On the use of principal component analysis (PCA) for evaluating interannual vegetation anomalies from SPOT/VEGETATION NDVI temporal series

In this work, we discuss the use of principal component analysis (PCA) for evaluating the vegetation interannual anomalies. The analysis was preformed on a temporal series (1999–2002) of the yearly Maximum Value Composit of SPOT/VEGETATION NDVI acquired for Sicily Island. The PCA was used as a data transform to enhance regions of localized change in multi-temporal data sets. This is a direct result of the high correlation that exists among images for regions that do not change significantly and the relatively low correlation associated with regions that change substantially. Both naturally vegetated areas (forest, shrub-land, herbaceous cover) and agricultural lands have been investigated in order to extract the most prominent natural and/or man-induced alterations affecting vegetation behavior. Our findings suggest that PCA can provide valuable information for environmental management policies involving biodiversity preservation and rational exploitation of natural and agricultural resources.     

国外沙漠化监测评价指标与分级标准

利用国内外有关资料,从狭义沙漠化定义出发,介绍了联合国沙漠化监测评价指标体系、分级标准和评价方法。     

浅论我国沙漠化防治立法的若干原则和制度

沙漠化防治实行预防为主,生态保护与防治结合原则,防治与经济开发利用相协调促进原则;综合防治与分类控制相结合;公众参与和整治者受益结合;对不同责任主体实行不同责任承担原则,由人为不当活动造成的沙漠化治理责任,实行行为者负担原则;对自然作用造成的沙漠化治理实行政府负担为主,受益者合理负担原则;确立统一规划制度;沙漠化状况调查评估与监测预警制度,休耕限耕和扶贫结合制度,禁限制度,优先区域与紧急行动区域制度。     

Development paths of drylands: thresholds and sustainability

Drylands (41 and 35% of global land and population, respectively) have the lowest biological productivity of any ecosystem, contain populations with the highest growth rates on earth, and share a significant fraction of global poverty for which desertification is implicated. A global assessment of the available information indicates that the inherent low productivity of drylands, when combined with other adverse factors, can generate poverty. It additionally indicates that while the drylands may exist in a locally stable and sustainable state, this is readily destabilized by non-linear, threshold-crossing transitions to an alternative steady-state leading to desertification, poverty and conflicts. The “desertification paradigm” (human and climatological pressures driving overexploitation of land resources, leading to desertification, poverty and reduced security) is challenged by its “counter-paradigm” (adversity elicits innovation, leading to ingenuous solutions for avoiding desertification). But the latter does not account for the inevitability of continued and increasing pressure on the finite dryland resources, expected to be further exacerbated by a globally increasing need for agricultural land. A companion paper points out that this situation can be avoided by reducing dependence on land productivity, through adoption of “alternative livelihoods.” These livelihoods, while economically advantageous, reduce pressure on land resources.     

Combating desertification in Iran over the last 50 years: An overview of changing approaches

Desertification in Iran was recognized between the 1930s and 1960s. This paper traces Iran’s attempts to reclaim desertified areas, evaluates the anti-desertification approaches adopted, and identifies continuing challenges. Iran has areas vulnerable to desertification due to extensive areas of drylands and increasing population pressure on land and water resources. Over-grazing of rangelands is a particular problem. Initially desertification was combated mainly at the local level and involved dune stabilization measures, especially the use of oil mulch, re-vegetation and windbreaks. Insufficient technical planning in the early years has led to changed approaches to plant densities and species diversity in plantations, and increased on-going management of existing plantations. Since the late 1980s forage and crop production has increased in areas where runoff control techniques are practiced. The social and economic aspects of anti-desertification programs have assisted in poverty reduction by providing off-season employment in rural areas. In 2004 a national plan to combat desertification was ratified and this placed an emphasis on community participation. Continuing challenges include managing existing desertified areas as well as taking into account potential future problems associated with rapidly depleting groundwater supplies and a predicted reduction in the plant growth period accompanying climate change.     

