Spatio-temporal patterns and driving forces of urban land expansion in china during the economic reform era

Along with its economic reform, China has experienced a rapid urbanization. This study mapped urban land expansion in China using high-resolution Landsat Thematic Mapper and Enhanced Thematic Mapper data of 1989/1990, 1995/1996 and 1999/2000 and analyzed its expansion modes and the driving forces underlying this process during 1990-2000. Our results show that China's urban land increased by 817 thousand hectares, of which 80.8% occurred during 1990-1995 and 19.2% during 1995-2000. It was also found that China's urban expansion had high spatial and temporal differences, such as four expansion modes, concentric, leapfrog, linear and multi-nuclei, and their combinations coexisted and expanded urban land area in the second 5 y was much less than that of the first 5 y. Case studies of the 13 mega cities showed that urban expansion had been largely driven by demographic change, economic growth, and changes in land use policies and regulations.

STUDY ON THE SPATIAL PATTERNS OF LAND-USE CHANGE AND ANALYSES OF DRIVING FORCES IN NORTHEASTERN CHINA DURING 1990-2000

Land-use change is an important aspect of global environment change. It is, in a sense, the direct result of human activities influencing our physical environment. Supported by the dynamic serving system of national resources, including both the environment database and GIS technology, this paper analyzed the land-use change in northeastern China in the past ten years (1990 - 2000). It divides northeastern China into five land-use zones based on the dynamic degree (DD) of land-use: woodland/grassland - arable land conversion zone, dry land - paddy field conversion zone, urban expansion zone, interlocked zone of farming and pasturing, and reclamation and abandoned zone. In the past ten years, land-use change of northeastern China can be generalized as follows: increase of cropland area was obvious, paddy field and dry land increased by 74. 9 and 276. 0 thousand ha respectively; urban area expanded rapidly, area of town and rural residence increased by 76. 8 thousand ha; area of forest and grassland decreased sharply with the amount of 1399. 0 and 1521. 3 thousand ha respectively; area of water body and unused land increased by 148. 4 and 513. 9 thousand ha respectively. Besides a comprehensive analysis of the spatial patterns of land use, this paper also discusses the driving forces in each land-use dynamic zones. The study shows that some key biophysical factors affect conspicuously the conversion of different land- use types. In this paper, the relationships between land- use conversion and DEM, accnmlated temperature(>= 10 degrees C) and precipitation were analysed and represented. We conclude that the land- use changes in northeast China resulted from the change of macro social and economic factors and local physical elements. Rapid population growth and management changes, in some sense, can explain the shaping of woodland/grassland - cropland conversion zone. The conversion from dry land to paddy field in the dry land - paddy field conversion zone, apart from the physical elements change promoting the expansion of paddy field, results from two reasons: one is that the implementation of market-economy in China has given farmers the right to decide what they plant and how they plant their crops, the other factor is originated partially from the change of dietary habit with the social and economic development. The conversion from paddy field to dry land is caused primarily by the shortfall of irrigation water, which in turn is caused by poor water allocation managed by local governments. The shaping of the reclamation and abandoned zone is partially due to the lack of environment protection consciousness among pioneer settlers. The reason for the conversion from grassland to cropland is the relatively higher profits of fanning than that of pasturing in the interlocked zone of farming and pasturing. In northeastern China, the rapid expansion of built-up areas results from two factors: the first is its small number of towns; the second comes from the huge potential for expansion of existing towns and cities. It is noticeable that urban expansion in the northeastern China is characterized by gentle topographic relief and low population density. Physiognomy, transportation and economy exert great influences on the urban expansion.

