196 research outputs found
Land Use Conflict Detection and Multi-Objective Optimization Based on the Productivity, Sustainability, and Livability Perspective
Land use affects many aspects of regional sustainable development, so insight into its influence is of great importance for the optimization of national space. The book mainly focuses on functional classification, spatial conflict detection, and spatial development pattern optimization based on productivity, sustainability, and livability perspectives, presenting a relevant opportunity for all scholars to share their knowledge from the multidisciplinary community across the world that includes landscape ecologists, social scientists, and geographers. The book is systematically organized into the optimization theory, methods, and practices for PLES (production–living–ecological space) around territorial spatial planning, with the overall planning of PLES as the goal and the promotion of ecological civilization construction as the starting point. Through this, the competition and synergistic interactions and positive feedback mechanisms between population, resources, ecology, environment, and economic and social development in the PLES system were revealed, and the nonlinear dynamic effects among subsystems and elements in the system identified. In addition, a series of optimization approaches for PLES is proposed
Chinese cropping systems are a net source of greenhouse gases despite soil carbon sequestration
This work was funded by National Basic Research Program of China (2014CB953800), Young Talents Projects of the Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IUEMS201402), National Natural Science Foundation of China (41471190, 41301237, 71704171), China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2014T70144) and Discovery Early Career Researcher Award of the Australian Research Council (DE170100423). The work contributes to the UK-China Virtual Joint Centres on Nitrogen “N-Circle” and “CINAg” funded by the Newton Fund via UK BBSRC/NERC (grants BB/N013484/1 and BB/N013468/1, respectively).Peer reviewedPostprintPostprin
Maps of cropping patterns in China during 2015–2021
Multiple cropping is a widespread approach for intensifying crop production through rotations of diverse crops. Maps of cropping intensity with crop descriptions are important for supporting sustainable agricultural management. As the most populated country, China ranked first in global cereal production and the percentages of multiple-cropped land are twice of the global average. However, there are no reliable updated national-scale maps of cropping patterns in China. Here we present the first recent annual 500-m MODIS-based national maps of multiple cropping systems in China using phenologybased mapping algorithms with pixel purity-based thresholds, which provide information on cropping intensity with descriptions of three staple crops (maize, paddy rice, and wheat). The produced cropping patterns maps achieved an overall accuracy of 89% based on ground truth data, and a good agreement with the statistical data (R2 ≥ 0.89). The China Cropping Pattern maps (ChinaCP) are available for public download online. Cropping patterns maps in China and other countries with finer resolutions can be produced based on Sentinel-2 Multispectral Instrument (MSI) images using the shared code
Research on multilevel evaluations and zones of territorial spatial functions in Yibin, China
Objectively evaluating and defining territorial spatial functions are important prerequisites for optimizing the use of territorial space. However, the results of the evaluation of functions at different levels may differ significantly. How to integrate the evaluation results and guide the spatial utilization at different levels more effectively is worth exploring. This study takes as the research area Yibin City, China, a node city along the Yangtze River in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. In the study, 185 towns in that city were taken as the primary evaluation units for an indicator system of territorial spatial function constructed on the basis of multivariate data. Research methods such as the entropy method and cluster analysis were adopted to do multilevel evaluations and zoning of territorial spatial functions in Yibin City. The results suggest the following: 1) The distribution of agricultural production, rural living, and ecological regulation functions among the second-level production-living-ecological (PLE) functions of townships were relatively balanced in Yibin City. The production function of industry and mining, urban life function, and ecological product supply function showed spatial directivity. 2) The evaluation results of the first-level PLE functions of townships showed that the areas with substantial PLE functions accounted for approximately 20%, whereas the areas with insignificant functions accounted for approximately 80%, which reflected the “80/20 rule” of spatial functions. 3) In accordance with the cluster analysis of the multilevel evaluation results, the township functions in Yibin were divided into 5 functional areas: urban life-industrial production advantage areas (12%), urban life-rural life advantage areas (8%), rural life-agricultural production-ecological function product supply advantage areas (29%), rural life-agricultural production-ecological service function advantage areas (20%), and ecological service function-agricultural production function advantage areas (31%). 4) In the future, Yibin City should focus on 20% of the significant functional areas and attach importance to the relativity of spatial functions to form a high-quality territorial spatial protection and development pattern. Based on the objectives and requirements of the new territorial spatial planning in China, this study reconstructed the municipal territorial spatial functional areas through a multilevel functional evaluation, which has theoretical and practical significance for forming a new pattern of territorial spatial development and use with joint production, living, and ecological functions
A spatiotemporal epidemiological investigation of the impact of environmental change on the transmission dynamics of Echinococcus spp. in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China
Background: Human echinococcoses are zoonotic parasitic diseases
of major public health importance globally. According to recent
estimates, the geographical distribution of echinococcosis is
expanding and becoming an emerging and re-emerging problem in
several regions of the world. Echinococcosis endemicity is
geographically heterogeneous and might be affected by global
environmental change over time. The aims of my research were: 1)
to assess and quantify the spatiotemporal variation in land cover
and climate change in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NHAR); 2) to
identify highly endemic areas for human echinococcoses in NHAR,
and to determine the environmental covariates that have shaped
the local geographical distribution of the disease; 3) to develop
spatial statistical models that explain and predict the
spatiotemporal variation of human exposure to Echinococcus spp.
