2007 Vol. 17, No. 2

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Articles
Spatial and Temporal Changes of Floating Population in China Between 1990 and 2000
LIU Chen, Kuninori OTSUBO, WANG Qinxue, Toshiaki ICHINOSE, Sadao ISHIMURA
2007, 17(2): 99-109. doi: 10.1007/s11769-007-0099-5
Abstract:
By studying the county-level census data of 1990 and 2000, we analyzed the spatial and temporal changes in the floating population in China between 1990 and 2000. The results of the analysis revealed the following characteris-tics. First, the spatial distribution of the migrants (referred to as ‘floaters' in this paper) became increasingly concentrated in the cities during the 1990s. Second, the number of floaters increased rapidly during this period, and the area in which the floaters settled expanded quickly into four population explosion belts: the coast, the Changjiang River Delta, the Beijing-Guangzhou Railway and national border belts. Third, the number of inter-province floaters increased rapidly and exceeded that of intra-province floaters in the 1990s. In addition, to obtain a quantitative relationship between the number of floaters and 10 socio-economic variables by using statistical methods and also to find the chiefly important pulling factors of the migration destination, the authors selected approximately 100 cities with the largest population of floaters. Consequently, we found that four factors—GDP, passenger trips per 10,000 persons, per capita GDP and foreign direct investment—could provide an explanation for 83.7% of the number of floaters in 2000. The GDP showed the highest correlation with the number of floaters, suggesting that a highly developed economy is the most important factor that attracts floaters. Furthermore, a fairly close relationship between the number of floaters and the GDP was also found in 2000 for all the counties.
Variation Character of Grain Yield per Unit Area in Main Grain-producing Area of Northeast China
CHENG Yeqing, ZHANG Pingyu, ZHANG Huimin
2007, 17(2): 110-116. doi: 10.1007/s11769-007-0110-1
Abstract:
Based on the surveys and the statistic data during 1980–2003, the variation character of grain yield per unit area in Northeast China and its main factors have been discussed by the methods of statistics and grey correlation analysis. The results show that: 1) the grain yield per unit area has been taking on an increasing trend in the recent 20 years. It increased from 2519.80kg/ha in 1980 to 4216.11kg/ha in 2003, with an increasing rate of 67.32%; 2) the variation of grain yield per unit area is considerably prominent and its range is also very great, with the maximal increase rate of 42.59% and maximal decrease rate of 21.13%, respectively, which are far above the whole Chinese average level; 3) the variation of main crops' yield per unit area is remarkable, which takes on the character that the yield of corn is much higher than that of soybean and rice; and 4) the grey correlation analysis shows that the most important factors impacting the variation of grain yield per unit area are the total power of agricultural machinery, the consumption of chemical fertilizer and effective irrigated area. However, the influence of natural disaster and income level should not be ignored. Effective ways to improve grain yield per unit area are to construct farmland improvement groundwork, reclaim the middle-and low-yield farmland, etc.
Spatial Strategy for Quality Labor in Rural Development——A Case Study of Jiangsu Province, China
SUN Yifei, WANG Hongyang
2007, 17(2): 117-126. doi: 10.1007/s11769-007-0117-7
Abstract:
This study examines the issue of high-quality labor in rural enterprises of China. It develops a spatial strategy which consists of two dimensions: geographical space and administrative space. Different combinations of these two dimensions form a variety of approaches such as local internalization, local externalization, regional/national inter-nalization, and regional/national externalization. In the local internalization approach, rural enterprises hire such high-quality labor and ask them to work on site, while in the local externalization approach, rural enterprises seek help from employees working in other local enterprises. In the regional/national internalization approach, rural enterprises set up research and development centers in big cities to take advantages of the high-quality labor pool there. Finally in the regional/national externalization approach, rural enterprises hire people from big cities on temporary contracts. Three approaches, hiring retired technical workers, shuttling between the rural site and country seats, and setting up R&D centers in big cities are demonstrated through cases in Zhangjiagang, a leading county-level city in the southern Jiangsu Province. It is argued that rural enterprises need to broaden their perspectives of administrative space and geographical space and think creatively to deal with the shortage of quality labor in rural settings.
