退耕还林工程对黄土高原土地利用/覆被变化的影响——以陕西省安塞县为例

退耕还林工程(Sloping land conversion program, SLCP)可快速改变土地利用/覆被格局。论文以黄土高原典型沟壑区--陕西省安塞县为例,利用MSS/TM/ETM+卫星遥感影像,获取研究区6个时期土地利用/覆被的时空信息,通过统计模型,定量分析了研究区SLCP对土地利用/覆被格局的影响。草地、耕地及林地为研究区三大主要土地利用/覆被类型,研究区土地利用/覆被变化整体处于不平衡态势;整个研究时段内,耕地先增后减,整体减少38.4%;林地先减后增,整体增加4.36%;灌木林地和草地减少,而未成林造林地快速增加;SLCP显著加强了耕地的递减趋势,并大幅增加了未成林造林地面积,至2010年未成林造林地面积显著大于天然林地的面积。这些变化可能具有降低土壤侵蚀与产流量、改善土壤结构、增加土壤碳吸收等效应;SLCP能提高农民收入,且大部分农民支持SLCP;但其负面效应亦不可忽视。研究将有助于对SLCP效应的全面理解,并可为该区生态恢复工程的规划与决策及生态环境保护提供参考。     

How dynamics and drivers of land use/land cover change impact elephant conservation and agricultural livelihood development in Rombo,Tanzania

Land use/land cover (LULC) change affects the provision of ecosystem services for humans and habitat for wildlife. Hence, it is crucial to monitor LULC particularly adjacent to protected areas. In this study, we measured LULC change in Rombo, Tanzania, an area with high-potential agro-ecological zones that is dominated by human–elephant conflicts (HECs). We used remote sensing and geographical information system techniques, questionnaires and village meetings to assess spatio-temporal patterns of the LULC changes in the study area. Using Landsat imagery, digital elevation model (DEM) and ground truthing, we classified and monitored changes in LULC from the years 1987 to 2015. We found that within Rombo, settlements were increasing, while agricultural and agroforestry lands were decreasing and respondents’ perceptions varied along the altitudinal gradient. Patterns of HEC and LULC were observed to change along the gradient and the later threatened the agricultural land and ecological integrity for elephant habitat, leading to high tension and competition between elephants and people. This research offers baseline information for land use planning to balance wildlife conservation with livelihood development in Rombo and highlights that managing the impacts of LULC changes on HEC and elephant habitat loss is a matter of urgency.     

Conservation Threats Due to Human-Caused Increases in Fire Frequency in Mediterranean-Climate Ecosystems

Periodic wildfire is an important natural process in Mediterranean-climate ecosystems, but increasing fire recurrence threatens the fragile ecology of these regions. Because most fires are human-caused, we investigated how human population patterns affect fire frequency. Prior research in California suggests the relationship between population density and fire frequency is not linear. There are few human ignitions in areas with low population density, so fire frequency is low. As population density increases, human ignitions and fire frequency also increase, but beyond a density threshold, the relationship becomes negative as fuels become sparser and fire suppression resources are concentrated. We tested whether this hypothesis also applies to the other Mediterranean-climate ecosystems of the world. We used global satellite databases of population, fire activity, and land cover to evaluate the spatial relationship between humans and fire in the world's five Mediterranean-climate ecosystems. Both the mean and median population densities were consistently and substantially higher in areas with than without fire, but fire again peaked at intermediate population densities, which suggests that the spatial relationship is complex and nonlinear. Some land-cover types burned more frequently than expected, but no systematic differences were observed across the five regions. The consistent association between higher population densities and fire suggests that regardless of differences between land-cover types, natural fire regimes, or overall population, the presence of people in Mediterranean-climate regions strongly affects the frequency of fires; thus, population growth in areas now sparsely settled presents a conservation concern. Considering the sensitivity of plant species to repeated burning and the global conservation significance of Mediterranean-climate ecosystems, conservation planning needs to consider the human influence on fire frequency. Fine-scale spatial analysis of relationships between people and fire may help identify areas where increases in fire frequency will threaten ecologically valuable areas.     

evaluation of a measurement method for forest vegetation in a large-scale ecological survey

We evaluate a field method for determining species richness andcanopy cover of vascular plants for the Forest Health MonitoringProgram (FHM), an ecological survey of U.S. forests. Measurementsare taken within 12 1-m² quadrats on 1/15 ha plots in FHM.Species richness and cover are determined for four height classes(strata) within each quadrat and aggregated by stratum over the entireplot. We estimated (1) the agreement between experienced trainers andinexperienced technicians who collected the data on this survey(accuracy) and (2) the agreement among the technicians (precision) forresults on species richness and cover from 3 test plots at 3 timeintervals. The methods appear to be highly precise, although somediscrepancies with the values obtained by the trainers were found.Trainers found significantly more species in the ground stratum (0–0.6 m) and measured significantly more cover in the uppermost stratum(>4.9 m). The proportion of variation due to measurement error andtemporal variability was less than 13% for species richness (all strata)and cover (all but one stratum). This indicates that the method issuitable for monitoring changes in species richness and canopy coverfor a large-scale synoptic monitoring project such as FHM.     

