ABSTRACT
The city of Sanmenxia is situated in the western boundary area of Henan Province, at the junction of Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan provinces, between latitude of N33 ° 31′24″ and 35 ° 5′48″, and longitude of E110 ° 21′42″ and 112 ° 1′24″. The major landscapes of the inner continental city are mountains (54.8%), hills (36%) and loess plateau (9.2%) (Qin, et al, 2007). Most of the areas are at an elevation of 500 to 1200 m under temperate continental monsoon climate. The spring and fall are short, and winter and summer are long, with four distinct seasons. The annual temperature is 13.8 °C, with a frost-free period 184 to 218 days (Qin, et al, 2007) and an annual precipitation of 640 to 850 mm. The average effective thickness of soil is 91 cm. The city has a high biodiversity with vegetation coverage of up to 0.7. The city’s geographic, and land use/vegetation coverage are shown in Figures 1 and 2.
