Chinese Geographical Science

Ecological security is a vital problem that people all over the world today have to face and solve, and the situation of ecological security is getting more and more severe and has begun to impede heavily the sustainable development of social economy. Ecological environment pre-warning has become a hotspot for the modern environment science. This paper introduces the theories of ecological security pre-warning and tries to constitute a pre-warning model of ecological security. In terms of pressure-state-response model, the pre-warning guide line of ecological security is constructed while the pre-warning degree judging model of ecological security is established based on fuzzy optimization. As a case, the model is used to assess the present condition pre-warning of the ecological security of Anhui Province. The result is in correspondence with the real condition: the ecological security situations of 8 cities are dangerous and 9 cities are secure. The result shows that this model is scientific and effective for regional ecological security pre-warning.

The “ring-morphostructures” (RM) are the object of this study. They are one of the most significant element of lineament’s structure and unknown for the majority of investigations. RM are numerous to lineament’s zone: they have-different size (from 10–20 km to 500–800km in diameter), structure, age, geological history and have been divided into several classes on the most important signs. They have a spatial-genetic connection Amur-Songhua-Huanghe lineament (ASHL) and had been developed simultaneously with it. The RM exerted an essential influence on the geologic-geomorphological structure, evolution and geodynamics of lineament. The main factor of evolution of lineament is a long geological process of extension of the earth’s crust which is a result of the expanding earth.

Overwhelming water-deficiency conditions and an unbalanced water supply and demand have been major concerns of both the Chinese government and the general public during recent decades. Studying the spatial-temporal patterns and impact factors that influence water retention in China is important to enhance the management of water resources in China and other similar countries. We employed a revised Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model and regression analyses to investigate the water retention service in China. The results showed that the southeastern China generally performed much better than Northwest China in terms of the spatial distribution of water retention. In general, the efficacy of the water retention service in China increased from 2000 to 2014; although some areas still had a downward trend. Water retention service increased significantly (P < 0.05) in aggregate in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the Da Hinggan Mountains and Xiao Hinggan Mountains. However, the service in southwestern China showed a decreasing trend (P < 0.05), which would have significant negative impact on the downstream population. This study also showed that in China the changes in water retention service were primarily due to climate change (which could explain 83.49% of the total variance), with anthropogenic impact as a secondary influence (likewise the ecological programs and socioeconomic development could explain 9.47% and 1.06%, respectively). Moreover, the identification of water retention importance indicated that important areas conservation and selection based on downstream beneficiaries is vital for optimization protection of ecosystem services, and has practical significance for natural resources and ecosystem management.

To comprehensively understand the law of urban-rural relationship and propose scientific measures of urban-rural coordinated development in Northeast China, this study uses the coupling coordination degree model and geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model to analyze the spatial-temporal patterns and the corresponding driving mechanisms of its urban-rural coordination since 1990. The results are as follows. First, the urban-rural coupling coordination degree in Northeast China was very low and improved slowly, but its stages of evolution is a good interpretation of the strategic arrangements of China’s urbanization. Second, the urban-rural coupling coordination degree in Northeast China had spatial differences and was characterized by central polarization, converging on urban agglomeration, which was high in the south and low in the north. Moreover, the gap between the north and south weakened. Third, the spatial-temporal evolution of the urban-rural coordination relationship in Northeast China was influenced by pulling from the central cities, pushing from rural transformation, and government regulations. The influence intensity of the three mechanisms was weak, but the pulling from the central cities was stronger than that of the other two mechanisms. Furthermore, the spatial difference between the three mechanisms determines the spatial pattern and its evolution of the urban-rural coordination relationship in Northeast China. Fourth, to promote the development of urban-rural coordination in Northeast China, it is essential to advance urban-rural economic correlation, enhance the government’s role in regulating and guiding, and adopt different policies for each region in Northeast China.

In recent years, researchers have devoted considerable attention to identifying the causes of urban environmental pollution. To determine whether migrant populations significantly affect urban environments, we examined the relationship between urban environmental pollutant emissions and migrant populations at the prefectural level using data obtained for 90 Chinese cities evidencing net in-migration. By dividing the permanent populations of these cities into natives and migrants in relation to the population structure, we constructed an improved Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology model (STIRPAT) that included not only environmental pollutant emission variables but also variables on the cities’ attributes. We subsequently conducted detailed analyses of the results of the models to assess the impacts of natives and migrants on environmental pollutant emissions. The main findings of our study were as follows: 1) Migrant populations have significant impacts on environmental emissions both in terms of their size and concentration. Specifically, migrant populations have negative impacts on Air Quality Index (AQI) as well as PM2.5 emissions and positive impacts on emissions of NO2 and CO2. 2) The impacts of migrant populations on urban environmental pollutant emissions were 8 to 30 times weaker than that of local populations. 3) Urban environmental pollutant emissions in different cities differ significantly according to variations in the industrial structures, public transportation facilities, and population densities.