遥感在生态与环境监测中的主要应用领域

遥感是一种以物理手段、数学方法和地学分析为基础的综合应用技术 ,具有宏观、综合、动态和快速的特点。在解决宏观尺度的环境问题时 ,卫星遥感可重复获取多种空间、不同时相和不同波谱分辨率的地球信息 ,是适宜于调查和研究这些主题的唯一的、最有效的工具。本文通过对遥感在环境与生态监测的主要应用领域进行概要阐述 ,旨在抛砖引玉 ,推动遥感在环境与生态监测中的广泛应用。     

碳中和目标下区域土地利用结构优化研究

通过对土地利用变化的碳循环影响、碳排放核算方法、碳排放效应分析、碳排放效率及碳减排潜力评价、土地利用结构优化等方面研究成果的梳理,明晰了碳中和目标下区域土地利用结构优化研究进展。针对现有研究存在的不足,从区域土地利用变化的视角,提出碳中和目标下区域土地利用结构优化研究的系统性框架,即构建碳收支“调查—监测—核算—评价—过程模拟—低碳优化—碳减排效益评价—低碳政策”的整体框架和方法体系,发挥其在区域碳减排、土地利用低碳结构优化和区域可持续发展中的作用。     

扬州市土地利用与覆盖的遥感监测

应用遥感技术监测分析扬州市2009—2012年土地利用与覆盖状况。结果表明,扬州市土地利用及覆盖以耕地、城乡工矿居民用地及水域为主,主要生态红线区土地覆盖类型未发生人为改变,生态环境状况总体良好,呈略有改善的态势。提出,应坚持开展污染治理和生态建设,优化发展空间,统筹城乡建设用地管理。     

环境卫星CCD与Landsat TM影像质量及生态监测应用比对研究——以青海湖区域为例

针对环境卫星 CCD 影像,结合影像质量评价、专题制图、土地利用/覆被解译以及常用植被指数构建,以青海湖区域为例,与Landsat TM影像进行比对研究。结果表明,在与TM影像质量评价参数比较中,TM影像较优,而环境卫星影像具有很大的改善空间;在对地物判译中,环境卫星影像色彩稍暗淡,但对大多数地物解译判读的边界更清晰;环境卫星覆盖度大,区域制图的优势非常明显;生态监测定量遥感常用的植被指数比较中两种数据大致相同。     

A regression tree-based method for integrating land-cover and land-use data collected at multiple scales

As data sets of multiple types and scales proliferate, it will be increasingly important to be able to flexibly combine them in ways that retain relevant information. A case in point is Amazonia, a large, data-poor region where most whole-basin data sets are limited to understanding land cover interpreted through a variety of remote sensing techniques and sensors. A growing body of work, however, indicates that the future state of much of Amazonia depends on the land use to which converted areas are put, but land use in the tropics is difficult to assess from remotely sensed data alone. An earlier paper developed new snapshots of agricultural land use in this region using a statistical fusion of satellite data and agricultural census data, an underutilized ancillary data source available across Amazonia. The creation of these land-use maps, which have the spatial detail of a satellite image and the attribute information of an agricultural census, required the development of a new statistical technique for merging data sets at different scales and of fundamentally different data types. Here we describe and assess this nonlinear technique, which reinterprets existing land cover classifications by determining what categories are most highly related to the polygon land-use data across the study area. Although developed for this region, the technique appears to hold broad promise for the systematic fusion of multiple data sets that are closely related but of different origins. The figures in the printed version of this article appear in black and white. Color figures are available from the author upon request.     

Promoting late-fall establishment of tall fescue with artificial soil covers to minimise soil erosion

Frequently, turfgrass seedings have been sown in the late fall, which usually results in a poor vegetative stand and the possibility of soil erosion the following spring. This study evaluates the effects of a spun-bonded polyester soil cover placed over a late-fall seeding on subsequent seedling growth and overwintering. Clemfine, Mustang, Rebel, and Rebel II cultivars of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) were sown on a silt loam soil in late fall (on 17 October in 1989 and 19 October in 1990) and allowed to grow with and without a soil cover until June. In the spring the temperature under the soil cover was greater than 2°C warmer than the uncovered soil from mid-April through May. Over the winter, leaf and root weights showed no detrimental effects from being under the cover. Individual cultivars grown under the cover produced 2 to 11 times greater leaf yields and 38 to 270% better stand establishment than those sown on the exposed soil. However, plant winter injury was observed under the soil cover in small soil depressions which accumulated water originating from thawing. All cultivars had similar amounts of growth under the cover. However, leaf yields for Rebel were 30-55% less than the other cultivars when grown under the cover and this was probably related to a low seed germination rate. The covers also promoted weed growth, which comprised from 34–65% of total leaf weights and was found to be negatively correlated (r = –0.66) to the yields of the sown grass. The soil cover was found to be beneficial to improving the success of seedling establishment of late seedings of tall fescue in cold areas.