Changes in individual plant traits and biomass allocation in alpine meadow with elevation variation on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

Plant traits and individual plant biomass allocation of 57 perennial herbaceous species, belonging to three common functional groups (forbs, grasses and sedges) at subalpine (3700 m ASL), alpine (4300 m ASL) and subnival (>= 5000 m ASL) sites were examined to test the hypothesis that at high altitudes, plants reduce the proportion of aboveground parts and allocate more biomass to belowground parts, especially storage organs, as altitude increases, so as to geminate and resist environmental stress. However, results indicate that some divergence in biomass allocation exists among organs. With increasing altitude, the mean fractions of total biomass allocated to aboveground parts decreased. The mean fractions of total biomass allocation to storage organs at the subalpine site (7%+/- 2% S.E.) were distinct from those at the alpine (23%+/- 6%) and subnival (21%+/- 6%) sites, while the proportions of green leaves at all altitudes remained almost constant. At 4300 m and 5000 m, the mean fractions of flower stems decreased by 45% and 41%, respectively, while fine roots increased by 86% and 102%, respectively. Specific leaf areas and leaf areas of forbs and grasses deceased with rising elevation, while sedges showed opposite trends. For all three functional groups, leaf area ratio and leaf area root mass ratio decreased, while fine root biomass increased at higher altitudes. Biomass allocation patterns of alpine plants were characterized by a reduction in aboveground reproductive organs and enlargement of fine roots, while the proportion of leaves remained stable. It was beneficial for high altitude plants to compensate carbon gain and nutrient uptake under low temperature and limited nutrients by stabilizing biomass investment to photosynthetic structures and increasing the absorption surface area of fine roots. In contrast to forbs and grasses that had high mycorrhizal infection, sedges had higher single leaf area and more root fraction, especially fine roots.

The regional types of China's floating population: Identification methods and spatial patterns

With the rapid increase of the number and influence of floating population in China, it is urgently needed to understand the regional types of China's floating population and their spatial characteristics. After reviewing the current methods for identifying regional types of floating population, this paper puts forward a new composite-index identification method and its modification version which is consisted of two indexes of the net migration rate and gross migration rate. Then, the traditional single-index and the new composite-index identification methods are empirically tested to explore their spatial patterns and characteristics by using China's 2000 census data at county level. The results show: (1) The composite-index identification method is much better than traditional single-index method because it can measure the migration direction and scale of floating simultaneously, and in particular it can identify the unique regional types of floating population with large scale of immigration and emigration. (2) The modified composite-index identification method, by using the share of a region's certain type of floating population to the total in China as weights, can effectively correct the over- or under-estimated errors due to the rather large or small total population of a region. (3) The spatial patterns of different regional types of China's floating population are closely related to the regional differentiation of their natural environment, population density and socio-economic development level. The three active regional types of floating population are mainly located in the eastern part of China with lower elevation, more than 800 mm precipitation, rather higher population densities and economic development levels.

Morphological Adaptations to Drought and Reproductive Strategy of the Moss Syntrichia caninervis in the Gurbantunggut Desert, China

The biological soil crusts (BSCs) in the Gurbantunggut Desert, the largest fixed and semi-fixed desert in China, feature moss-dominated BSCs, which play an indispensable role in sand fixation. Syntrichia caninervis Mitt. (S. caninervis) serves as one of the most common species in BSCs in the desert. In this study we examined the morphological structure of S. caninervis from leafy gametophyte to protonema using light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We also examined the relationships between the morphological structure of S. caninervis and environmental factors. We found that: (1) this moss species is commonly tufted on the sand surface, and its leaves are folded upwards and twisted around the stem under dry conditions; (2) the cells on both upper and lower leaf surfaces have C-shaped dark papillae, which may reflect sunlight to reduce the damage from high temperature; (3) the leaf costa is excurrent, forming an awn with forked teeth; and (4) the protonema cells are small and thickset with thick cell walls and the cytoplasm is highly concentrated with a small vacuole. In addition, we also found that the protonema cells always form pouches on the tip of the mother cells during the process of cell polarization. Our results suggest that S. caninervis has, through its life cycle, several morphological and structural characteristics to adapt to dry environmental conditions. These morphological features of S. caninervis may also be found in other deserts in the world due to the world-wide distribution of the species.

