DOCSLIB.ORG

Status Report of Forestry Development in Tropical Region of China

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Status Report of Forestry Development in Tropical Region of China ITTO PPD 28/01 Rev.2 (F) Formulating a Proposal on Demonstration of Integrated Models for Sustainable Tropical Forestry Development Status Report of Forestry Development in Tropical Region of China Chinese Academy of Forestry July, 2004 Beijing Contents 1 Location of China's tropical region ................................................................3 2 Natural conditions in tropical region .............................................................5 2.1 Physiognomy ..........................................................................................5 2.2 Climate ...................................................................................................5 2.3 Soil .........................................................................................................6 3 Tropical vegetation .......................................................................................8 3.1 Distributing characteristics of tropical vegetation ...................................8 3.2 Main forest types and species in the region ............................................8 4 Tropical forest resources ............................................................................10 4.1 General situation ...................................................................................10 4.2 Structure of tropical forest resources ....................................................10 5 The natural, social and economic conditions in tropical area .......................13 5.1 The natural resources in the tropical area .............................................13 5.2 Distribution of industry in tropical region .............................................13 5.3 Characteristics of Social Economy Development ....................................14 5.4 General situation of social and economic development in typical tropical region .........................................................................................................15 6 The current situation forestry development in tropical region .....................19 6.1 Forestry development strategy ..............................................................19 6.2 Forestry policy ......................................................................................20 6.3 Protection of biological diversity ...........................................................21 6.4 Industry of forestry ...............................................................................24 6.5 Problems of forestry development in tropical region .............................26 2 Status Report of Forestry Development in Tropical Region of China 1 Location of China's tropical region China's tropical region, located at the north edge of Tropical Asia, is a zonal region of the southmost part of China, in the south of Nanling Mountains. It has been a joint effort of the scientific community since 1950s to reach a common agreement on the determination of China's topical region, but there are still several different viewpoints. Ren Mei'e and Yang Rengzhang pointed out that, except high mountains, the whole area of South China belongs to the tropical zone, including Guangdong, Guangxi, south part of Fujian, Taiwan Island, Hainan Island and Nanhai Islands. The scientific base for this viewpoint is the natural vegetation with references of the Growth of tropical crops. This determination is close to the characteristics of tropical area described by Zhu Kezhen, i.e. there is no winter all year around, or "summer in all four seasons and autumn only after rain." Hou Xueyu indicated that China's tropical region is in the south of Nanling Mountains. It includes Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, south part of Fujian, Taiwan, Hainan and Nanhai Islands, and southeast edge of Xizang. The base for this viewpoint is there continuous 360-365 days a year with a mean temperature up to 25℃, typical tropical vegetation can be found, and artificial vegetation have normal flowering and fruiting. Prof. Wu Zhonglun thought that the area between Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn is the tropics. This is also used for deteminating the tropical land area and tropical forest area in international community. However, China's north edge of tropical region is not identical to the Tropic of Cancer as of the influence of topography, relief, and cold currents. According to Flora of China, China 's tropical rainforests and seasonal rainforests occur in a region between Jingpu of Taiwan(123°E) at the east and Yadong and Yelamu of the southeast Xizang(86°E) at the west. Its north boundary lines among latitudes from 21°-24°N, and even reaches 28°-29°N at some deep valleys in the southeast Xizang. After the different viewpoints above, with further support of natural vegetation, agricultural vegetation, soils and other factors, China's tropical region covers Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, south Yunnan, Taiwan Island, Hainan Island and Nanhai Islands, lower reach of Brahmaputra River (Cha'ou, Motuo, and Dawang), as well as Yadong and Yelamu in southeast Xizang. China's tropical region is located in south of the Tropic of Cancer. Its north boundary moves southward because of influence of cold current at middle to east parts of Guangdong Province. While at the south of 3 Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, it moves northward to 24°N because the southeast monsoon can reach at northward area. Under the influence of the ocean, the north boundary moves further up to about 26°N in Fujian Province. While with the influence of southwest monsoon from the