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Approaches to establish Land Resource Information on a large scale by gathering advantages of every level government

Chen Min Zhi
Land Administrative Bureau of Taizhou Prefecture Zhejian Province, P.R of China


Abstract
Land Resource Information System (LRIS) which contains informations of both topograph and attribute, is an important component of Geography Information System (LIS), as well as a basis for scientific policy decision of governments. However, at the primary stage, to set up this system needs hard works to collect and process the original informations by complicated working methods, requiring high technology and large amount of money and jointed efforts of related governments and departments. All this makes it difficult to establish the system on a large scale shortly for governments at a country level, but feasible at a prefecture level which could collect the advantages in technology and money of the higher and lower level to solve a series of difficulties in the establishment of LRIS. TAOZHOU Prefectural Land Administrative Bureau, ZHEJIAN province, P.R. of China, takes the chance of land detailed investigation launched by the state council to concentrate the advantages in technology and fund of the higher and lower level governments on establishment of computer data processing centre at a prefectural level to process the original informations investigated outdoors by the country government departments, setting up LRIS on a large scale through adopting “Data-processing System For Land Detailed Investigation”. The centre built in May 1990, to date occupied twelve pieces of microcomputers, eight pieces of digitizers, two pieces of printers, two pieces of plotters and twenty three technical operators and goes forward at a data processing speed of 20-30 kilometer squares per day, having fulfilled the data-processing task over three million kilometer squares and gained 2500 pieces of disks and six kinds of mina databases which jointed AUTOCAD into a primary information management system with functions of data-output, edit, transformation, display, index and multifruit output, which has become the centre of data –processing, accumulation and spread in technology on a certain scope. The thesis would offer the main approaches, methods and experiences of LRIS establishment in TAIZHOU prefecture.

1. The Current State, Development And Approaches In the Establishment Of Land Resource Information Databases On A Large Scale in TAIZHOU Prefecture. TAIZHOU prefecture, located along the southeast coast of ZHEJIAN province, P.R. Of China, between 28°17’ and 121°56’ east longitude, with a total area do 9793 kilometer squares and eight countries, in which there are not only mountains, rivers, plains, but also seafield, islands, the hightest altitude being upto 1382 meter and the land utilization being very dense that the average used density would be upto about 60 blocks per kilometer square. The establishment of Land Resource Information Databases in the prefecture began in 1989, had been undergoing in combination with the Land detailed investigation launched b- y the state council, to date have finished over three million kilometer squared and will have finished the whole scope by the end of 1993.

The work is a systematic engineering which is a combination of many links, involving a wide scope and every level of land-owners, land – users, governments and departments requiring not only high technology and large amount of money, but also efficient organization and management measures, which developed by two stages in our prefecture as follows.

Stage 1 : External Works – Investigation of Outdoor Informations
The investigation and drawing outdoors is that outdoor informations in the utilization and right of land are investigated and drawn on aerial photographs in special colour and type lines, in which the utilization of land is divided into eighty four kinds which the smallest investigated and drawn unit is 400 meter square in cultivated land area and two meter in width of string shaped objects, such as roads, subways, irrigation canals and ditches etc, the informations in land-right include divided lines of every level of administrative divisions from village to province, and land-own, land-using units. Therefore, the work is a general resource survey of the most detailed and the precisest since the foundation of P.R. of China, the fruits of which are the richest formation sources for LRIS. Because of involvement of wide scope and lots of works, in order to ensure running smoothly and high precise, accuracy of the fruits, there toke a series of measures as follows in the prefecture.
  1. Renewal Of Basic Map For Outdoor Investigation. In 1988, 1989, the aerial-photographs of 1:10000 scale and image-clear over 10 million kilometer squares were retaken through concentrating money from countries by the prefectural bureau, laying a foundation for promotion in precise of the initial informations.
  2. Establishment of Conducting Organizations Of All Level Governments To The Works From Country To Township, which composed of heads and key technicians of local governments and related departments, being responsible for draw our and implement of investigation plan, settlement of expense, train of investigators and check of quality ect.
  3. Recruit And Train Of Investigators And Improvement Of “Technically Detailed Principles And Methods For The Investigation” Through practice on-the-spot. About 200 investigators were enrolled and trained through lecture, demonstration and practice by themselves on the spot, then assigned to investigate outdoors township by township.
  4. Establishment Of Technique-Instructing And Quality-Checking Organizations At From Province To Country Level, which composed of key technicians from related government departments and institutes, being responsible for instruct to technical operation and check and accept the investigated fruits of the lower level district respectively.
Stage 2: Internal Works – Digitization Of Initial Informations And Establishment Of Land Resource Information Databases.
The initial informations gained outdoors could be processed by either traditional methods or computer, which both requiring a large amount of money. However, the fruits ach- ieved by computer could be directly formed in to Land Resource Information System which largely promote the applying efficiency of the fruits. Owing to lack go money and technique at all level government alone, we adopted a new computer- applying pattern, that is computer data processing centre at a prefectural level which could collect the needed money and technique from the higher and lower level governments and institutes. In order to tackle difficulties in the application of a new technology, the centre developed by two steps :