Brownfield Redevelopment Toward Sustainable Urban Land Use in China
CAO Kang, GUAN Hua
2007, 17(2): 127-134. doi: 10.1007/s11769-007-0127-5
Abstract:
Brownfield redevelopment is a new urban land use strategy to pursue the ideal of sustainable development. It relieves environmental pressure and resolves the glaring contradiction between urban land idleness and urban sprawl. It addresses issues of urban land use and farmland protection in China. This paper compares brownfield with greenfield, and defines brownfield and its redevelopment. It elaborates general and special government policies for this sustainable land use strategy in the context of China. General policies contain two aspects: clarifying brownfield redevelopment's priority in Chinese urban planning and land use and setting a general quantitative redevelopment target. The extent of the government's special policies, which aim at coordinating three factors in the redevelopment process, namely govern-ments, developers and users, are divided into five areas: statistics and categorization, assessment and remediation, fi-nancial supports and tax incentives, environmental and legal liability, and publicity and guidance. The paper concludes the major functions of different levels of Chinese government in the redevelopment process, i.e. making general strategy, formulating legislation, spectifying regulations and technical standards, estimating and categorizing brownfield sites, drawing up brownfield planning, providing information and financial support, guiding developers, publicizing the strategy to the public, and checking reuse results.
Spatio-temporal Characteristics of Residential Land Growth in Hefei of Anhui Province, China
CHU Jinlong, XU Jiangang, GAO Shu
2007, 17(2): 135-142. doi: 10.1007/s11769-007-0135-5
Abstract:
We used the maps of urban land-use in 1978, 1991, 1994, 2000 and 2004, and softwares such as ArcGIS, Fragstats to analyze the spatio-temporal process of urban residential space quantitatively. Some methods, such as direction analysis and landscape pattern analysis, were employed. The results show that: 1) the residential land grew very rapidly in Hefei from 1978 to 2004, and the increased land was distributed mainly in the central city zone surrounded by a moat; however, after 1994, it was distributed mainly outside the 1th Ring Road; 2) the expansion speeds were very different in different directions: there exists a fastest expansion of residential land in the directions of NE-NNE, SW and SSE, and a slowest one in the directions of E and SEE; 3) the residential land growth went through four stages: slow circular expansion in 1978-1991, 'axes + fan wings' expansion in 1991-1994, more rapid circular expansion in 1994-2000 and 'fan-wings' expansion in 2000-2004; 4) the expansion intensity was also different in all directions in the period of 1978 to 1994, and the most was in SW and then NW; and 5) there were more and more residential land area, and the spatial agglomeration was improved increasingly.
Multiple Time-scale Characteristics of Runoff Variations in Middle Reaches of Huolin River and Their Effects
LU Xiaoning, DENG Wei, ZHANG Shuqing
2007, 17(2): 143-150. doi: 10.1007/s11769-007-0143-5
Abstract:
The Huolin River is one of the most important water sources for Xianghai wetland, Horqin wetland, and Chaganhu wetland in the western Songnen Plain of Northeast China. The annual runoff series of 46 years at Baiyun-hushuo Hydrologic Station, which is located in the middle reaches of the Huolin River, were analyzed by using wavelet analysis. Main objective was to discuss the periodic characteristics of the runoff, and examine the temporal patterns of the Huolin River recharging to the floodplain wetlands in the lower reaches of the river, and the corresponding effects of recharging variation on the environmental evolution of the wetlands. The results show that the annual runoff varied mainly at three time scales. The intensities of periodical signals at different time scales were strongly characterized by local distribution in its time frequency domain. The interdecadal variation at a scale of more than 30yr played a leading role in the temporal pattern of runoff variation, and at this scale, the runoff at Baiyunhushuo Hydrologic Station varied in turn of flood, draught and flood. Accordingly, the landscape of the floodplain wetlands presented periodic features, es-pecially prominent before the 1990s. Compared with intense human activities, the runoff periodic pattern at middle (10–20yr) and small (1–10yr) scales, which has relatively low energy, exerted unobvious effects on the environmental evolution of the floodplain wetlands, especially after the 1990s.