Indian Ocean and warm current from Bangladesh Bay, it reaches 25°N at Dehong in southwest Yunnan, i.e. from 23°30 ˊ-23°N° in southeastern and southern Yunnan(below 800 m above sea level in basins), to 25°N in southwestern Yunnan. In the southeast part of Xizang, southwest monsoons bring in warm and humid currents from the Indian Ocean under effect of the special topographic feature of the Himalayas, resulting in warm and humid climate, that makes the north boundary of China's tropical region reaches up to 28°-29°N. Above described boundary of China's tropical region keeps consistent with what given in Division of Forestry in China and Flora Map of China. Map 1 shows China's tropical region. Map 1 Location of tropical region in China 4 2 Natural conditions in tropical region 2.1 Physiognomy The physiognomy types in China’s tropical region are of multiplicity and complexity, with which there are high mountains and gorges, typical karst physiognomy, Delta of Pearl River, as well as Leizhou Peninsula, mesa of north bay, zigzag coastline and many harbor, peninsula, islands and islets, Shiwandashan in Guangxi and Himalayas in Tibet. The hills and basins to the north of Yunnan are located in the south and southwest verge of Yunnan tableland with normal altitude of less than 1000 m. The rivers here flow through this area towards the south into the sea outside China from Yunnan tableland and Qingzang tableland, of which Lanchangjiang River is the longest. The physiognomy of Hainan Island is formed by mountains, hills, mesa and plain. It is plain mesa in the north with an altitude of about 200 m. It is hills and mountainous land towards the south of the middle part. The mountainous land concentrated in the south of the middle part with the altitude of over 800 m including Wuzhishan Mountain, Toulieling Mountain, Limuling Mountain, Mihouling Mountain, Yajiadaling Mountain and Jianfengling Mountain. The topography of Hainan Island is high in the central and low around the Island, and the water system is of radiate shape. The total area of mountainous land in the Island occupies about 20%, hills about 15%, mesa and plain about 65%. The total length of coastline is 1617.8 km. The islands of the South Sea are revealed from the deep sea as a group of coral islands of the South Sea including over 100 islands, continent, reef, beach and sand and there are over 10 bigger islands. The mountainous region of Taiwan is not only with high mountain, deep valley, steep slope and dangerous cliff, but also because it is plait structure with strong active movement in the east of the Island with active geologic structure and frequent volcano earthquake. The Island is abundant in terrestrial heat resource with many volcanoes and thermal springs. In the east of the Island, there are mainly schist and in the west, there more argillite, conglomerate and shale, however, landslide and landslide will easily occur because of rainstorm when typhoon comes. 2.2 Climate Although China’s tropical region is located in the north verge of tropical zone, but with quantity of heat, high temperature and multiple rainfall. The mean annual temperature is 20-25℃ and higher(25-26℃)in the south. The mean temperature in January is normally above 10-15℃. The mean temperature in July is 25-28℃. The 5 annual accumulated temperature is 500-9000℃ when≥10℃. The absolute lowest temperature is over 5℃ in average. Basically, there is no frost in the whole year. The tropical vegetation region is the biggest annual rainfall area with over 1500 mm in China. However, the rainfall is somewhat certain differences due to different monsoon types, different sea and land position and the different action of topography. It is rich in topographic rain in the western half part towards southeast of Tibet and the annual rainfall is above 5000 mm; Taiwan, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi located in the eastern half part around the sea and Hainan Island are the most frequent areas for typhoon activities in summer and autumn in China with high intensity of rainfall, of which
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Download Article (PDF)
    Open Geosci. 2019; 11:1061–1070 Research Article Rediat Abate, Changping Chen, Junrong Liang, Lin Sun, Xuesong Li, Bangqin Huang, and Yahui Gao* Decadal variations of total organic carbon production in the inner-shelf of the South China Sea and East China Sea https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2019-0082 Received Apr 20, 2019; accepted Nov 25, 2019 1 Introduction Abstract: Organic carbon content is one of the major prox- In coastal and marine systems, the deposition of organic ies of aquatic primary production and implication of envi- matter and the ratio of TOC:TN is mainly influenced by ronmental changes. However, there is a scarcity of infor- both the supply of organic matter from overlaying water mation regarding the decadal variation of organic carbon mass, settlement velocity of organic matter onto sea floor production in inner-shelf of South China Sea (SCS) and and diagenetic process that acting on the organic matter East China Sea (ECS). To bridge this gap of information after settlement/deposition [1]. The relationship between two sediment cores were collected from the inner shelf of Total Organic Carbon (TOC) content (wt%) and Total Nitro- SCS (Leizhou Peninsula) and ECS. Then, Total Organic Car- gen (TN) content (wt%) has been used as an indicator of bon (TOC), Total Inorganic Carbon (TIC) and Total Nitro- marine Organic Matter (OM) productivity as well terrestrial gen (TN) content were examined. The TOC content in the OM input for more than half a century [2]. High TOC:TN Leizhou Peninsula averaged 0.56% and varied from 0.35% (molar weight), values greater than 20, are characteristic to 0.81%.