Urbanization and environmental policy effects on the future availability of grazing resources on the Mongolian Plateau: Modeling socio-environmental system dynamics

The rangelands of the Mongolian Plateau are dynamic socio-environmental systems that are influenced by a complex network of drivers, including climate, social institutions, market forces, and national-scale policies affecting land access and management. The sustainability and resilience of rangelands in this region depend on the ability of residents and policy makers to quickly respond by adapting livelihoods and land uses to changes in environmental and socio-economic conditions, but the responses of the system to these changes are often non-linear and difficult to predict. We developed a system dynamics model to understand how the human, natural, and land-use processes in the Mongolian rangeland ecosystem interact to produce dynamic outcomes in both grassland productivity and livestock populations. We developed two separate models based on a common integrative framework for two case study areas: Suhkbaatar Aimag in Mongolia and Xilingol League in Inner Mongolia. We used future scenarios for each region generated with stakeholder input to forecast trends in grassland area, livestock numbers, and biomass under alternative climate, socioeconomic, and land-use futures. By incorporating stakeholder-developed scenarios, we were able to explore future scenarios tailored to the particular questions and concerns relevant to the individual study areas. We find that while there are many similarities in the factors driving system dynamics in the two countries, the trajectories of key grassland resources are quite different, both between the two study regions and across the individual scenarios. Environmental policies play a key role in Xilingol, while economic development is a key driver in Sukhbaatar. Urbanization dynamics will be a major influence on the availability of grassland resources in the future.     

中国南方山地“砂石化”及控制对策—以云南小江流域为例

“砂石化”是我国南方山地河谷区在崩塌、滑坡、泥石流发生发展过程中所伴生的一种灾变现象，视其地理景观，酷似我国西北地区的戈壁荒漠。作者以云南小江流域为例，通过多年的实地考察研究，从理论与实践的结合上，就“砂石化”的形成过程、类型特征和控制对策等进行剖析，以期引起人们对此类灾变现象的关注。     

Desertification and Sustainable Development of the Heihe River Basin in Arid Northwestern China

The Heihe River Basin of northwestern China is one of several areas severely affected by desertification. This article outlines the status of desertification in this basin. There are mainly 5 types of desertification in the Heihe River Basin, namely soil and water erosion, sandy desertification, soil aridization, soil salinization and vegetation degradation. Among the 5 types of desertification, the main desertification type is sandy desertification with an area of 10 771.97 km2; Second type is soil salinization with an area of 10 591.82 km2; Next to the soil salinization is the type of soil and water erosion with an area of 5 747.68 km2 and the other types of desertification in the Heihe River Basin are soil aridization with just area of 1 369.96 km2 and vegetation degradation type with an area of 1 490.48 km2 respectively. Both natural and man-made factors are responsible for the causes of desertification development, among which the latter is the main driving force for desertification in the basin.     

沙漠化灾害的景观干扰分析

土地沙漠化是影响全球生存环境和可持续发展的重大灾害性问题，本文从景观和景观生态学出发，论述了沙漠化景观稳定性和景观干扰的特征、本质及测度，特别强调了自然因素和人为活动对沙化景观干扰所产生的影响，最后论述了依据地理信息系统和遥感图像建立沙化景观干扰图的框架，为从景观尺度研究沙漠化灾害和防治沙漠化提供参考。     

中国北方沙漠化发展趋势及对策

80年代中期,中国北方已经沙漠化的土地有20.12万平方公里,比十年前增加了2.48万平方公里,平均每年增加2103.2平方公里,发展速率1.47%,沙漠化主要发展在河北坝上、察哈尔草原和乌盟后山地区等农牧交错区.同时约有4.53万平方公里沙漠化土地得到控制,2250平方公里沙漠化土地治理逆转.只要各级重视、采取措施、恢复生态平衡,使农牧交错地区土地沙漠化得以逆转.这里还是一个很有前途的地方.