Response of Vegetation in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to Global Warming
XU Weixin, LIU Xiaodong
2007, 17(2): 151-159. doi: 10.1007/s11769-007-0151-5
Abstract:
Using satellite-observed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) dada and station-observed surface air temperature anomalies for the Northern Hemisphere (NH), we analyze the spatio-temporal characteristics of vege-tation variations in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and their correlations with global warming from 1982 to 2002. It is found that the late spring and early summer (May-June) are the months with the strongest responses of vegetation to global warming. Based on the Rotated Empirical Orthogonal Function (REOF) method, the study shows that the first REOF spatial pattern of average NDVI for May-June reveals the northern and southern zones with great inter-annual variations of vegetation, the northern zone from the eastern Kunlun Mountains to the southwestern Qilian Mountain and southern zone from the northern edge of the Himalayas eastward to the Hengduan Mountains. The vegetation, especially grassland, in the two zones increases significantly with global warming, with a correlation coefficient of 0.71 between the first REOF of May–June vegetation and the April–May surface air temperature anomaly in the NH during 1982–2002. A long-term increasing trend in May–June vegetation for the plateau region as a whole is also attributed mainly to global warming although there are considerable regional differences. The areas with low NDVI (grassland and shrubland) usually respond more evidently to global warming, especially since the 1990s, than those with moderate or high NDVI values.
Development and Applications of Dome A-DEM in Antarctic Ice Sheet
LIU Jiying, WEN Jiahong, WANG Yafeng, WANG Weili, Beata M CATHSO, Kenneth C JEZEK
2007, 17(2): 160-165. doi: 10.1007/s11769-007-0160-4
Abstract:
Dome A, the highest dome of East Antarctic Ice Sheet, is being an area focused by international Antarctic community after Chinese Antarctic Expedition finally reached there in 2005, and with the ongoing International Polar Year (IPY) during August 2007. In this paper two data processing methods are used together to generate two 100-m cell size digital elevation models (DEMs) of the Dome A region (Dome A-DEM) by using Cokriging method to interpolate the ICESat GLAS data, with Ihde-DEM as a constraint. It provides fundamental data to glaciological and geophysical investigation in this area. The Dome A-DEM was applied to determining the ice-sheet surface elevations and coordinates of the south and north summits, defining boundaries of basins and ice flowlines, deducing subglacial topography, and mapping surface slope and aspect in Dome A region. The DEM shows there are two (north and south) summits in Dome A region. The coordinate and the surface elevation of the highest point (the north summit) are 80°21′29.86″S, 77°21′50.29″E and 4092.71±1.43m, respectively. The ice thickness and sub-ice bedrock elevation at north summit are 2420m and 1672m, respectively. Dome A region contains four drainage basins that meet together near the south summit. Ice flowlines, slope and aspect in detail are also derived using the DEM.
Transformation of Carbon and Nitrogen by Earthworms in the Decomposition Processes of Broad-leaved Litters
DONG Weihua, YIN Xiuqin
2007, 17(2): 166-172. doi: 10.1007/s11769-007-0166-y
Abstract:
Earthworms are the important constituents in the decayed food web and the main ecological conditioners in the process of decomposition and nutrient mineralization. The transformation of organic carbon (C) and total nitrogen (N) in the broad-leaved litters ingested by earthworms was researched by means of a laboratory experiment. Experimental samples were collected from broad-leaved Korea Pine mixed forest in Liangshui National Natural Reserve (47°10′50″N, 128°53′20″E) in the northeastern Xiao Hinggan Mountains of Northeast China. The contents of organic C and total N in earthworms, leaf litters and earthworm faeces were analyzed. Results show that the organic C content was in the fol-lowing order: leaf litters>faeces>earthworms, while total N content was contrary to that of the organic C. The organic C contents in the different leaf litters were in the following order: Tilia amurensis>Betula costata>Acer mono, whereas the total N contents in the different leaf litters were: Betula costata>Tilia amurensis>Acer mono. The contents of organic C and total N in the faeces from the different leaf litters were almost consistent with the contents of the leaf litters. After the leaf litters were ingested by earthworms, the organic C, which was transformed to increase earthworms' weights, ac-counted for 3.90%–13.31% of the total ingestion by earthworms, while that in the earthworm faeces accounted for 6.14%–13.70%. The transformed organic C through the other metabolism (e.g., respiration) of earthworms accounted for 75.04%–89.92%. The ingested organic C by earthworms was mostly used for metabolic activities. The N ingested by earthworms was less than organic C. It is estimated that 37.08% of total N was transformed to increase the earthworm's weight, 19.97% into earthworm faeces and 47.86% for the consumption of the earthworm's activities. The earthworms not only increased the content of organic C and total N in the soil, but also decreased the values of C/N in the soil and leaf litters. Earthworms play a major role in the leaf litters' decomposition and transformation.