    [Show full text]
  • Guangdong Information
    Guangdong Information Overview Guangdong’s capital and largest city is Guangzhou. It is the southernmost located province on the China mainland. Guangdong is China’s most populous province with 110,000,000 inhabitants. With an area of 76,000 sq mi (196, 891 sq km) it is China’s 15th largest province. Its sub-tropic climate provides a comfortable 72°F (22°C) annual average. Cantonese is spoken by the majority of the population. Known nowadays for being a modern economic powerhouse and a prime location for trade, it also holds a significant place in Chinese history. Guangdong Geography Guangdong is located in the south of the country and faces the South China Sea. The long hilly coast stretches 2670 miles (4.300 km) totaling one fifth of the country’s coastline. There are hundreds of small islands located in the Zhu Jiang Delta, which is where the Dong Jiang, Bei Jiang and Guang Jiang rivers converge. Among these islands are Macao and Hong Kong, the latter of which stretches its political boundaries over a portion of the mainland as well. Hainan province, an island offshore across from the Leizhou Peninsula in the southwest, was part of Guangdong until 1988 when it became a separate province. Guangzhou and Shenzhen are both located on the Zhu Jiang River. Guangdong China borders Hunan, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Hainan provinces in addition to the Gunagzhuang Autonomous Region, Hong Kong, and Macao. Guangdong Demographics Guangdong China is composed of 99% Han, .7% Zhuang, and .2% Yao. The Hui, Manchu, and She make up most of the remaining .1%.
    [Show full text]
  • Journal of the International Palm Society Vol. 52(1) Mar. 2008 Essential Palm Palms:Essential Palm Palms 1/22/08 11:34 AM Page 1 the INTERNATIONAL PALM SOCIETY, INC
    Palms Journal of the International Palm Society Vol. 52(1) Mar. 2008 Essential palm Palms:Essential palm Palms 1/22/08 11:34 AM Page 1 THE INTERNATIONAL PALM SOCIETY, INC. The International Palm Society Palms (formerly PRINCIPES) Journal of The International Palm Society Founder: Dent Smith An illustrated, peer-reviewed quarterly devoted to The International Palm Society is a nonprofit corporation information about palms and published in March, engaged in the study of palms. The society is inter- June, September and December by The International national in scope with worldwide membership, and the Palm Society, 810 East 10th St., P.O. Box 1897, formation of regional or local chapters affiliated with the Lawrence, Kansas 66044-8897, USA. international society is encouraged. Please address all inquiries regarding membership or information about Editors: John Dransfield, Herbarium, Royal Botanic the society to The International Palm Society Inc., P.O. Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3AE, United Box 1897, Lawrence, Kansas 66044-8897, USA. e-mail Kingdom, e-mail [email protected], tel. 44- [email protected], fax 785-843-1274. 20-8332-5225, Fax 44-20-8332-5278. Scott Zona, Fairchild Tropical Garden, 11935 Old OFFICERS: Cutler Road, Coral Gables, Miami, Florida 33156 President: Paul Craft, 16745 West Epson Drive, USA, e-mail [email protected], tel. 1-305- Loxahatchee, Florida 33470 USA, e-mail 669-4072, Fax 1-305-665-8032. [email protected], tel. 1-561-514-1837. Associate Editor: Natalie Uhl, 228 Plant Science, Vice-Presidents: John DeMott, 18455 SW 264 St, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853 USA, e- Homestead, Florida 33031 USA, e-mail mail [email protected], tel.
