Table of Content

24 May 2003, Volume 22 Issue 3 Previous Issue    Next Issue

Original Articles

A Review on Application of Spatial Data Analysis Technology in Public Health WU Jilei, WANG Jinfeng, ZHENG Xiaoying, SONG Xinming, MENG Bin, ZHANG Keli 2003, 22 (3):  219-228.  doi: 10.11820/dlkxjz.2003.03.001 Abstract ( )   PDF (985KB) ( )   Save Spatial data analysis (SDA) technology mostly is concerned with data, which are not independent spatially and temporally, and the spatial correlation and spatia l association among the studied objects are of interest Spatial correlation mo stly refers to the relation among the objects themselves while the spatial assoc iation considers the neighborhood effects between the objects After the cor relation and association among objects with spatial attribution are analyzed wit h SDA technology, spatial pattern will be perceived and explained Then we can predict and coordinate the spatial processes further In public health study area, most data acquired have spatial and temporal attrib utions, so advanced technology are needed to analysis the pattern of diseases di stribution, this is a preliminary and important step to identify the risk factor s in environment to the diseases With the understanding of the patterns and risk factors, the prevention and intervening counter measures to the disease would b e easily acquired In this paper, the author gave a review on application of SD A technology in public health, including the pattern identification, hotspots de tection, environmental risk factors identification, and public health resourc e distribution as wellMoreover, the developments of the software which are use ful to public health spatial analysis were discussed also Though the progress of SDA technology applied into public health meets some encu mbrance, there are more advantages to public health with spatial analysis And with the fast developments of information technology and geographical informatio n system software’s maturation in applications in many fields, spatial data will be enriched and give potential requirement of SDA technology including public h ealth study. Related Articles | Metrics

A Study on Process Character and Zoning of Composite Sediment Disasters JIN Desheng, SHI Changxing, CHEN Hao, ZHANG Ouyang 2003, 22 (3):  229-241.  doi: 10.11820/dlkxjz.2003.03.002 Abstract ( )   PDF (478KB) ( )   Save In this paper the composite sediment disaster process is def ined as a compound of sediment disasters, which are formed under a given natural condit ion and by human activities in a certain space and time span and are with inhere ntly interrelated Generally speaking, it can be divided into two main types ba sed on its forming dynamics One is naturally carried out and the other is huma n induced From time series viewpoint, it is explained that the composite sedim ent disaster has complexity, periodicity, anatomists and administrative levels The regional characteristics of composite sediment disaster process have also been studied They are relatives, differences and dividing characters Based o n principle environmental features and basic composite processes the whole country can be divided into 4 main regions of composite sediment disasters They are ( Ⅰ) the eastern China plain and coast zone, (Ⅱ) the middle China plateau and lo wer mountainous area, (Ⅲ) the north～western China arid high and middle mountai nous and huge basin area, and (Ⅳ) the Qinghai Xizang Plateau and highest mount ainous area According to composite sediment similarities and differences the 1 1 sub regions has been divided as follows, Ⅰ1 Sub region of flood type of co mposite sediment disasters in the north eastern China,Ⅰ2 Sub region of floo d type of composite sediment disasters in the northern China and lower and middl e Yangtze River plain,Ⅰ3 Sub region of flood storm tide type of composite s ediment disasters along coast in the south eastern China;Ⅱ1 Sub region of a rid water soil lose type of composite sediment disasters on Loess Plateau, Ⅱ 2 Sub region of flood slide debris flow type of composite sediment disasters of Sichuan, Guizhou, west Hunan and Hubei, Ⅱ3 Sub region of slide debris fl ow type of composite sediment disasters of west Sichuan and Yunnan; Ⅲ1 Sub r egion of composite sediment disasters in Inner Mongolia, Ⅲ2 Sub region of wi ndy sand type of composite sediment disasters in Xinjiang and Gansu, Ⅲ3 Sub region of slide debris flow type of composite sediment disasters in Tianshan mountain;Ⅳ1 Sub region of slide debris flow type of composite sediment disa sters of the highest mountain in the south eastern Xizang, and Ⅳ2 Sub regi on of slide debris flow type of composite sediment disasters of high. Related Articles | Metrics

