The Environmental Changes In Wuling Mountainous Area Of Hunan Province In Modern Times

Environment affects the survival of humanity and the development of the society, which interact and restrict each other. The change of the environment includes both human and natural factors. However, with the development of human society, human activities become the dominant force in the natural environment change. During Qing dynasty and Republic, the scale of the Wuling mountainous area economy development is expanding continuously, the influence is getting further, which is far more than earlier generations. Since middle period of Qing dynasty, this area gradually has become one of the important areas of mountain reclamation. From then on, the environment has changed significantly than before. The relationship between human and the environment discussed in this paper is a kind of two-way relationship.This paper is based on the development of human activities, during the late Qing dynasty and Republic, attempts to investigate the development of Wuling mountainous area during a long period, and to understand the whole process of environment evolution, so as to explore the two-way relationship between human and environment. This paper is divided into three chapters.The first chapter demonstrates the environment of Wuling mountainous area, especially the initial changes after the reform of aboriginal chieftain. A large number of han Chinese immigrants migrated into this area and cultivated, promoting the development of the economy, meanwhile brung damage to forest vegetation.The second chapter discusses the evolution and influence of environment in late Qing dynasty. Since modern times, Population continued to grow. At the same time, the excessive development of agriculture, manufacture and mining industry damaged this area seriously.The third chapter analyzed the further deterioration of environment in Republic. The wars and bandits aggravate the damage degree of this area. Frequent severe natural disasters and the disappearance of forest caused extinction of wild spices such as tigers, which eventually gave rise to a vicious cycle, including natural disasters, man-made calamity and ecological destruction.