    [Show full text]
  • Report on the State of the Environment in China 2016
    2016 The 2016 Report on the State of the Environment in China is hereby announced in accordance with the Environmental Protection Law of the People ’s Republic of China. Minister of Ministry of Environmental Protection, the People’s Republic of China May 31, 2017 2016 Summary.................................................................................................1 Atmospheric Environment....................................................................7 Freshwater Environment....................................................................17 Marine Environment...........................................................................31 Land Environment...............................................................................35 Natural and Ecological Environment.................................................36 Acoustic Environment.........................................................................41 Radiation Environment.......................................................................43 Transport and Energy.........................................................................46 Climate and Natural Disasters............................................................48 Data Sources and Explanations for Assessment ...............................52 2016 On January 18, 2016, the seminar for the studying of the spirit of the Sixth Plenary Session of the Eighteenth CPC Central Committee was opened in Party School of the CPC Central Committee, and it was oriented for leaders and cadres at provincial and ministerial
    [Show full text]
  • Understanding Land Subsidence Along the Coastal Areas of Guangdong, China, by Analyzing Multi-Track Mtinsar Data
    remote sensing Article Understanding Land Subsidence Along the Coastal Areas of Guangdong, China, by Analyzing Multi-Track MTInSAR Data Yanan Du 1 , Guangcai Feng 2, Lin Liu 1,3,* , Haiqiang Fu 2, Xing Peng 4 and Debao Wen 1 1 School of Geographical Sciences, Center of GeoInformatics for Public Security, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China; [email protected] (Y.D.); [email protected] (D.W.) 2 School of Geosciences and Info-Physics, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China; [email protected] (G.F.); [email protected] (H.F.) 3 Department of Geography, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0131, USA 4 School of Geography and Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430074, China; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +86-020-39366890 Received: 6 December 2019; Accepted: 12 January 2020; Published: 16 January 2020 Abstract: Coastal areas are usually densely populated, economically developed, ecologically dense, and subject to a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly serious, land subsidence. Land subsidence can accelerate the increase in relative sea level, lead to a series of potential hazards, and threaten the stability of the ecological environment and human lives. In this paper, we adopted two commonly used multi-temporal interferometric synthetic aperture radar (MTInSAR) techniques, Small baseline subset (SBAS) and Temporarily coherent point (TCP) InSAR, to monitor the land subsidence along the entire coastline of Guangdong Province. The long-wavelength L-band ALOS/PALSAR-1 dataset collected from 2007 to 2011 is used to generate the average deformation velocity and deformation time series. Linear subsidence rates over 150 mm/yr are observed in the Chaoshan Plain.
    [Show full text]
  • Rare Earth Element Distributions in Continental Shelf Sediment, Northern South China Sea
    water Article Rare Earth Element Distributions in Continental Shelf Sediment, Northern South China Sea Qian Ge 1,2,*, Z. George Xue 3,4,5 and Fengyou Chu 1,2 1 Key Laboratory of Submarine Geosciences, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou 310012, China; [email protected] 2 Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Hangzhou 310012, China 3 Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA; [email protected] 4 Center for Computation and Technology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA 5 Coastal Studies Institute, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 70803, USA * Correspondence: [email protected] Received: 16 October 2020; Accepted: 11 December 2020; Published: 16 December 2020 Abstract: A total of 388 surface sediment samples taken from the northern South China Sea (SCS) continental shelf were analyzed to characterize the signature of their rare earth elements (REEs). The average REEs concentration was 192.94 µg/g, with a maximum of 349.07 µg/g, and a minimum of 32.97 µg/g. The chondrite-normalized REEs pattern exhibits a remarkably light REEs accumulation, a relatively flat heavy REEs pattern, and a negative Eu anomaly. We subdivided the study area into three zones using the characteristics of REEs and statistical characteristics. Zone I: continental shelf off western Guangdong Province. Here, the sediment provenance is mainly river-derived from the Pearl River, Taiwanese rivers, and those in the adjacent area. Zone II: Qiongzhou Strait and Leizhou Peninsula. Here, the sediment provenance consists of the Qiongzhou Strait and the Hainan Island.
    [Show full text]
  • Leizhou Peninsula, Located in the Southern Guangdong Province, China, Covering an Area of Over 7,800 Square Kilometers. Our Fiel
    Conservation of Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea) in Leizhou Peninsula, China ID 03324317 Host country China Site location and the dates in the field Leizhou Peninsula, located in the southern Guangdong province, China, covering an area of over 7,800 square kilometers. Our fieldwork focused mainly on the east coast of it, and was carried out between November 2017 and January 2017. Names of any institutions involved in organising the project or participating School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University (support the fieldworks) Zhanjiang Bird Watching Society (logistics, cooperate in the workshop and support with volunteers), Hong Kong Bridwatching Society (support the fieldwork), Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force, Spoon-billed Sandpiper in China (Communicate with other NGO, cooperate in the workshop), Zhanjiang Yizhong Peicai School (cooperate in environmental education), Xinmin primary school (cooperate in environmental education). The overall aim summarised in 10–15 words Local population can be protected and monitored. Local conservation awareness is increased to high degree. Full names of author(s) Chengyi Liu, Xia Zhan, Leyi Su Permanent contact address, email and website Chengyi Liu Room 204, Mawenhui Hall No.135, Xingangxi Road Guangzhou, 510275 P. R. China [email protected] Date which the report was completed January 4th, 2019 Section 1: Summary Spoon-billed Sandpipers (Calidris pygmeus, SBS) is a critically endangered shorebirds endemic to the East Asian-Australasian Flyway[1]. Leizhou Peninsula, Guangdong as the largest wintering area for them in China (43 individuals recorded in 2016[2]), is important for this species of high conservation concern. To understand the wintering ecology of SBS habitat (especially their potential food resources) and carry out effective conservation action plan in the future, we conducted synchronous population survey and habitat studies in Leizhou during November 2017 - January 2018.
