of southern Europe

This paper addresses two important issues for large Mediterranean city regions: the differential impact of compact urban ‘growth’ and low-density ‘sprawl’ on land cover changes (LCCs), and their final effect on changing land cover relationships (LCRs). The urban expansion of Rome (Italy) during the last 50 years and the related LCCs were investigated as a paradigmatic example of compact versus dispersed urban development. LCCs were assessed over 5 years (1960, 1974, 1990, 2000, 2006) by analysing diachronically the distribution of 12 land cover categories derived from digital land cover maps covering the entire Nuts-3 prefecture of Rome (5353 km²). LCRs were studied using multi-way data analysis. LCCs were found to have relative differences during ‘growth’ (1960–1990) and ‘sprawl’ (1990–2006) phases. Conversion to urban land uses concentrated in the 1960s and 1970s at the urban fringe, while expanding progressively far from the city in the 1990s and 2000s. During the ‘growth’ phase, the land cover classes with the highest probability of being converted to urban uses were arable lands, annual crops, vineyards and pastures. During the ‘sprawl’ phase, olive groves, orchards and forest surfaces also decreased due to the development of low-density built-up areas and infrastructure. Planning suggestions aimed at mitigating the alteration of the rural landscape through sprawl conditions are discussed.     

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.     

Impact of tourism development on land-cover change in a matriarchal community in the Lugu Lake area

Remote sensing was used to assess the impacts of tourism development on temporal land-cover changes in the Lugu Lake region, home to the Mosuo people. The ecological and economic significance of the Lugu Lake area derives from the existence of a unique matriarchal system and the success of tourism development. Temporal land-cover changes between 1990 and 2005 were evaluated using digital interpretation of multitemporal Landsat TM images. Pairwise comparison methods were used to quantify changes in land-cover during three periods: 1990 to 1995, 1995 to 2001, and 2001 to 2005. The areas surveyed in each period were 10,226 ha, 7,727 ha and 9,344 ha, respectively. The annual rate of land-cover change for farmland, forest, grassland and wetland were 2.86%, 5.85%, 3.95%, 6.28%, respectively. Farmland and wetland have decreased, whereas forest, grassland and residential areas have increased. The land-cover changes could be explained by the success of tourism development and ecosystem management in Lugu Lake region. The impact of tourism on land cover and the community environment were assessed. The results show that most farmers actively left farms for off-farm jobs and took measures to protect forest, grassland and wetland by developing tourism in the study area. However, construction in residential areas has proceeded in a disorderly fashion. In future, the potential impacts of tourism on the lake ecosystem need to be re-assessed and monitored.     

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。     

干旱区的城市生境特征与绿洲化对策

干旱地区的城市亦被称为绿洲。从其发生与生境状况分析,注意到近期城市的扩展已脱离绿洲型的发展轨道,而与全球城市模式类同,亦具城市化的共有弊病。又因所处区位受到荒漠气候的强烈影响,较其它地带的城市,其生境更加恶劣。干旱区居民长期凭借绿洲生境而生息劳动,早期出现的城市亦脱胎于绿洲。目前仍沿用绿洲以称城市,但与绿洲的生境相比较已面目全非,实质是以现代设施在荒漠中建立的水泥荒漠。目前全球范围正展开以改善城市生境为目标的生态城市建设,位处干旱区的城市应从其所在区位出发,以绿洲化作为生态城市建设目标,切实改善居民生存环境质量。应仿照绿洲,在外围营造阻隔荒漠气候侵袭的防护林,在市区通过营造片林与行道树,形成类似条田林网格局,以一定植被规模重构绿洲化城市,形成绿洲生境以改善城市居民生存条件,回归干旱区居民世世代代依存的绿洲空间。     

城市生态的氧平衡研究：以南京市为例

城市化地区人的生态及其产业活动强度大、范围广，对氧的收支关系反应敏感。空气中氧的平衡能力及其可持续性，是促进城市社会经济与环境协调发展的基本条件，按南京总体规划确定的主城．中心城市围及市域三个层次的格局，主城的氧亏可从城乡结合部的制氧空间得到足够的补偿。中心城市圈自身耗氧低，对主城的外延发展，卫呈城镇的工业化，新增大型耗能企业的布点均有较强的氧平衡能力，维护城市生态氧平衡的关键措施是建设城市生态防     