The study of banded spherulite patterns by coupled logistic map lattice model

Banded spherulite patterns are simulated in two dimensions by means of a coupled logistic map lattice model. Both target pattern and spiral pattern which have been proved to be existent experimentally in banded spherulite are obtained by choosing suitable parameters in the model. The simulation results also indicate that the band spacing is decreased with the increase of parameter mu in the logistic map and increased with the increase of the coupling parameter epsilon, which is quite similar to the results in some experiments. Moreover, the relationship between the parameters and the corresponding patterns is obtained, and the target patterns and spiral patterns are distinguished for a given group of initial values, which may guide the study of banded spherulite.

Simulation of Banded Spherulite Patterns by Coupled Logistic Map Lattice Model in Three Dimensions

Banded spherulite patterns are simulated in three dimensions by means of a Coupled Logistic map lattice model. The patterns obtained by numerical calculation are consistent with those in experiments. The simulation results also indicate that the hand spacing is decreased with the increase of parameter mu in the Logistic map and increased with the increase of the coupling parameter e for cube lattices, and increased with the increase of the thickness of the lattice for polymer film, which is quite similar to the results in some experiments. Spiral pattern in three dimensions is also shown in this paper, which helps us understand the form of banded spherulite in polymers.

Local similarity in organic crystals and the non-uniqueness of X-ray powder patterns

Two new concepts for molecular solids, 'local similarity' and 'boundary-preserving isometry', are defined mathematically and a theorem which relates these concepts is formulated. 'Locally similar' solids possess an identical short-range structure and a 'boundary-preserving isometry' is a new mathematical operation on a finite region of a solid that transforms mathematically a given solid to a locally similar one. It is shown further that the existence of such a 'boundary-preserving isometry' in a given solid has infinitely many 'locally similar' solids as a consequence. Chemical implications, referring to the similarity of X-ray powder patterns and patent registration, are discussed as well. These theoretical concepts, which are first introduced in a schematic manner, are proved to exist in nature by the elucidation of the crystal structure of some diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) derivatives with surprisingly similar powder patterns. Although the available powder patterns were not indexable, the underlying crystals could be elucidated by using the new technique of ab initio prediction of possible polymorphs and a subsequent Rietveld refinement. Further ab initio packing calculations on other molecules reveal that 'local crystal similarity' is not restricted to DPP derivatives and should also be exhibited by other molecules such as quinacridones. The 'boundary-preserving isometry' is presented as a predictive tool for crystal engineering purposes and attempts to detect it in crystals of the Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) are reported.

PHYLOGEOGRAPHIC PATTERNS INDICATE TRANSATLANTIC MIGRATION FROM EUROPE TO NORTH AMERICA IN THE RED SEAWEED CHONDRUS CRISPUS (GIGARTINALES, RHODOPHYTA)1

Inferring how the Pleistocene climate oscillations have repopulated the extant population structure of Chondrus crispus Stackh. in the North Atlantic Ocean is important both for our understanding of the glacial episode promoting diversification and for the conservation and development of marine organisms. C. crispus is an ecologically and commercially important red seaweed with broad distributions in the North Atlantic. Here, we employed both partial mtDNA Cox1 and nrDNA internal transcribed spacer region 2 (ITS2) sequences to explore the genetic structure of 17 C. crispus populations from this area. Twenty-eight and 30 haplotypes were inferred from these two markers, respectively. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) and of the population statistic Theta(ST) not only revealed significant genetic structure within C. crispus populations but also detected significant levels of genetic subdivision among and within populations in the North Atlantic. On the basis of high haplotype diversity and the presence of endemic haplotypes, we postulate that C. crispus had survived in Pleistocene glacial refugia in the northeast Atlantic, such as the English Channel and the northwestern Iberian Peninsula. We also hypothesize that C. crispus from the English Channel refugium repopulated most of northeastern Europe and recolonized northeastern North America in the Late Pleistocene. The observed phylogeographic pattern of C. crispus populations is in agreement with a scenario in which severe Quaternary glaciations influenced the genetic structure of North Atlantic marine organisms with contiguous population expansion and locally restricted gene flow coupled with a transatlantic dispersal in the Late Pleistocene.