Evolution of Soil Erosion Models in China CAI Qiangguo, LIU Jigen 2003, 22 (3):  242-250.  doi: 10.11820/dlkxjz.2003.03.003 Abstract ( )   PDF (946KB) ( )   Save Soil erosion models are important technique instruments of knowing soil erosio n processes and intensity, mastering soil resource developing trends, directing people to use soil resource reasonably, and managing and maintaining human long time live environment; therefore they are paid attention to by the world countriesThis paper summarizes main achievements of the soil erosion models in China, introducing e xperience statistic models, physical cause models and foreign models applied in China in detail On the base of summarizing and evaluating Chinese soil erosion models, this paper brings forward future developing directions that t he soil erosion models should pay attention to:(1)paying attention to the theor y researches of soil erosion models, consummating from erosion factors basis erosion predict ion to erosion processes quantity and theory researches, studying each erosion f actor and its interaction impact on erosion processes, and sediment dispersion, transportation and deposition action on complex slopeland, as well as different catchments scales; (2) reinforcing the study of gravitation erosion and cave ero sion mechanism, and big and middle scale catchments erosion models. Related Articles | Metrics

Eco-mechanics Analysis and Quantitative Expression for Degradation of Ecosyste ms ZHANG Jia'en, XU Qi 2003, 22 (3):  251-259.  doi: 10.11820/dlkxjz.2003.03.004 Abstract ( )   PDF (947KB) ( )   Save The degradation of ecosystems was discussed from a view of eco mechanics in thi s paperIt was suggested that any ecosystem could be regarded as a kind of the substance integration with three dimension spatial structure, and that it also had a property of "movement" which referred to the displacement of the state, but not the c hange of the place of ecosystem Actually, the degradation of ecosystem was a p rocess of ecological movement from a high level or stable state to an imbalance state Any ecosystem had a certain eco mass and eco inertia When the result ant of eco forces produced by human and natural disturbance exceeded their inhe rent ecological resistance force, ecosystems would take movement or displacement  This paper also presented a quantitative expression for calculating the poten tial of ecosystem degradation with four indices, including the eco mass index ( EMI), the natural disturbance index (NDI). Related Articles | Metrics

An Assessment of Global Environmental Change and its Impacts on the Regional Dev elopment in China Lü Xinmiao, WU Shaohong, YANG Qinye 2003, 22 (3):  260-269.  doi: 10.11820/dlkxjz.2003.03.005 Abstract ( )   PDF (217KB) ( )   Save Worldwide concern about possible climate change resulting from increasing concen trations of greenhouse gases has led governments and researchers to consider int ernational action to address the issue, and the regional response to the climate change has become the priority field of global environmental change in China Researchers have gradually gained a common understanding about the combining of global and regional issues: the global environmental change issues could not be solv ed unless it is supported by regional studies, and on the other hand, the region al studies should necessarily incarnate the global issues This paper i ntroduced the essential methods of assessing regional response to climate change , especially the regional vulnerability and adaptation assessment method that ha s been widely employed in IPCC’s assessment reports The major climate scenario s in the next fifty years in China were summarized on the basis of the related l iterature Then the author assessed the recent research --how the global envi ronmental change impacts the regional development, including natural ecosystem, water resource shortage, desertification problems and agriculture industry devel opment Further research was pointed out, however, to strengthen future assessm ent and to reduce uncertainties in order to assure that sufficient information is available for policymaking about responses to possible consequences of climate. Related Articles | Metrics

An Analysis on Land Use Changes and Their Driving Factors in Shule River:an Exam ple From Anxi County ZHANG Yushu, WANG Lixin, ZHANG Hongqi, LI Xiangyun 2003, 22 (3):  270-278.  doi: 10.11820/dlkxjz.2003.03.006 Abstract ( )   PDF (939KB) ( )   Save In north west arid areas in China, regional eco environment and economic const ruction are controlled and limited by the rationality of land use structure Ta king Anxi county in Gansu Province as an example, this paper analyzes the change s in main land use types including cultivated land, woodland, grassland, lands in desertification and their driving forces The results show that the land use change is controll ed basically by physical conditions, and significantly affected by human activit iesThe increase in cultivated land is directly related to rising in utilizati on ratio of water resources, and the increase in population is also one of the m ain causes for cultivated land augment The cultivated land decrease is mainly related to land des ertification caused by irrational human activities Although woodland change i s also limited by physical condition, the function of human factor is more impor tant than physical influences The cause of grassland decrease is ove rgrazing and the irrational human activities Based on data analysis, the metho d of grey incidence analysis is used to identify the most important driving fact ors influencing land desertification The results show that the most important influencing factor is overgrazing, then the population pressure and land reclama tion, while regional climate change is less important than factors of human acti vities. Related Articles | Metrics