Unsustainable urban development for Zonguldak metropolitan area (NW Turkey)

Since Turkey is located on a region that is prone to the risks of natural disasters like earthquake, flooding, and avalanche; a majority of the residential areas are facing these risks at various levels. Before determination of these risks, taking action in order to decrease the vulnerability levels of the residential areas will help keep the damage at the minimum level in case of a disaster. Urban planning decisions which are made in accordance with vulnerability studies aiming to determine natural disaster risks will not only help prevent loss of life but also help decrease negative social and economic effects of disasters. The Zonguldak city has been chosen as a case study area since Zonguldak metropolitan area has endured almost all kinds of threats that a city can face. In this study disaster-producing factors in the area are primarily considered which can be named as topography, destruction of forest lands, geological and karstic structure, mining activities, and misuse of the land, and later risk assessment is conducted with geographic information system (GIS). It has been assessed that more than half of the buildings within the study area were constructed in areas not suitable for housing. It is concluded that there is a need for urgent urban development plan for the city.     

The relationships of urbanization to surface water quality in four lakes of Hanyang,China

By converting rural land into urban land, urbanization impacts on surface water quality, because cities produce more pollutants than farmlands, especially heavy metals. Ways to reduce urbanization impacts on water quality are now being highlighted worldwide. Considering that land use can be a source or sink in pollution runoff, an understanding of the relationship between urbanization and surface water quality, as well as effects of specific land uses on water quality, is crucial. Corresponding management and controlling steps can then be put forward towards non-point source (NPS) pollution control and urban sustainable development. China has experienced rapid urbanization, especially since the 1980s. However, the environmental impacts of this process are not fully investigated. Hanyang, Hubei Province was selected as a typical city to study the impacts of urbanization on lake water quality. Pearson's correlation analysis was performed to elucidate the correlation between different land uses and water quality indicators at both whole lake watershed and small catchment scales. The results indicated that land uses play different roles, either source or sink, in pollution flow processes. Bottomland had a negative and residential land a positive correlation to most water quality indicators, especially heavy metals. These proved to be indicative and crucial land uses in NPS pollution control. Finally, a strategy for regulating urban land uses is proposed for improving surface water quality in cities similar to Hanyang, in southern China.     

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.     

城镇化与绿地退化对城市热环境影响研究

城市的发展和城市化进程的加速,导致建设用地的迅速膨胀和生态景观绿地的急剧减少,最终改变了城市热环境。以广州南部快速发展区为例,基于Landsat6遥感影像数据定量分析城市化及绿地系统的变化情况及其城市地表热场和热岛效应空间分布情况,探讨城市热场及热岛效应受城市化和绿地退化（以NDVI为表征）影响的定量关系。研究表明,广州南部地区的热环境状况与其地形特征之间有较密切的联系,城市热环境的分布变化与城镇建设用地和NDVI的分布变化有一定的相关性,特别是与NDVI呈现线性负相关,即地表温度随着归一化植被指数的增大而降低。结果表明,城镇化与绿地退化是导致城市热岛分布变化的影响因素之一。最后从生态角度出发,提出通过构建城市点状绿岛和带状生态廊道来改善城市热环境的可能性。     

城市绿地滞尘作用机理和规律的研究进展

城市绿地的滞尘作用是城市绿地重要的生态功能之一。综述了城市绿地的滞尘机理、变化规律。城市绿地的滞尘机理主要分为3种方式：滞留、附着和粘附;城市绿地滞尘能力与滞尘时间、城市环境、植物种、植物群落结构等因素存在密切的联系。不同植物滞尘能力的差异很大,总体规律表现为乔木植物〉灌木植物〉草本植物;但就单位叶面积来说,滞尘能力均以草本植物〉灌木植物〉乔木植物〉藤本植物;主要原因是垂直高度不同,灌草能有效截留地面的扬尘（城市中灰尘的主要来源）。研究表明,同种类植物种在封闭式环境条件下叶片滞尘量明显低于开敞式环境条件下的滞尘量,因此,在城市不同环境中的植物滞尘能力表现为工业区〉商业交通区〉居住区〉清洁区。随着季节和滞尘时间的变化,每种植物都存在一个滞尘限度,如果无雨水或人为干扰,最终达到一个动态平衡。从城市绿地群落的垂直结构看,乔—灌—草型的绿地具有相对较好的滞尘作用,是目前较为理想的绿地类型;另外,在城市绿地面积明显不足的情况下,以藤本植物为主的垂直绿化将成为城市绿化发展的新方向。同时,在城市绿地滞尘机理、规律以及植物滞尘能力评价等方面仍需要进一步深入研究。     

