Physical geography is a discipline that studies the composition, structure, spatial differentiation characteristics, formation, development and change laws of the physical geographical environment, as well as the relationship between people and the environment.[1]
The research object of physical geography is the physical geographical environment, including the natural environment that is only indirectly or slightly affected by human beings, but the original natural appearance has not changed significantly, and the artificial environment that has been directly affected by human beings for a long time and caused significant changes in the original natural appearance.The physical geographical environment refers to the earth surface, which has a certain thickness of layers, namelylithosphere、Hydrosphere、Atmosphere、biosphereA special layer in the interval of interaction and mutual penetration.It is in theSolar radiant energyThe characteristics of the earth's internal energy and bioenergy are much more complex than those of other spheres on the earth.Here, substances in solid, liquid and gas states exist stably and permeate each other at the same time.Only in this part of the earth can there be conditions for biological production and reproduction, and become a powerful factor for the further development of the biosphere.After the emergence of mankind, it has become the environment for human life and production activities.The research content of physical geography has become more and more extensive with the development of the discipline, but it mainly studies the characteristics, structure, causes, dynamics and development laws of various physical geographical elements;To study the relationship between the various physical geographical elements, and the dynamic process of the circulation and transformation of matter and energy between them;Studying natural geographical environmentLaw of regional differentiation；To study the departmental and comprehensive physical geographical characteristics of each region, and evaluate the natural conditions and natural resources, so as to provide scientific basis for regional development;To study the changing characteristics, development trend and existing problems of the human environment under human interference and control, and to seek ways for rational utilization and remediation measures.With the development of physical geography and its connection with many natural sciences, many branches have been formed.According to the characteristics of research, physical geography can be divided into two groups of comprehensive and departmental branches.Comprehensive physical geography is a discipline that studies the comprehensive characteristics of the overall physical geographical environment.
classification
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Comprehensive physical geography
It is an important branch of physical geography to focus on the systematic and comprehensive study of the overall characteristics of the physical geographical environment - natural landscape.It includes comprehensive natural regionalization, land type and natural comprehensive process.
Comprehensive natural divisionThe characteristics of the study are that the earth surface is divided into regional systems according to the laws of regional differentiation, and the regional units divided are not repeated;The characteristic of land type research is to divide the land type system according to the law of land division, and the divided type units are repeated on the surface;The study of natural comprehensive process includes modern physical process (heat and water balance), chemical process (chemical element migration and balance), biological process (biogeographical community and ecological balance) and time process (paleogeographic process).The comprehensive result of modern geographical process shows the modern characteristics of natural geographical environment, and the comprehensive result of paleogeographic process is the ancient environment of natural geography.The modern physical geographical environment is the result and continuation of the ancient geographical environment succession.
Department Physical Geography
It is a discipline that studies from the perspective of each constituent element of physical geography and clarifies the type, characteristics, process of each element and the interaction relationship and results with other elements.It mainly includes geomorphology, climatology, hydrogeographySoil geographyFlora and phytogeography, zoogeography, chemical geography, medical geography, marine geography and other disciplines.
Regional Physical Geography
Is to study a specific areaPhysical geographical elementsAnd the characteristics, structure, development and change of the natural geographical environmentRegional geographyA branch of science.
Paleogeography
It's research and reconstructionGeological periodThe subject of physical geographical phenomena on the earth's surface.
Historical physical geography
It is a discipline to study the changes and laws of the natural geographical environment in the past 10000 years of human history,Is also historyA branch of geography.
other
In addition, there areGeneral Physical GeographyIt is a discipline that studies the formation and change of the material composition and structural characteristics of the physical geographical environment, and some people think it is a branch of comprehensive physical geography.Departmental branches include geomorphology, climatology, hydrogeography, soil geographyBiogeography, GlaciologyPermafrost、Chemical geographyAnd medical geography.
Geomorphology, climatology, hydrogeographySoil geographyBiogeography is to study the characteristics and laws of composition, structure, dynamics and distribution of a certain component of the physical geographical environment on the basis of studying the whole physical geographical environment.Their formation is related to some natural sciences and is related to physical geography and other adjacent sciencesMarginal discipline。
GeomorphologyTopographyIt is a discipline that studies the morphological characteristics, causes, distribution and evolution laws of the earth's surface, and is a marginal discipline of physical geography and geology.
Climatology is a discipline that studies the characteristics, formation, distribution and evolution of climate, as well as the relationship between climate and other natural factors and human activities. It is a marginal discipline of physical geography and atmospheric science.
physical geography
Hydrogeography is a discipline that studies the nature, morphological characteristics, time distribution and distribution laws of various water bodies on the earth's surfacehydrologyIt is a marginal discipline.Soil geography is a discipline that studies the relationship between soil and geographical environmentPedologyIt is a marginal discipline.
Phytogeography is the study of vegetationspace distribution The discipline of law is the marginal discipline of physical geography and botany.
