Topographic and Climatic Influences on Population and Soil in East to Southeast Asia: A GIS Approach

Abstract

Using GIS data, the effects of topography and climate on the large-scale distribution of population and soil were examined for 20 regions in East and Southeast Asia. The results indicate that relationships between topography and population vary according to climate. Although population density decreases with increasing terrain height and slope in most regions, this correlation does not hold true in desert regions such as Mongol and western China, because the locations of residential areas highly depend on the local availability of water resources. In cold regions including the Tibetan Plateau, the effect of height on population density surpasses the effect of slope, because extremely cold highlands are unfavorable for living. In contrast, some tropical or sub-tropical highlands are densely populated reflecting a climate better than that in lowlands. The large-scale distribution of soil types is strongly dependent on climate which affects weathering and pedogenesis processes, especially in arid or tropical regions. In temperate and sub-tropical regions, however, topography also plays a significant role in determining soil distribution.