Importance of Reserve Size and Landscape Context to Urban Bird Conservation

Abstract:  We tested whether reserve size, landscape surrounding the reserve, and their interaction affect forest songbirds in the metropolitan area of Seattle, Washington (U.S.A.), by studying 29 reserves of varying size (small, medium, large) and surrounding urbanization intensity (urban, suburban, exurban). Larger reserves contained richer and less even bird communities than smaller reserves. These size effects disappeared when we removed the positive correlation of shrub diversity with reserve size, suggesting that greater habitat diversity in large reserves supported additional species, some of which were rare. Standardizing the number of individuals detected among all reserve size classes reversed the effect of size on richness in exurban landscapes and reduced the magnitude of the effect in suburban or urban landscapes. The latter change suggested that richness increased with reserve size in most landscapes because larger areas also supported larger samples from the regional bird species pool. Most bird species associated with native forest habitat (native forest species) and with human activity (synanthropic species) were present in reserves larger than 42 ha and surrounded by >40% urban land cover, respectively. Thus, we recommend these thresholds as means for conserving the composition of native bird communities in this mostly forested region. Native forest species were least abundant and synanthropic species most abundant in urban landscapes, where exotic ground and shrub vegetation was most common. Therefore, control of exotic vegetation may benefit native songbird populations. Bird nests in shrubs were most dense in medium (suburban) and large reserves (urban) and tended to be most successful in medium (suburban) and large reserves (exurban), potentially supplying another mechanism by which reserve size increased retention of native forest species.     

生态位理论及其在城市竞争研究中的作用——以中原城市群为例

城市生态位作为生态学重要理论之一,可用于分析城市群内部不同城市间竞争、演化等现象。以中原城市群9个省辖市为基本单元,运用生态位理论模型,进行多指标的综合加权和聚类分析,得出如下结论:(1)就中原城市群整体而言,城市生态位偏低且呈现明显的层次分异;(2)中原城市群城市生态位空间分异表现复杂。综合城市生态位、自然生态位及人口生态位空间分异并不明显,而经济生态位和社会生态位空间分异却十分显著,其中经济生态位最为显著;(3)中原城市群缺少4个子系统都具有优势特征的城市,只有郑州独具2项优势特征,但其自然生态位较低,自然生态位是郑州城市生态位的限制性因子。     

Land-cover change within and around protected areas in a biodiversity hotspot

The landscape surrounding protected areas influences their ability to maintain ecosystem functions and achieve conservation goals. As anthropogenic intensification continues, it is important to monitor land-use and land-cover change in and around protected areas. We measure land-cover change surrounding protected areas in the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany Biodiversity hotspot from the 1980s to present. Using Landsat imagery, we classified land cover within and around each protected area. Agricultural land uses were increasing and often directly border protected area boundaries. Human settlements increased around every protected area, potentially increasing human activity along the edges of protected areas and threatening their ecological integrity. Urban expansion around protected areas varied but increased as much as 10%. Woody vegetation cover varied both within and around protected areas with possible evidence of deforestation and shrub encroachment throughout the hotspot. We recommend monitoring land cover across southeastern Africa to better understand regional trends in land-use impacts to protected areas.     

北京城近郊区园林绿地多目标规划

北京市城近郊区人口密集,经济活动频繁,作为改善城市空气质量的重要环境资源之一,园林绿地提供了不可或缺的生态服务功能。针对研究区降尘大、SO_2浓度高以及生产生活耗氧量大等主要环境问题,以满足城市居民环境质量基本要求为目标,通过一系列决策变量与约束条件的设定,建立起北京城近郊区园林绿地多目标线性规划模型。应用Lingo 8．0软件对规划模型求解,结果表明,规划期(2020年)不同种类园林绿地面积分配较基期(2000年)更为合理,强调通过乔灌草相结合提高园林绿地整体生态服务功能,为北京建设生态城市提供了规划依据。