The Development and Application of the Universal Soil Loss Equation XIE Yun, LIN Yan, ZHANG Yan 2003, 22 (3):  279-287.  doi: 10.11820/dlkxjz.2003.03.007 Abstract ( )   PDF (892KB) ( )   Save The universal soil loss equation is an empirical soil erosion model developed by scientists in the US for predicting average annual soil loss from slope croplan d or grassland It was modified and revised by many scientists through more th an 30 years based on the data collected from experimental plots and quantitative evaluation of factors causing soil loss and published as Agricultural Handbook No 282 in 1965 Afterwards, it was revised two times during 1970’s and 1990’ s respectively In 1997, it was published as Revised Universal Soil Loss Equat ion in Agricultural Handbook No 703 Since the model was developed, it has b een applied in soil conservation planing and national natural resources inventor yThe id eas and methodology of the model developing have been used as reference for sett ing up soil erosion models in other countriesThe USLE was introduced in Chin a from 1980’s and was modified and applied in different regions. Related Articles | Metrics

Progress in Wind Erosion Research HU Yunfeng, LIU Jiyuan, ZHUANG Dafang 2003, 22 (3):  288-295.  doi: 10.11820/dlkxjz.2003.03.008 Abstract ( )   PDF (885KB) ( )   Save Wind erosion is an environment process of soil particle movement forced by wind ,including the sub processes of soil particle entrainment,space transportatio n and deposition Nowadays,scientists and the public pay more attention to the excessive wind erosion because it causes serious environment disaster The mon itoring,evaluation and prediction about the scope,intensity and magnitude of wind erosion are in focus, and they are developed in different spatial / tempora l scales which include profile scale,field (pattern) scale,region scale and an nual,monthly,daily,and hourly scale According to the research aims,means a nd scales,current researches can be cataloged as 4 main aspects: laboratory or field wind tunnel experiments,field investigation and net monitoring system,wi nd erosion evaluation model research,and wind erosion process modeling or quant itative simulation prediction The first topic is essential to deeply understan d the physics of wind erosion,and the second can help transform the research fr om local scale to global scale Thirdly, there are more models to evaluate wind erosion in the source regions than in the transforming paths and the deposition zones In the aspect of simulation and prediction model system of wind erosion ,some models and systems have gained exciting results in some regions by specif ic scale However,more works are needed to generalize them in other regions o r by other different scales In all research aspects, the geographic informatio n techniques, including remote sensing and GIS(Geographic Information System) is and will be the most important tools to acquire. Related Articles | Metrics

Measurement and Comparison of Economic Opening Rate of Al l Provinces of China XIE Shouhong 2003, 22 (3):  296-303.  doi: 10.11820/dlkxjz.2003.03.009 Abstract ( )   PDF (783KB) ( )   Save Since reform and open door policy, opening to outside world has developed rapid ly but unevenly in China Some researchers have studied economic opening rate o f China, but rarely studied the spatial disparity of economic opening rate Thi s paper employs statistical data in 1990 and 2000 and measures economic opening rate of all provinces (autonomous region or directly affiliated municipality) o f China It is exposed that since 1990 economic opening rate of most provinces of China has risen obviously and the rank has changed slightly, but the whole pa ttern has not changed The difference of economic opening rate among Chinese pr ovinces is also remarkable; that is, economic opening rate of the eastern area i s far higher than that of the central and western area From 1990 to 2000, t he relative difference of economic opening rate between the eastern area and wes tern area lessened but the absolute difference between these two areas enlarged, and both relative and absolute difference between the eastern area and the cent ral area enlarged while the difference between the western and central area lessened rapidly Then, the author classifies all provinces according to the temporal a nd spatial disparity of economic opening rate and gains some conclusions and enl ightenments The author thinks that regional differences of economic opening ra te in C hina not only results from national opening policy but also reflects the uneven principle of spatial economic development It is predicted that, after China’s entrance into WTO, opening to outside world will speed up and the eastern area w ill sta y in the lead while the western area will catch up with or overtake the central area in economic opening rate Every local government must think about its loca tion, resources and the principle of spatial economic transformation and lay out appropriate development strategy and measures to strengthen foreign economy tra de and to raise the level f opening to the outside world. Related Articles | Metrics

