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"Landscape changes China History."
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China : an environmental history
\"Now in an updated edition, this deeply informed and beautifully written book provides a comprehensive and comprehensible history of China from prehistory to the present. Focusing on the interaction of humans and their environment, Robert B. Marks traces changes in the physical and cultural world that is home to a quarter of humankind\"--Provided by publisher.
Book
Reshaping the Frontier Landscape
In Reshaping the Frontier Landscape: Dongchuan in Eighteenth-century Southwest China, Fei HUANG examines the process of reshaping the landscape of Dongchuan, a remote frontier city in Southwest China in the eighteenth century. Rich copper deposits transformed Dongchuan into one of the key outposts of the Qing dynasty, a nexus of encounters between various groups competing for power and space. The frontier landscape bears silent witness to the changes in its people's daily lives and in their memories and imaginations. The literati, officials, itinerant merchants, commoners and the indigenous people who lived there shaped and reshaped the local landscape by their physical efforts and cultural representations. This book demonstrates how multiple landscape experiences developed among various people in dependencies, conflicts and negotiations in the imperial frontier.
eBook
Historical landscape dynamics of Inner Mongolia: patterns, drivers, and impacts
CONTEXT: Understanding the causes and consequences of land use and land cover change in drylands is crucial for global sustainability. Inner Mongolia consists of arid and semiarid ecosystems of global importance. OBJECTIVES: Our main goal was twofold: to review the patterns and drivers of land use and land cover change in Inner Mongolia, and to discuss ecological impacts and strategies for promoting landscape and regional sustainability. METHODS: We took an interdisciplinary and retrospective approach, based on historical records and remote sensing data. RESULTS: Inner Mongolia has evolved from an ocean to a forested region and then to a dryland area in the past millions of years. As a cradle of Chinese civilization, Inner Mongolia has experienced a series of land transitions from localized primitive agriculture that occurred in prehistoric times to broad-scale nomadic pastoralism that lasted for a few 1000 years, and to sedentary pastoralism with increasing agriculture and urbanization since the 1960s. The general land use pattern has long been shaped by the interactions between nomadic pastoralism and agrarian culture. The major drivers of land use and land cover change include: climate, demography, socioeconomic structures, institutional changes, and technological innovations. CONCLUSIONS: The landscapes of Inner Mongolia have evolved historically through several phases, and the profound and unsustainable landscape transformations during the past 50 years have been driven primarily by land use policies. Strategies based on landscape sustainability science are needed to curb ecosystem degradation and promote sustainability in the region.
Journal Article
Analysis of land cover and landscape change patterns in Ebinur Lake Wetland National Nature Reserve, China from 1972 to 2013
For effective monitoring and protection, researchers need to analyze the trends and causes of landscape pattern change in wetlands. The present study used Geographic Information System and remote sensing technology to analyze temporal and spatial dynamics of landscape pattern and related driving forces in the Ebinur Lake Wetland National Nature Reserve (ELWNNR) in China. We used Landsat images from 1972, 1998, 2007 and 2013, and classified the landscape into six types of land cover: water body, wetland, vegetation, salinized land, desert, and other objects (i.e., Gobi and Mountain). Landscape transition matrices and change pattern analysis were used understand wetland dynamics. Our results showed that land cover had changed dramatically during 1972–2013. The spatial extent of much of the wetland areas in the ELWNNR had reduced gradually from 1972 to 2007, and wetland loss occurred more rapidly after 2007. From 1972 to 2013, 415.8 km
2
of wetland area had been lost and only 250.1 km
2
wetland area had expanded, which represents a 22% decrease in wetland area in the ELWNNR. At the same time, the landscape pattern experienced diverse changes in the Nature Reserve. The high-density human population of the region has an intensive effect on the region. Wetlands in the nature reserve have also changed with recent rapid development in the region. This study may provide scientific information for developing effective and sustainable conservation plans for the ELWNNR.
Journal Article
Centennial-scale analysis of the creation and fate of reactive nitrogen in China (1910-2010)
Human mobilization and use of reactive nitrogen (Nr) has been one of the major aspects of global change over the past century. Nowhere has that change been more dramatic than in China, where annual net Nr creation increased from 9.2 to 56 Tg from 1910 to 2010. Since 1956, anthropogenic Nr creation exceeded natural Nr creation, contributing over 80% of total Nr until 2010. There is great interest and uncertainty in the fate and effects of this Nr in China. Here, a comprehensive inventory of Nr in China shows that Nr (including recycled Nr) has continuously and increasingly accumulated on land (from 17 to 45 Tg), accompanied by increasing transfers to the atmosphere (before deposition; from 7.6 to 20 Tg), inland waters (from 2.7 to 9.6 Tg), and coastal waters (from 4.5 to 7.7 Tg) over the past 30 y. If current trends continue, Nr creation from human activities will increase to 63 Tg by 2050, raising concerns about deleterious environmental consequences for land, air, and water at regional and global scales. Tremendous amounts of Nr have accumulated in plants, soils, and waters in China over the past 30 y, but the retention capacity of the terrestrial landscape seems to be declining. There is a possibility that the negative environmental effects of excessive Nr may accelerate in coming decades, increasing the urgency to alter the trajectory of increasing Nr imbalance. Here, a conceptual framework of the relationships between human drivers and Nr cycling in China is oriented and well-targeted to Chinese abatement strategies for Nr environmental impact.
Journal Article
Spatial patterns of bamboo expansion across scales: how does Moso bamboo interact with competing trees?