    [Show full text]
  • Tracking the Role of Policies and Economic Factors in Driving
    land Article Tracking the Role of Policies and Economic Factors in Driving the Forest Change Trajectories within the Guangdong-Hongkong-Macao Region of China: A Remote Sensing Perspective Yuyang Xian 1, Yongquan Lu 1, Zipporah Musyimi 2 and Guilin Liu 1,* 1 School of Geography, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China; [email protected] (Y.X.); [email protected] (Y.L.) 2 Department of Environmental Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics, University of Trier, 54286 Trier, Germany; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] or [email protected] Abstract: Though forest ecosystems play a critical role in enhancing ecological, environmental, economic, and societal sustainability, on a global scale, their future outlooks are uncertain given the wide-ranging threats they are exposed to. The uniqueness of this study is to provide a line of evidence in which forest change trajectories are not only tracked but also evaluated through the lenses of forestry and economic oriented events’ timelines. The dynamics of forest change trajectories were mined using a temporal model. To understand the forces driving the changes, the change trajectories were linked to the timelines when forestry policies and economic factors where adopted. During 1980–1990, the forest change trajectory assumed a peak (forest gain). This was interpreted as a response to the adoption of policies that promoted ecological conservation. During 1995–2010, the forest change trajectories reflected the response to the antagonistic effects of forest-oriented Citation: Xian, Y.; Lu, Y.; Musyimi, Z.; Liu, G. Tracking the Role of policies and the economy-oriented drivers.
    [Show full text]
  • Bioclimatic Suitability of Actual and Potential Cultivation Areas for Jacaranda Mimosifolia in Chinese Cities
    Article Bioclimatic Suitability of Actual and Potential Cultivation Areas for Jacaranda mimosifolia in Chinese Cities Chunping Xie 1, Guowu Zhang 2,*, Chiyung Jim 3,* , Xuefeng Liu 2, Peijian Zhang 2, Jianhuang Qiu 1,2 and Dawei Liu 4 1 Landscape Department, College of Coastal Agricultural Sciences, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjing 524088, China; [email protected] (C.X.); [email protected] (J.Q.) 2 China Eucalypt Research Centre, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Zhanjiang 524022, China; [email protected] (X.L.); [email protected] (P.Z.) 3 Department of Social Sciences, Education University of Hong Kong, Tai Po, Hong Kong, China 4 Key Laboratory for Forensic Technology of Wildlife, State Forestry Administration, Nanjing Forest Police College, Nanjing 210023, China; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] (G.Z.); [email protected] (C.J.) Abstract: Jacaranda mimosifolia is regarded as a prized ornamental tree in the urban landscape with attractive, abundant and long-lasting violet-colored flowers and graceful tree form. It has been widely cultivated in recent years in many Chinese cities. However, the lack of scientific and practical guidance to cultivate the exotic species has brought about planting failures in some areas, incurring substantial economic losses and landscape decline. A comprehensive understanding of the current spatial pattern and climatic conditions of J. mimosifolia in China can inform species choice, planting and management. We collected data on the geographical coordinates of 257 planting cities and acquired additional information from the literature and field surveys. The limiting factors for cultivation were investigated using principal component analysis (PCA) of 19 bioclimatic parameters Citation: Xie, C.; Zhang, G.; Jim, C.; of the sampled sites.