Zoogeography is a discipline that studies the distribution of animals on the surface of the earth and the laws of ecological geography. It is a marginal discipline of physical geography and zoology.
The branch disciplines that take a unique natural complex or one aspect of the natural geographical environment as the research object include:
Glaciology is a discipline that studies the formation, characteristics, development and distribution of various natural ice bodies on the earth's surface.
Frozen soil science is a discipline that studies the formation, characteristics, development and distribution of frozen soil.
Chemical geography is a discipline that studies the chemical composition of geographical environment and the distribution, migration and transformation of chemical elements. It is a frontier discipline of physical geography and chemistry.
Medical geography studies the diseases and health conditions of peoplegeographical distribution, the relationship with the geographical environment, and the discipline of reasonable geographical allocation of medical and health care institutions and facilities.It is not only a marginal discipline of geography and medicine, but alsoApplied geographyA branch of science.
Modern physical geography has continuously strengthened quantitative analysis, ecological and applied research, and meanwhile, it has also absorbed new achievements and research methods of other disciplines and started to carry outGeographical predictionResearch, and will pay more attention toGlobal environmental issues。At the same time, physical geography research andhuman geographyThe research will be more and more closely linked.
Research History
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Human geographical knowledge originated in ancient times.However, the term "physical geography" was first used in the 17th century and had become widely popular in the second half of the 18th century.As a subject in geography, physical geography appeared in the formation period of modern geography.The development of physical geography can be roughly divided into three stages: knowledge accumulation period, modern period and modern period.
Before the middle of the 19th century, geographyGeographic knowledgeAs an important aspect of geography, the knowledge of physical geography mainly focuses on understanding the natural phenomena on the earth's surface, recording the situation of mountains and rivers, traveling and exploring wonders in all directions, and carrying out exploration and discovery activities.
in the future,AristotleTake all kinds of natural phenomena on the earth's surface as the unity of the four basic elements of earth, water, fire and gas.Eratosthenes calculated the circumference of the earth withMathematical methodThe method of studying and establishing the longitude and latitude of the earth's surface and the position of things has establishedMathematical geographyAnd divide the earth into five partsClimatic zone。In Europe, the whole Middle Ages was a period of feudal seclusion and religious domination, and geography made little progress.
In the 15th and 17th centuriesGreat Geographical DiscoveryDuring the period, human's geographical vision was greatly expanded, which not only finally confirmed the correctness of the big earth shape theory and the existence of a unified world ocean on the earth, but also discovered ocean currents, determined the trade wind belt in the northern and southern hemispheres and made scientific explanations for the formation of the monsoon.A large amount of data on surface natural phenomena collected during this period laid the foundation for the discussion of theoretical issues such as the origin of land and sea, the classification of plants and animals, and the comprehensive study of natural phenomena on the earth's surface in the second half of the 17th century.
Valennius, Germany, summarized a large amount of data during the period of the great geographical discovery, and published the book General Geography, which describes and explains the general laws of natural phenomena on the earth's surface.In the 18th century, Buffon, France, studied the relationship between man and the natural environment, and believed that man has great power in transforming nature, and the whole earth surface has the imprint of human role.All these provide ideological preparation for the establishment of physical geography.
Water injection
In China, the Yin Dynasty in the 13th century BCOracleThe weather has been recorded in.Written in the Zhou Dynasty in the 11th and 6th centuries BC《The Book of Songs》It records dozens ofGeomorphic morphology。Written in the Warring States Period《Shangshu·China's oldest known book of geography》According to the natural boundaries of famous mountains and rivers, the territory at that time was divided into nine states, and regional comparison was made on mountains, lakes, soil, vegetation, etc.Pipe·Land clerk》This is the first book on land classification. Based on the knowledge of landform, soil and vegetation at that time, it systematically and detailedly divided land into 5 major categories and more than 20 sub categories, and described the vertical distribution of mountain vegetation.
Written before the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC to 25 AD)《Mountain classics》The natural conditions of the Yangtze River basin and the Yellow River basin are comprehensively described with mountains as the key link.At the beginning of the sixth century,Li DaoyuanComplete《Water injection》This paper gives a detailed explanation of the origins, venation and geographical conditions of 1252 rivers in China.In the 11th century, Shen Kuo《Mengxi Writing》Described inSea land vicissitudeFrom the fact thatFluvial depositFunction explanationNorth China PlainCause of formation, from flowing waterErosionThe formation of Yandang peaks is discussed, and phenological phenomena are recorded in detail.
In the first half of the 17th century,Xu XiakeyesKarst sceneryVolcanic landforms, the development of vertical and horizontal sections of river valleys, and the relationship between plants and the environment were recorded in detail and analyzed scientifically. Especially, the description of karst landforms in southwest China was very detailed. The discussion on the classification of karst depressions, the formation of stalactites and caves, and the relationship between the types and distribution of peak forests and geological structures was the highest level of research at that time.