Step 1 : Test and Accumulation Of Experience
The software applied to the internal works is “Data Processing System For Land Detailed Investigation” which contains five subsystems: 1) Collect and edit of initial informations on the investigated aerial photographs to form digitized chain-point databases and accordingly attribute databases. 2) Collect and edit of photograph feature points to establish digital altitude models of topograph 3) rectification of the chain-point coordinates of initial infromations and combination of informations on neighbouring aerial photographs. 4) Calculation and summing up and output of area. 5) drawing of the fruit map. Being a first fruit of scientific research the system is lack of strong adaptability and practicability and required improvement in the application especially on a large scale. At the primary, because of lack of being recognized in its efficiency and mastered in its technique, it is necessary to test on a small scale to accumulate experience in technique and management in its large scale application. In 1990, money from two counties were collected to build” Associated Microcomputer serving Centre Of TAIZHOU Prefecture” and technological forces were concentrated on experiment, while fulfilling the data-processing task of HUANGYUN country over 1200 kilometer squares, having solved a series of difficulties and planed out the measures and rules which could ensure smoothly and efficiently run of the system in the application to reality, the details are follows :
  1. Improvement of the software to adapt a more complicated environment including the vary of operation level, device type and initial information kind ect.
  2. Establishment of principles and rules in operation, quality-ensure and fruit material management.
  3. Plan out of optimum disposition of devices and time, measures for organization management to make the system’s advantages full exert.
Step 2: Scale Expansion
In order to further promote the speed of data-processing at the centre, in 1991, money from the rest counties were collected to expand the centre scale, to date the centre occupied twelve pieces of microcomputers, eight pieces of digitizes two pieces of plotters, printers and twenty-three operating technicians and implemented large-scale productive line, realizing the specialized and cooperation of labour to promote the efficiency. The speed of data – processing is up to 20-30 kilometer squares per day. It is estimated that the task of data processing and database – building of total 9793 kilometer squares in the prefecture will have finished by the end of 1993

2: The feasibility and effective channels to establish land resource information on Databases On A Large Scale – Computer Data processing Centre At A Prefectural Level.
At the primary stage, to set up this database needs hard work to collect and process the original informations by complicate working methods, requiring high technology and large amount of money. Besides, the scope involved is wide and it is slow to be effective. At this will make it very difficult to be understood and supported. In order to extend work on a wide scope, there must be equipped with four essential conditions as follows: 1) Owing strong economic strength and support from leads of every level. 2) Owing fairly perfect software and hardware if steady property. 3) Owing key members of technicians who are of certain organizationability and responsibility. Familiar with the principle and means of this software systems. 4) Owing actual productive efficiency and effects. Nowdays, the county’s department of land administration has heavy tasks and limited time and their economic, technological conditions are poor. Any of them is not able to fulfill this task of set up the information database by himself. However the county’s economy and technology is scattered unbalancely and the time they being to investigate land resource is different. Through rational organization and concentration of their superiorities, it is not only possible to establish Land Resource Information System while fulfilling the detailed land investigation, but also can generate big benefit. The comparative study tells us that to process the indoor data of the land detailed investigation on large scale with prefectural bureau as centre is the most effective way to set up land Resource Information system at it primary stage, which can solve the above mentioned difficulties and bears lots of advantages:
  1. Possess Effective Radiative Scope. The prefectural level is between the province and country both in region and furretion and it is a link connecting technology, information of both side have fairly abundant source of technology and informations. All this make it easy for the prefectural bureau to gain support and possess strong radiative effect in economy.
  2. Solve The Difficulty In Money Shortage. With the prefectural bureau as centre, the money advantages of every county can be, by proper organization, gathered and used to produce on large scale. When gathered, the utilization ratio of county’s money which not a big amount of county, can then be greatly raised.
  3. Become A Collecting And Distributing Centre of Technology And Talents In A Difinite Region. The Computerization by the county is difficult to get technological guide and the work efficiency will be affected, because of their disperse location and limited scope. Also is affected the accumulation of technology and experience, which if one county accumulated, cannot serve directly the other county either. The technology utilization ratio is reduced. But “The computer centre”, run by the prefectural bureau, can reach : (1) technical cooperation, collecting technological strength of both higher bodies and scientific research institutes to tackle key problems in technology. (2) technology accumulation the technical experience and operation skill got when fulfilling one county’s task, can be used in next county’s work, greatly enhancing the technical level and utilization rate. (3) uniform technical standard, perfecting the technology system according to the new problems rose in practice and unifying the working standard at every processure with the feedback of the county’s information (4) technology transmission.
  4. Make Production A Large Scale And Promote Benefit And Promote Benefit And Efficiency. According to the characteristics of “Data-Processing System For Detailed Land Investigation”. It must be concentrated to make production of large scale, in the form of “Computer Centre” and to work by assembly line, which can make the system’s advantages full exert and promote the utilization ratio of equipments, technicians and time through proper management.
  5. Be Beneficial To Develop Computer Application Steadily. A new result of scientific research will meet, when applied to practice, a series of difficulties and disadvantages, a series of difficulties and disadvantages. Many of them cannot develop their due advantages because of lacking enough study on the problems appeared in application or because of poor technical condition and management, in result, the equipments are set aside and leader’s support lost, and the result railed in the end. The “Computer Centre” started to be established in the form of testing spot and expand gradually. Although it cost much at the primary stage, now it possess great after effect when it accumulated some technical experience.
  6. Speed Up Fulfilling Land Detailed Investigation And Its Database Establishment. The county within a prefecture begin outdoor work by stages. When first batch of out door work is proceeding, money and technology should be organized for indoor work testing spot, and by the time when the second batch being, the “Computer Centre” has achieved fairly strong productive capacity. On the whole point, each county finishes its task under good technical and equipment conditions, greatly raising the speed and quality of the results. According to statistics, a medium sized county of about 1300 kilometer square needs one and half years to two years to finish the task by single set of computer, but in our computer center is enough only three to four months.
  7. Become A Tie To Engrade The Land Resource Information Databases And Form Network Of Its Management.