Shift-share Analysis on International Tourism Competitiveness——A Case of Jiangsu Province
SHI Chunyun, ZHANG Jie, YANG Yang, ZHOU Zhang
2007, 17(2): 173-178. doi: 10.1007/s11769-007-0173-2
Abstract:
Shift-share analysis has been confirmed a useful approach in the study of regional economics and many kinds of extended shift-share models have been advanced and put into practice in economic studies, but few have hitherto been introduced and applied to the tourism research in China. Moreover understanding the spatially competitive relationship is of paramount importance for marketers, developers, and planners involved in tourism strategy development. Based on international tourism receipts from 1995 to 2004, this study aims at probing into the spatial competitiveness of interna-tional tourism in Jiangsu Province in comparison with its neighbors by applying a spatially extended shift-share model and a modified dynamic shift-share model. The empirical results illustrate that exceptional years may exist in the ap-plication of dynamic shift-share models. To solve this issue, modifications to dynamic shift-share model are put forward. The analytical results are not only presented but also explained by the comparison of background conditions of tourism development between Jiangsu and its key competitors. The conclusions can be drawn that the growth of international tourism receipts in Jiangsu mainly attributes to the national component and the competitive component and Zhejiang is the most important rival to Jiangsu during the period of 1995–2004. In order to upgrade the tourism competitiveness, it is indispensable for Jiangsu to take proper positioning, promoting and marketing strategies and to cooperate and integrate with its main rivals.
Policy and Practice Progress of Watershed Eco-compensation in China
ZHANG Huiyuan, LIU Guihuan, WANG Jinnan, WAN Jun
2007, 17(2): 179-185. doi: 10.1007/s11769-007-0179-6
Abstract:
The ecological protection of the watersheds in China is being confronted with a lot of problems such as soil and water erosion, water pollution at present. Therefore watershed eco-compensation is becoming a question of common interest. Based on the analyses of the major problems and their origins in the watershed protection in China, the paper discusses the concerned policies including relative rules and laws, financial policies and water right transaction policies. Simultaneously the paper reviews the practices carried out in China, including the ecological construction project in the western China, the trans-provincial eco-compensation practice and the small watershed eco-compensation practice. According to the present situation of eco-compensation practices and the future policy requirement, this paper finally puts forward four key problems to be solved in the watershed eco-compensation of China in the future.
Advances in Research on Soil Moisture by Microwave Remote Sensing in China
SONG Dongsheng, ZHAO Kai, GUAN Zhi
2007, 17(2): 186-191. doi: 10.1007/s11769-007-0186-7
Abstract:
Soil moisture is an important factor in global hydrologic circulation and plays a significant role in the research of hydrology, climatology, and agriculture. Microwave remote sensing is less limited by climate and time, and can measure in large scale. With these characteristics, this technique becomes an effective tool to measure soil moisture. Since the 1980s, Chinese researchers have investigated the soil moisture using microwave instruments. The active re-mote sensors are characteristic of high spatial resolution, thus with launch of a series of satellites, active microwave remote sensing of soil moisture will be emphasized. The passive microwave remote sensing of soil moisture has a long research history, and its retrieval algorithms were developed well, so it is an important tool to retrieve large scale moisture information from satellite data in the future.