Molecular structure and expression patterns of flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) Myf-5, a myogenic regulatory factor

Myf-5, a member of the myogenic regulatory factors (MRF), has been shown to be expressed in muscle precursors in early stage zebrafish embryos. The MRFs, including MyoD, Myf-5, Myogenin and MR-F4, belong to the basic Helix-Loop-Helix transcription factors that contain a conserved basic Helix-Loop-Helix (bHLH) domain. To better understand the role of Myf-5 in the development of fish muscles, we have isolated the Myf-5 genomic sequence and cDNA from Flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus), and analyzed its structures and patterns of expression. Promoter analysis identified several putative transcription factor binding sites such as an E-box, NF-Y sites that might confer muscle-specific expression. Myf-5 transcripts were first detected in the paraxial mesoderm that gives rise to slow muscles. During somitogenesis, Myf-5 expression was found in developing somites. Myf-5 expression decreased gradually in somites in the anterior region, but remained strong in the newly formed somites. In the hatching stage, the expression was also detected in other muscle cells such as head muscle and fin muscle. In the growing fish, RT-PCR results showed that Myf-5 was expressed in the skeletal muscle and intestine. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Characterization of muscle-regulatory gene, MyoD, from flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) and analysis of its expression patterns during embryogenesis

Specification and differentiation of skeletal muscle cells are driven by the activity of genes encoding members of the myogenic regulatory factors (MRFs). In vertebrates, the MRF family includes MyoD, Myf5, myogenin, and MRF4. The MRFs are capable of converting a variety of nonmuscle cells into myoblasts and myotubes. To better understand their roles in fish muscle development, we isolated the MyoD gene from flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) and analyzed its structure and patterns of expression. Sequence analysis showed that flounder MyoD shared a structure similar to that of vertebrate MRFs with three exons and two introns, and its protein contained a highly conserved basic helix-loop-helix domain (bHLH). Comparison of sequences revealed that flounder MyoD was highly conserved with other fish MyoD genes. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis indicated that flounder MyoD, seabream (Sparus aurata) MyoD1, takifugu (Takifugu rubripes) MyoD, and tilapia (Oreochromis aureus) MyoD were more likely to be homologous genes. Flounder MyoD expression was first detected as two rows of presomitic cells in the segmental plate. From somitogenesis, MyoD transcripts were present in the adaxial cells that give rise to slow muscles and the lateral somitic cells that give rise to fast muscles. After 30 somites formed, MyoD expression decreased in the somites except the caudal somites, coincident with somite maturation. In the hatching stage, MyoD was expressed in other muscle cells and caudal somites. It was detected only in muscle in the growing fish.

Distribution patterns of chlorophyll a in spring and autumn in association with hydrological features in the southern Yellow Sea and northern East China Sea

Two field studies were conducted to measure pigments in the Southern Yellow Sea (SYS) and the northern East China Sea (NECS) in April (spring) and September (autumn) to evaluate the distribution pattern of phytoplankton stock (Chl a concentration) and the impact of hydrological features such as water mass, mixing and tidal front on these patterns. The results indicated that the Chl a concentration was 2.43 +/- 2.64 (Mean +/- SD) mg m(-3) in April (range, 0.35 to 17.02 mg m(-3)) and 1.75 +/- 3.10 mg m(-3) in September (from 0.07 to 36.54 mg m(-3)) in 2003. Additionally, four areas with higher Chl a concentrations were observed in the surface water in April, while two were observed in September, and these areas were located within or near the point at which different water masses converged (temperature front area). The distribution pattern of Chl a was generally consistent between onshore and offshore stations at different depths in April and September. Specifically, higher Chl a concentrations were observed along the coastal line in September, which consisted of a mixing area and a tidal front area, although the distributional pattern of Chl a concentrations varied along transects in April. The maximum Chl a concentration at each station was observed in the surface and subsurface layer (0-10 m) for onshore stations and the thermocline layer (10-30 m) for offshore stations in September, while the greatest concentrations were generally observed in surface and subsurface water (0-10 m) in April. The formation of the Chl a distributional pattern in the SYS and NECS and its relationship with possible influencing factors is also discussed. Although physical forces had a close relationship with Chl a distribution, more data are required to clearly and comprehensively elucidate the spatial pattern dynamics of Chl a in the SYS and NECS.