in a highly endemic county of NHAR; and 4) to analyse
associations between the environment and the spatiotemporal
variation of human exposure to the parasites and dog infections
with Echinococcus granulosus and Echinococcus multilocularis in
four echinococcosis-endemic counties of NHAR.
Methods: Data on echinococcosis infections and human exposure to
E. granulosus and E. multilocularis were obtained from different
sources: 1) A hospital-based retrospective survey of human
echinococcosis cases in NHAR between 1992 and 2013; 2) three
cross-sectional surveys of school children conducted in Xiji
County in 2002–2003, 2006–2007 and 2012–2013; and 3) A
cross-sectional survey of human exposure and dog infections with
E. granulosus and E. multilocularis conducted in Xiji, Haiyuan,
Guyuan and Tongxin Counties. Environmental data were derived from
high-resolution (30 m) imagery from Landsat 4/5-TM and 8-OLI and
meteorological reports provided by the Chinese Academy of
Sciences. Image analysis techniques and a Bayesian statistical
framework were used to conduct a land cover change detection
analyses and to develop regression models that described and
quantified climate trends and the environmental factors
associated with echinococcosis risk at different spatial scales.
Results: The land cover changes observed in NHAR from 1991 to
2015 concurred with the main goals of a national policy on
payments for ecosystem services, implemented in the Autonomous
Region, in increasing forest and herbaceous vegetation coverages
and in regenerating bareland. Statistically significant positive
trends were observed in annual, summer and winter temperatures in
most of the region, and a small magnitude change was found in
annual precipitation, in the same 25-year period. The south of
NHAR was identified as a highly endemic area for cystic
echinococcosis (CE; caused by E. granulosus) and alveolar
echinococcosis (AE; caused by E. multilocularis). Selected
environmental covariates explained most of the spatial variation
in AE risk, while the risk of CE appeared to be less spatially
variable at the township level. The risk of exposure to E.
granulosus expanded across Xiji County from 2002–2013, while
the risk of exposure to E. multilocularis became more confined in
communities located in the south of this highly endemic area. In
2012–2013, the predicted seroprevalences of human exposure to
E. granulosus and dog infection with this parasite were
characterised by similar geographical patterns across Xiji,
Haiyuan, Guyuan and Tongxin Counties. By contrast, the predicted
high seroprevalence areas for human exposure and dog infection
with E. multilocularis did not coincide spatially. Climate, land
cover and landscape fragmentation played a key role in explaining
some of the observed spatial variation in the risk of infection
with Echinococcus spp. among schoolchildren and dogs in the south
of NHAR at the village level.
Conclusions: The findings of this research defined populations at
a high risk of human exposure to E. granulosus and E.
multilocularis in NHAR. The research provides evidence on the
potential effects of landscape regeneration projects on the
incidence of human echinococcoses due to the associations found
between the infections and regenerated land. This information
will be essential to track future requirements for scaling up and
targeting the control strategies proposed by the National Action
Plan for Echinococcosis Control in China and may facilitate the
design of future ecosystem management and protection policies and
a more effective response to emerging local environmental risks.