Runoff coefficients of the source regions of the Huanghe River in 1956–2000 were analyzed in this paper. In the 1990s runoff of Tangnaihai Hydrologic Station of the Huanghe River experienced a serious decrease, which had attracted considerable attention. Climate changes have important impact on the water resources availability. From the view of water cycling, runoff coefficients are important indexes of water resources in a particular catchment. Kalinin baseflow separation technique was improved based on the characteristics of precipitation and streamflow. After the separation of runoff coefficient (R/P), baseflow coefficient (Br/P) and direct runoff coefficient (Dr/P) were estimated. Statistic analyses were applied to assessing the impact of precipitation and temperature on runoff coefficients (including Dr/P, Br/P and R/P). The results show that in the source regions of the Huanghe River, mean annual baseflow coefficient was higher than mean annual direct runoff coefficient. Annual runoff coefficients were in direct proportion to annual precipitation and in inverse proportion to annual mean temperature. The decrease of runoff coefficients in the 1990s was closely related to the decrease in precipitation and increase in temperature in the same period. Over different sub-basins of the source regions of the Huanghe River, runoff coefficients responded differently to precipitation and temperature. In the area above Jimai Hydrologic Station where annual mean temperature is −3.9°C, temperature is the main factor influencing the runoff coefficients. Runoff coefficients were in inverse relation to temperature, and precipitation had nearly no impact on runoff coefficients. In subbasin between Jimai and Maqu Hydrologic Station Dr/P was mainly affected by precipitation while R/P and Br/P were both significantly influenced by precipitation and temperature. In the area between Maqu and Tangnaihai hydrologic stations all the three runoff coefficients increased with the rising of annual precipitation, while direct runoff coefficient was inversely proportional to temperature. In the source regions of the Huanghe River with the increase of average annual temperature, the impacts of temperature on runoff coefficients become insignificant.

Land change science (LCS) strives to understand and model land-use change, which will further advance the understanding of multiple issues in the socio-ecological systems. Based on GIS/RS techniques, autologistic model, and household survey method, this study investigated major land use changes and their causes from 1978 to 2008 in Uxin Banner (county-level), Inner Mongolia in China and then developed an understanding of the relationships between household livelihood and land-use pattern. Results showed that cultivated land increased from 1988 to 2000, and leveled off after 2000. Built-up land increased stably for the period 1978–2008. The change of grassland and bare land differed among the three periods. From 1978 to 1988, grassland increased by 23.3%, and bare land decreased by 20.48%. From 1988 to 2000, bare land expanded by 1.7%, but grassland declined by 1.3%. From 2000 to 2008, an increase in grassland area by 1.8% was observed, but a decrease in bare land area by 9.0% was witnessed. The autologistic models performed better than logistic models as indicated by lower Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) values. Factors associated with human activities significantly correlated with the change of cultivated land, forest land, grassland, and built-up land. The produce prices and extensive cultivated land use are major issues in the farming area. This study suggests that completing land circulation systems and maintaining the stability of price are effective solutions. By contrast, reclamation and overgrazing are major concerns in the pastoral areas. Implementing environmental policies effectively, transferring population out of rural pastoral areas, and developing modern animal husbandry are effective ways to address these issues.

The mountainous areas of Central Asia provide substantial water resources, and studying change in water storage and the impacts of precipitation and snow cover in the mountain ranges of Central Asia is of the greatest importance for understanding regional water shortages and the main factors. Data from the GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellites, precipitation products and snow-covered area data were used to analyze the spatio-temporal characteristics of water storage changes and the effects of precipitation and snow cover from April 2002 to December 2013. The results were computed for each mountain ranges, and the following conclusions were drawn. The water storage in the mountainous areas of Central Asia as a whole increases in summer and winter, whereas it decreases in autumn. The water storage is affected by precipitation to some extent and some areas exhibit hysteresis. The area of positive water storage changes moves from west to east over the course of the year. The water storage declined during the period 2002–2004. It then returned to a higher level in 2005–2006 and featured lower levels in 2007–2009 Subsequently, the water storage increased gradually from 2010 to 2013. The Eastern Tianshan Mountains and Western Tianshan Mountain subzones examined in this study display similar tendencies, and the trends observed in the Karakorum Mountains and the Kunlun Mountains are also similar. However, the Eastern Tianshan Mountains and Western Tianshan Mountains were influenced by precipitation to a greater degree than the latter two ranges. The water storage in Qilian Mountains showed a pronounced increasing trend, and this range is the most strongly affected by precipitation. Based on an analysis of all investigated subzones, precipitation has the greatest influence on total water storage relative to the snow covered area in some areas of Central Asia. The results obtained from this study will be of value for scientists studying the mechanisms that influence changes in water storage in Central Asia.