Germany in the early 19th centuryHumboldtandLittle Create modern geography.Physical geography has become an independent branch discipline.From then on, physical geography moved from a single, presentational, static study of physical geographical elements and phenomena toPhysical geographical environmentConduct comprehensive, internal and dynamic research as a whole.With the deepening of physical geography research, many branches, such asGeomorphologyClimatologyHydrogeography, soil geography, plant geographyZoogeography, Glaciologyfrozen soilLearning and so on have developed rapidly.
Humboldt Take the physical geographical environment as a whole, apply the empirical and inductive comparison methodgeographical environmentThrough comparative study, it is believed that there are causal and regional correlations between various natural phenomena on the earth's surface.Based on a large number of field survey data, he demonstrated the relationship between the horizontal and vertical distribution of plants and climatePhytogeography；It also pioneered the worldisothermFigure, studying the formation and distribution of climate, which became the beginning of modern climatology research.Humboldt's contribution laid the foundation for physical geography to become an independent branch discipline.
Since the 1860s, GermanyPescherAdvocating the study of the earth's surface from a genetic perspectiveNatural characteristicsIt established the position of a branch discipline in geography for physical geography.RichthofenHe created a general concept about the world distribution of natural phenomena, and led the research topic of physical geography to geography, that is, to clarify the causal relationship between various things in a specific region.The concept of geography is influenced byHertnerHe supported and elaborated his ideas, which had a profound impact on the development of German physical geography. The important result was that he turned his attention to the study of human beings and the surrounding natureBiological environmentRelationship between.
From the late 19th century to the early 20th century,Penck The origin and formation process of topography are discussed, and the term "surface morphology" is coined.He will alsoThe AlpsOfQuaternary glaciationDivided into 3Interglacial periodAnd 4 ice ages, rightGlaciologyandQuaternary geologyMake important contributions.At the beginning of the 20th century, Schlutter proposed that landscape research was the central purpose of geographyhistorical geographyMethods To explore the phenomenon and process of the evolution of cultural landscape from primitive (or natural) landscape.He drew the attention of physical geography research to the study of human settlements created by human activities.In the late 1930s,TrollThe creation of landscape ecology also has a profound impact on the development of German physical geography.
In the second half of the 19th century, the United States was in the era of western exploration,DavisUnder the influence of evolutionismErosion cycle theoryAnd advocates the use of "interpretative description of topography" to describe the geomorphological development process, which has played an important role in the establishment and development of geomorphology.Later, German punk proposedlandscape evolution Theory.
In the late 19th century, under the influence of German geographical thought, RussiaVoyeikovEngaged in the research of sub balance of earth heat and water, and advocated paying attention to the impact of human beings on the environment.Founder of Russian Physical GeographyDokuchaevIt is proposed in the discussion of soil formationNatural complexConcept and establishedNatural zoneTheory.Later, he also proposedGeographical landscapeThe concept recognizes that man is a major variable force on the surface of the earth.
The first half of the 20th century.BergSergei Grigoryev And developed the natural zone theory andLandscape scienceIt makes an important contribution to the development of the basic theory of physical geography.Unlike Europe and the United States, Soviet geographers attached great importance to the study of physical geography, usually focusing on various aspects of the natural environmentessential factorIn terms of natural geography, there are obvious internal differentiationLandscape mapping、GeochemistryLandscapeBiogeographic communityandPaleogeographyRemarkable progress has been made in the research of.
Modern geography of China was gradually formed on the basis of the introduction of modern geography from Europe and the United States.In 1908,Zhang XiangwenCompiled the earliest textbook of physical geography in China《Geoliterature》And created the modern geography education in China.Since the 1920s,Zhu KezhenClimatology has been extensively and deeply studied.Chinese geographers have made extensive investigations and studies on China's geomorphology, climate, hydrology, soil and vegetationQinghai Tibet Plateau, Loess Plateau, XinjiangHuang Huai Hai PlainAnd coastal zone, as well as glaciers, permafrost, deserts, etcRegional studiesRapid development.
Since the 1960s, great changes have taken place in geographyGeographic systemTheory, from disciplinary differentiation to new synthesis.On the basis of comprehensive research, new branch disciplines have been developed.stayresearch methodThe introduction of electronic computers andremote sensing techniqueAnd strengthened quantitative analysis and research.
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During this period, physical geography focused on quantitative analysis, and closely combined quantitative analysis with qualitative analysis.Mainly through the establishment of comprehensive experimental stations and the use of remote sensing technologyPhysical geographical systemThe transformation form and dynamic process of energy and matter within the, obtaining a wide range of continuous natural geographical information, and applying mathematical methods and electronic computers to process and analyze various information such as remote sensing technologyGeographic Information SystemThrough simulation experiments, the system structure model and dynamic change mathematical model are established, and the structural characteristics of the natural geographical system are studied in depth to predict the change trend.
Pay attention to the research of natural geographical system from the perspective of ecology, pay attention to the consequences of human action on the environment, and thus developEcological geography, landscape ecology, etc.
