The progress of human geography in China under the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China

doi:10.1007/s11442-018-1563-0

Abstract

Abstract:

This paper analyzes the role of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) in advancing human geography in China by focusing on five key research areas: land use, urban systems and urban agglomeration, economic globalization, climate change and social and cultural geographies. All NSFC-funded human geography programs related to these five topics from 1986 to 2017 comprise the sample for analysis, and the research topics, content, teams, and peer-reviewed journal publications supported by these programs are investigated. Specifically, this paper analyzes the NSFC’s promotion of the expansion of research topics in response to national developmental needs and the shifting frontiers of human geography research internationally, its enhancement of interdisciplinary research, and its contributions to the assembly of specialized research teams. The paper also reports important progress in Chinese human geography over the past 30 years through the institutional lens of the NSFC, revealing major characteristics and trends in the discipline. The paper concludes by calling for further collaboration between the research community and the NSFC for the development of a locally suitable and globally influential Chinese human geography.

Key words: National Natural Science Foundation of China, human geography, land use, urban systems, urban agglomeration, economic globalization, climate change, social and cultural geographies

Gengzhi HUANG, Shuying LENG. The progress of human geography in China under the support of the National Natural Science Foundation of China[J].Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2018, 28(12): 1735-1756.

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Period	General Program			Young Scientists Fund
Period	Number	Funding (10,000 yuan)	Per-program funding (10,000 yuan)	Number	Funding (10,000 yuan)	Per-program funding (10,000 yuan)
1986-1990	55	235.5	4.3	7	18.5	2.6
1991-1995	64	478.5	7.5	13	78.4	6.0
1996-2000	76	1136.5	15.0	16	207	12.9
2001-2005	117	2856	24.4	39	880	22.6
2006-2010	202	7079	35.0	165	3076	18.6
2011-2015	375	25,748	68.7	540	12,545	23.2
2016-2017	163	11,551.6	70.9	209	5317.5	25.4

Research areas	Land use	Urban systems and urban agglomeration	Economic globalization	Climate change	Social and cultural geographies
Number of programs	183	122	92	165	197
Funding amount (10,000 yuan)	7259	9255	4656	7252	7943

Interdisciplinarity	Programs in human geography	Programs in sustainable regional development	Total
Number of funded programs	109	74	183
Number of interdisciplinary programs	66	42	108
Percentage of interdisciplinary programs (%)	61	57	59
Number of intradisciplinary programs	27	4	31
Number of interdisciplinary programs	39	38	77
Number of programs intersected with
Physical Geography	6	10	16
Integrated Physical Geography	5	7	12
Human Geography	-	7	7
Environmental Change and Prediction	2	0	2
Pedology	0	1	1
GIS	6	1	7
Regional Environmental Quality and Safety	4	4	8
Natural Resources Management	8	11	19
Sustainable Regional Development	12	-	12
Ecology	0	1	1
Macro-management and Policy	1	2	3
Agricultural and Forestry Economy Management	0	1	1

Research teams	Types of program	Number of programs	Funding amount (10,000 yuan)
Liu Yansui	General Program, Key Program	5	558
Long Hualou	Young Scientists Fund, General Program, Key Program	4	443
Principal team members	Young Scientists Fund, General Program	8	362
Huang Xianjin	Young Scientists Fund, General Program	3	129
Principal team members	Young Scientists Fund, General Program	6	230

Research teams	Types of program	Number of programs	Funding amount (10,000 yuan)
Zhou Yixing	General Program, Key Program	4	117
Principal team members	Young Scientists Fund, General Program	6	223
Xu Xueqiang	General Program, Key Program	3	118
Principal team members	Young Scientists Fund, General Program	3	156
Ning Yuemin	General Program	3	112
Principal team members	Young Scientists Fund, General Program	5	216
Gu Chaolin	General Program, Key Program, National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholar, Subproject of Major Program	5	642
Lu Yuqi	General Program, Key Program	5	445
Wang Shijun	General Program, Key Program	5	523
Xiu Chunliang	General Program	3	98
Xue Desheng	Key Program, International (Regional) Cooperation and Exchange	2	620
Fang Chuanglin	General Program, Major Program	4	2142
Principal team members	Young Scientists Fund, General Program	4	229