ContextsThe expansion of fast-growing Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis) into forests is likely further favored by climate change, creating more transitional regions within forests. Such forest-bamboo transitional zones provide windows to look at ecological processes driving bamboo’s interaction with competing species across space.ObjectivesWe tested the hypothesis that spatial patterns at different scales of the ecotone can inform bamboo’s invasive spread and its competitive engulfing strategy, with the allocation of biomass and resources within a bamboo colony being a key life-history strategy to facilitate its spatial spread.MethodsWe used remote sensing imagery and field survey data to analyze the dynamics of bamboo-tree transitional boundaries in Tianmu Mountain Nature Reserve (TMNR) in southeastern China. We evaluated bamboo’s spatial spread and its allocation of resources along the transitional gradient.ResultsBoth remote sensing and field data showed bamboo recovery and advancement into tree territories after the extensive logging of bamboo but with a slower spread compared to historical records. The spatial distributions of bamboo and tree stems were not random at their transitional interfaces and were affected by competition. Successful bamboo expansion into trees required close coordination between stems and rhizomes within a colony, as they served different functions in clonal integration.ConclusionsOur study initiates a scale-dependent analysis of shifts in bamboo-tree boundaries, which provides insights on how to accurately predict future bamboo distributions under climate change accounting for interspecific competition and bamboo’s clonal integration of resources.
Journal Article
History in Points, Lines and Polygons: Time Depth in the Landscape of Guangdong Province, Southern China
Change and persistence are often richly entangled facets of landscapes. While many studies use land use/land cover (depicted as polygons) to illustrate landscape evolution, this paper draws on approaches from landscape archaeology to investigate how lines and points can also be used to examine landscape morphologies. The study uses three distinct spatial elements: points (graves), lines (field boundaries), and polygons (land use) to represent landscape transformations and reflect time depth in the landscape. The paper aims to identify the most enduring landscape elements within the region and uncover the underlying mechanisms of persistence. It is suggested that the time depth exhibited in field boundaries surpasses that of land use in this case. Field boundaries provide a useful way to examine agricultural intensification, whereas land use is more sensitive to agricultural commercialization and urbanization. In addition, the Chinese Feng Shui funeral culture emerges as a stabilizing force that encourages landscape persistence. This cultural driver ensures the persistence of field patterns surrounding graves, making these fields the most ancient plots within the study area. In conclusion, representing the time depth of landscapes through linear features and points can serve as an important supplement to the study of landscape change based on land use.
Journal Article
Spatial-temporal characteristics and causes of changes to the county-level administrative toponyms cultural landscape in the eastern plains of China
As part of the cultural landscape, administrative toponyms do not only reflect natural and sociocultural phenomena, but also help with related management and naming work. Historically, county-level administrative districts have been stable and basic administrative regions in China, playing a role in the country's management. We explore the spatio-temporal evolutionary characteristics of the county-level administrative toponyms cultural landscape in China's eastern plains areas. A Geographical Information System (GIS) analysis, Geo-Informatic Tupu, Kernel Density Estimation, and correlation coefficients were conducted. We constructed a GIS database of county-level administrative toponyms from the Sui dynasty onward using the Northeast China, North China, and Yangtze Plains as examples. We then summarized the spatio-temporal evolutionary characteristics of the county-level administrative toponyms cultural landscape in China's eastern plains areas. The results indicate that (1) the number of toponyms has roughly increased over time; (2) toponym densities on the three plains are higher than the national average in the corresponding timeframe since the Sui; and (3) county-level administrative toponyms related to mountains and hydrological features accounted for more than 30% of the total in 2010. However, the percentage of county-level administrative toponyms related to natural factors on the three plains has decreased since the Sui. To explore the factors influencing this spatio-temporal evolution, we analyzed the correlations between the toponyms and natural factors and human/social factors. The correlation degree between toponym density and population density is the highest, and that between toponym density and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) the lowest. Temperature changes were important in toponym changes, and population changes have influenced toponym changes over the last 400 years in China.
Journal Article
Spatial and Temporal Changes in Land Use and Landscape Pattern Evolution in the Economic Belt of the Northern Slope of the Tianshan Mountains in China
The economic belt on the north slope of the Tianshan Mountains is a highly productive area in Xinjiang, but with the rapid development of the economy and industry and the acceleration of urbanization in recent years, the fragile ecological environment in the region has further deteriorated. Exploring shifts in land utilization across different eras and regions, along with the transformation of terrain configurations, provides key perspectives that can propel sustainable societal and environmental growth within this particular area. The research analyzed four periods (1990, 2000, 2010, 2020) of remote sensing image data combined with field monitoring data using methods such as land use variability, landscape pattern index, and grey relational model. Focusing on investigating the dynamics of the ecological environment in high-intensity human activity areas, examining alterations in land use patterns over time and space, transitions in land use types, and trends in landscape pattern indices. (1) The dominant land environments situated in the economic zone adjacent to the northern base of the Tianshan mountain range encompass extensive expanses of grassy plains and unexploited landscapes, making up 45% and 38% of the area, correspondingly. The single dynamic change degree of construction land was the largest due to the implementation of long-term land development and urbanization policies. Land use transfer change mainly occurred among cultivated land, grassland, forestland, and unused land. With strong human activities, the construction land area has expanded by 145.16% (2089.7 km2), and this number is still increasing. (2) The spatial landscape structure on the north slope of Tianshan Mountain is becoming more complicated and diversified; the cities with the highest degree of fragmentation were concentrated in the middle and western sections. Grassland is the most dominant patch type in the landscape. The shape of patches tends to be irregular and complex in general, and the fragmentation degree and dispersion degree of landscape patches are enhanced as the proportion of different landscape types increases. (3) Grey correlation analysis indicates that grasslands, cultivated land, and unused land are key elements in the landscape pattern changes on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains. Central urban agglomeration is an area with strong landscape pattern changes, and ecological protection should be emphasized while promoting economic development.
Journal Article