The predictive models developed as part of this research can also
be used to monitor echinococcosis infections and the emergence in
Echinococcus spp. transmission in the most affected areas
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Integrated Ecosystem Assessment of Western China
Western Development is an important strategy of China Government. The ecological environment in the western region of China is very fragile, and any improper human activity or resource utilization will lead to irrecoverable ecological degradation. Therefore, the integrated ecosystem assessment in the western region of China is of great significance to the Western Development Strategy. This project, Integrated Ecosystem Assessment of Western China (MAWEC), will provide very important scientific foundations for both the central and local governments to make decisions on ecological construction, thus assuring the successful implementation of the Western Development Strategy. Meanwhile, MAWEC as one of the MA sub-global assessments is contributing to strengthen capability in boosting the development of the ecological science, interaction between different subjects, and combination between scientific research and practice, and pushing forward international cooperation in the relevant fields
Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability-Volume 4
Anthropogenic activities are significant drivers of climate change and environmental degradation. Such activities are particularly influential in the context of the land system that is an important medium connecting earth surface, atmospheric dynamics, ecological systems, and human activities. Assessment of land use land cover changes and associated environmental, economic, and social consequences is essential to provide references for enhancing climate resilience and improving environmental sustainability. On the one hand, this book touches on various environmental topics, including soil erosion, crop yield, bioclimatic variation, carbon emission, natural vegetation dynamics, ecosystem and biodiversity degradation, and habitat quality caused by both climate change and earth surface modifications. On the other hand, it explores a series of socioeconomic facts, such as education equity, population migration, economic growth, sustainable development, and urban structure transformation, along with urbanization. The results of this book are of significance in terms of revealing the impact of land use land cover changes and generating policy recommendations for land management. More broadly, this book is important for understanding the interrelationships among life on land, good health and wellbeing, quality education, climate actions, economic growth, sustainable cities and communities, and responsible consumption and production according to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We expect the book to benefit decision makers, practitioners, and researchers in different fields, such as climate governance, crop science and agricultural engineering, forest ecosystem, land management, urban planning and design, urban governance, and institutional operation.Prof. Bao-Jie He acknowledges the Project NO. 2021CDJQY-004 supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities and the Project NO. 2022ZA01 supported by the State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Building Science, South China University of Technology, China. We appreciate the assistance of Mr. Lifeng Xiong, Mr. Wei Wang, Ms. Xueke Chen, and Ms. Anxian Chen at School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Chongqing University, China
Socio-economic drivers of agricultural production in a transition economy: A case study of Hu Village, Sichuan Province, China
Contemporary global agriculture has been undergoing transition towards different pathways. In developed countries, a shift from productivist agriculture to multifunctional agriculture has begun since the 1980s (Wilson, 2007). In the developing world, agricultural modernisation is still the primary strategy for agricultural development, and driven by urbanisation and industrialisation, deagrarianisation of rural society has been widely identified (Bryceson, 1996; Rigg, 2006a). As the largest developing country in the world, China embarked on market reform three decades ago and has ever since experienced dramatic socio-economic transition towards modernisation, industrialisation and urbanisation. Significant levels of academic attention have focused on empirically identifying economic and policy drivers of Chinese agricultural production from a structuralist standpoint, largely neglecting the agency of smallholders and sociocultural factors. To address the resulting literature gap, this thesis adopts an approach that combines political economy and cultural analysis through an in-depth case study of a rural community in southwest China. A multi-methods approach is used to collect data, including questionnaires, in-depth interviews, focus groups, participant observation and the analysis of secondary data.
The results suggest that Chinese smallholder agriculture has been dramatically transformed by an array of socio-economic forces. The “intensive, sustainable, diverse” Chinese smallholder agriculture which Netting (1993) portrayed, has been progressively shifted towards extensive, unsustainable and less diverse pathways. It suggests that the “perfunctory agriculture” performed by Chinese smallholders is the outcome of interactions and negotiations between various political, socio-economic and institutional constraints and farmers’ agency. Another key finding is that moving out of agriculture is becoming the norm in Chinese rural society. Most smallholders show willingness to rent out agricultural land and to enter into a capitalist relationship with employees, rather than primarily being cultivators of their land. Land transfer markets have become increasingly buoyant at the local level, and large-scale capitalist agriculture seems to be the desired future of Chinese smallholder agriculture for both the Chinese government and smallholders. Besides, based on the case of Hu Village, this thesis discusses the convergences and divergences between the road of Chinese agricultural development and that of developed countries and other emerging BRIC economies. Lastly, based on the findings of this research, four policy implications are proposed including sponsoring agricultural mutual aid groups, strengthening agricultural extension services, enhancing farmers’ negotiation power through laws, and initiating comprehensive socio-economic reforms to facilitate farmers’ pursuit of non-farm employments
Ecosystem Service and Land-Use Changes in Asia
This book highlights the role of research in Ecosystem Services and Land Use Changes in Asia. The contributions include case studies that explore the impacts of direct and indirect drivers affecting provision of ecosystem services in Asian countries, including China, India, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. Findings from these empirical studies contribute to developing sustainability in Asia at both local and regional scales
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