A Review and Prospect on Urban Internal Spatial Structu re Research in China FENG Jian, ZHOU Yixing 2003, 22 (3):  304-315.  doi: 10.11820/dlkxjz.2003.03.010 Abstract ( )   PDF (12222KB) ( )   Save On the basis of introduction of the concept of urban internal spatial structure, the authors divide the process of research on urban internal spatial structure in China into three phases, including the introducing phase (from the early 1980s to the late 1980s), the developmental phase (from the early 1980s to 1995), and the accelerating phase (from 1996 to the present) Then the authors review the new progress of research on urban internal spatial s tructure from four aspects as follows: first, the research on population and urb an internal spatial structure; second, research on the internal spatial structur e of urban economy; third, research on the internal spatial structure of urban s ociety; and fourth, research on China’s suburbanization At last, the authors analyze the gap of research on urban internal spatial struc ture between China and the west countries From the theoretical system, to the content and method of research on urban internal spatial structure, China lags m uch behind the west world The authors point out that the fifth census and the publication of its data provides us a good opportunity in studying urban interna l spatial structure With the success of China’s economic transition, the empha sis of research on urban internal spatial structure is changing In the future, scholars should lay much more emphasis on the process, characteristics and mech anisms of the restructuring of urban internal space in the transition period or in the process of suburbanization It is an urgent task to develop the theories of China’s suburbanizaiton and models of urban internal spatial structure On the basis of the above mentioned. Related Articles | Metrics

The Quality Evaluation of Living Space of the Central Cit y and Its Satellite Towns in China ——A Case Study of the Satellite Towns of Xi’an CHENG Lihui, WANG Xingzhong 2003, 22 (3):  316-325.  doi: 10.11820/dlkxjz.2003.03.011 Abstract ( )   PDF (1062KB) ( )   Save The study on urban living space quality abroad has already become the key proble m of theory and practice of Urban Social Geography, and the form of evaluative i ndicators has become the key part in the urban social indicator system On the basis of the indicator system of the Boyer’s 9 components about the quality eval uation of urban living space, combining the relevant statistics of the satellite towns of Xi’an in 2001,the paper sets up the synthesized indicator system of qu ality evaluation of living space of the central city and its satellite towns in China for the first timeSeventeen factors have been chosen as the seco ndary class indicators according to the principle of representativeness and atta inability of the data and each factor has its basis selected and the method quantized From the point of positivism, the article used the synthesized evalu ative method Firstly, it defined the weight of each component Secondly, it s tandardized the original data Then it drew the result of the order of the synt hesized indicator system of the living space quality of the satellite towns of X i’an Meanwhile, the grade types of the living space quality of downtowns and i ts quality surface have been drawn Through the relevant relation analysis, t he author tried to draw that at present the significant conditions influencin g the living space quality of central cities and their satellite towns in China (Xi’an as a case)are mainly economic situation, education level, health level and traffic state. Related Articles | Metrics

Progress in Environmental Interpretation: A Literature Review WU Bihu, GAO Xiangping, DENG Bing 2003, 22 (3):  326-334.  doi: 10.11820/dlkxjz.2003.03.012 Abstract ( )   PDF (600KB) ( )   Save Environmental interpretation, as a kind of nature tourism guideline, originally came into being in the national park system of US With constant impro vement of service quality in tourist destinations, increasingly severe competiti on of tourist products, and notable functions of management and economy in inter pretation, the concepts and functions of environmental interpretation are furthe r developed More over, the research of this topic is also being modifiedFrom 1960’s, environmental interpretation experienced 4 periods,ie(1) the format ive years,(2) research for the best medium,(3) quest for legitimacy and (4) ea rly maturation The relative research contents were mainly consisted of: (1) th e research of characteristics and functions of interpretation, including concept ual framework and goals, media selection,and function of management and economy; (2) the research of tourists in interpretation, including categories of tourist s and wa ys of interpretation; (3) the research of the communication between interpreters and tourists In western countries, the study of environmental interpretation is more and more mature with the help from other academic fields. Related Articles | Metrics