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Henan Province is the birthplace of Chinese civilization and one of the earliest human settlements, which means that the area has an important national cultural heritage. Traditional villages are an important facet of this cultural heritage, and studying their spatiotemporal characteristics in different periods has important theoretical and practical significance for the sustainable development and protection of cultural heritage in the region. This paper takes the traditional villages of the Yellow River basin in Henan Province that were formed before 1919 as the research object. Information on the ancient river was obtained through a literature search as well as via field research, and the important tributaries of the Yellow River in different periods were mapped using ArcGIS 10.0 software. The nearest neighbor index, kernel density estimation, standard deviation ellipse and other methods were adopted to analyze the spatiotemporal characteristics of the traditional villages. The factors that influenced the evolution of traditional villages were explored in depth by combining changes in the course of the river and water conservancy projects. The results show that the formation of traditional villages along the Yellow River in Henan Province has experienced a historical track of growth, contraction, growth and prosperity and stability. The traditional villages along the Yellow River in Henan Province generally show a clustered pattern, forming a dense concentration of traditional villages in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. The center of gravity shows a migration trend from southeast to northwest. In terms of influencing factors, the spatiotemporal evolution of the relationship between villages and their distance to water is closely related to climatic fluctuations, changes in channel, water conservancy projects and social and cultural factors. This paper deepens our understanding of the relationship between traditional village evolution and watersheds by improving the consistency between village spatial distribution and historical geography and provides a useful theoretical reference for the sustainable development of China's traditional villages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Firstly, based on the river health evaluation theory and starting from the integrity of the river system, the river health evaluation index system is selected. Secondly, the index systems of river health assessment including river morphology, hydrological and environmental characteristics, habitat elements and human activity characteristics are determined. Thirdly, set-pair (SPA) evaluation theory and extension were dealt with, a set-pair analysis-extension coupling model is constructed. Finally, taking Huangchuan Rive as an example, the ecological health evaluation on the river channel is carried out by using set-pair analysis-extension coupling model. The results of the comprehensive evaluation using the set-pair analysis-extension coupling method is obtained through calculation. It is proved by practice that the method of river health evaluation using the coupling model of set-pair analysis and extension theory could make full use of the data transformation and extension calculation, which shows the superiority in calculating correlation degree, and could reflect the determination and uncertainty of practical problems. It is possible to comprehensively consider all relevant factors. The paper provides a new idea for solving the relevant problems and obtains more accurate conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acquiring freshwater resources is a necessary component of sustainable human settlement subject to increasing pressure from population and climate changes. This sometimes scarce resource primarily comes from rivers, and international river basins ( IRBs), where watersheds and watercourses cross political boundaries, are often spaces of great political tension and conflict worldwide. Such conflict potential has garnered interest from a wide range of research communities, and each emphasises public access to hydrologic data as integral to successful international management of IRBs. However; these hydrologic data, especially measurements of river flow rate, are often closely guarded state secrets. Satellites have been cited as a key technology set to challenge this data monopoly that have yet been unable to calculate river flow rate without some form of guarded ancillary data. Now, at-many-stations hydraulic geometry ( AMHG) offers a means of circumventing data limitations without any a priori information, and the forthcoming NASA/ CNES Surface Water and Ocean Topography ( SWOT) satellite also promises to estimate flow rates solely from its novel measurements following launch. In this paper, we explore how these newly available estimates of river flow rate could reconfigure water-management and interstate relations in IRBs, and demonstrate AMHG, for two cases: the Ganges- Brahmaputra and Mekong. For these basins we find that satellite flow rate retrievals will likely reinforce and favour state-level negotiations of water resource governance. Also, satellite flow retrievals can have the direct, concrete effect of improving hydrologic understanding of the upstream Ganges- Brahmaputra, a sorely needed advance that will positively benefit millions of Bangladeshis and affect state-level interactions between India, China, and Bangladesh. Finally, we avoid offering prescriptive water management solutions for each case, as local stakeholders will ultimately determine if and how such satellite retrievals will be used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: China''s floating population is one of the largest migrations in the world. In recent years, great efforts have been made to identify their socio-demographic characteristics. However, the extent of their concern about the local environment has had less attention in the research. In the major migration cities of China, large numbers of migrants have a serious environmental impact on the ecological environment. Their environmental concerns could influence local environment policy design and environment protection implementation. The role that the temporary nature of the floating population plays in their environmental perception is now attracting the attention of local administrations. Based on an investigation conducted in the Shawan River Basin of Shenzhen City, China, this paper studies the floating population''s environmental concerns and possible movement choices, as well as some socio-demographic features. The results show that the percentage of migrants intending to settle in Shenzhen is much larger than previous studies indicated. As concerns local pollution problems, most respondents seem unconcerned and show indifferent attitudes. In particular, migrants ignore the heavy water pollution, which is the most serious pollution in the Basin. People who intend to settle down have more positive opinions on the local environment. The results also indicate that the migrants do not have enough knowledge or environmental awareness and they lack a sense of belonging, which should concern local supervisors and administration. Better education and social activities should be conducted to improve the situation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Historically, paddy soils are the most valuable natural resources that produce about 90% of staple food in eastern coastal China. Dispersed patterns of rapid rural settlement expansion, or 'exurban', are recognized as key threats to the region's food security through paddy soil loss. Analyzing the process of ex-urbanization and its impact has profound implications for the sustainable development of rural China. Based on official statistics and data derived from satellite images, dynamics of rural settlement expansion and paddy soil loss were outlined for Tiaoxi watershed during China's market transition period (1994-2003). Particularly, rural settlements became more aggregated and total area expanded by 183% at an average rate of 12.3% per year for the whole watershed. Existing cores, open areas away from urban centers and areas near major transportation lines and river channels, observed the highest specialization in rural residential growth. Being closely associated with rural settlement in spatial distribution, open large paddy soil patches acted as another kind of center for rural settlement expansion within the landscape. Variations in rural settlement expansion were detected among different-tier counties, such as speed of rural settlement expansion, speed of build-ups growth per capita. These variations were closely related to social-economic development. The rapid rural settlement expansion led to a considerable loss of paddy soil, about 11% of the total amount for the whole watershed. Linear regression identified a significant relationship between paddy soil loss and rural settlement expansion. Given the social and ecological problems associated with paddy soil loss, we argue that innovative and effective planning policies as well as management programs that target at paddy soil protection should be developed and implemented in rural China. In particular, we suggest using watershed as an appropriate spatial unit for sustainable paddy soil management in this investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]