    [Show full text]
  • Blueprint of Coastal Wetland Conservation and Management in China
    Blueprint of Coastal Wetland Conservation and Management in China The Convention on Wetlands Management Office, Institute of Geographic Sciences and People's Republic of China Natural Resources Reasearch, CAS Blueprint of Coastal Wetland Conservation and Management in China FORWARD Coastal wetlands are the source of abundant biodiversity and valuable ecological services, which support our human livelihoods and contribute to our long-term prosperity– both economic and social. Coastal wetlands in China are critical, life- supporting habitats that sustain irreplaceable biodiversity, including millions of migratory water birds, along with many unique species of plants and other animals. However, as the recently completed Blueprint of Coastal Wetland Conservation and Management in China indicated, coastal wetlands in China are the most threatened but least protected wetlands of all ecosystems in China. Since the 1950s, China has lost more than 60% of its natural coastal wetlands to economic development, and the speed and scale of coastal wetland reclamation in the past 15 years is especially stunning. Henry M. Paulson, Jr. Due to this over-reclamation of coastal wetlands, we have already begun to see adverse Chairman, socioeconomic and ecological consequences. Paulson Institute The Blueprint project was a joint initiative of the Paulson Institute, the Convention on Wetlands Management Office of P. R. China (CWMO), and the Institute of Geographical Science and Natural Resources Research of Chinese Academy of Sciences. Experts from various institutions mapped the biodiversity and threats to China’s coastal wetlands and identified 180 priority conservation sites, including 11 most important, but unprotected habitats for migratory birds. Based on scientific analysis, they have produced a set of policy recommendations for the Chinese government.
    [Show full text]
  • Subsidence Evolution of the Leizhou Peninsula, China, Based on Insar Observation from 1992 to 2010
    applied sciences Article Subsidence Evolution of the Leizhou Peninsula, China, Based on InSAR Observation from 1992 to 2010 Yanan Du 1,2, Guangcai Feng 1,2,*, Xing Peng 1,2 and Zhiwei Li 1,2 1 School of Geosciences and Info-Physics, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China; [email protected] (Y.D.); [email protected] (X.P.); [email protected] (Z.L.) 2 Key Laboratory of Metallogenic Prediction of Nonferrous Metals and Geological Environment Monitoring (Central South University), Ministry of Education, Changsha 410012, China * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +86-182-7486-7449 Academic Editor: Saro Lee Received: 2 March 2017; Accepted: 26 April 2017; Published: 29 April 2017 Abstract: Over the past two decades, the Leizhou Peninsula has suffered from many geological hazards and great property losses caused by land subsidence. However, the absence of a deformation map of the whole peninsula has impeded the government in making the necessary decisions concerning hazard prevention and mitigation. This study aims to provide the evolution of land deformation (subsidence and uplift) in the whole peninsula from 1992 to 2010. A modified stacking procedure is proposed to map the surface deformation with JERS, ENVISAT, and ALOS1 images. The map shows that the land subsidence mainly occurs along the coastline with a maximum velocity of 32 mm/year and in a wide range of inland arable lands with a velocity between 10 and 19 mm/year. Our study suggests that there is a direct correlation between the subsidence and the surface geology. Besides, the observed subsidence in urban areas, caused by groundwater overexploitation for domestic and industrial use, is moving from urban areas to suburban areas.
    [Show full text]
  • International Seminar for UNESCO Integral Study of the Silk Roads: Roads of Dialogue: “Manila As an Entrepot in the Trans-Pacific Commerce”
    International Seminar for UNESCO Integral Study of the Silk Roads: Roads of Dialogue: “Manila as an entrepot in the trans-pacific commerce”. 5-6, February, 1991. Manila, The Philippines. PARTICIPATION OF THE PHILIPPINES IN THE NANHAI TRADE: 9th - 16th Centuries By: Rita C. Tan Nanhai trade was a luxury trade that involved a very extensive trade network principally between China and the countries in mainland Asia and insular Southeast Asia. Prime commodities such as silk, ceramics, lacquer wares, glass beads, and metals were traded by the Chinese for the exotica of the South Seas, such as pearls, aromatics, spices, pepper, ivories, scented wood, rhinoceros horns, beeswax, and cotton. Much of the maritime trade was in the form of exchange of tributary goods. It went on continually for many centuries, covering as far as the Middle East and Africa. Early Records on Nanhai Trade The earliest written reference is that of the Han chronicles or Han Shu, in which tributary envoys, as early as 140 B.C., sailing from the Leizhou Peninsula (Southwest of Guangzhou) to various states on the Malay Peninsula, Burma, and South India, are recordedi. In the Sixth Dynasties (219-584 A.D.), the traffic of tributary missions is well documented in Chinese historical annals. Not only Chinese ships, but Arabian and Indian ships, and even Cambodian ships were plying the South Seasii.f With the prosperity of the Tang dynasty (618-906 A.D.), trade flourished along both the overland and maritime Silk Roads. An extended maritime network is recorded in the New Tang chronicles, Sin Tang Shu, albeit there was no mention yet of the Philippines.
    [Show full text]