Review and prospects: integrated physical geography in China since the 1950s
20世纪50年代以来中国综合自然地理研究进展

Integrated Physical Geography(IPG) is an important subdiscipline of physical geography,i.e.narrow-sensed Physical Geography.The IPG studies physiographical environment the whole terrene which is the habitation of human beings comprehensively and systmetically.It emphasizes the matter-energy relationship among factors of physiographical environment,interprets the historical formation,modern process,type structure,terrain differentiation and evolution of physiographical environment.Integrated study includes correlative and complementary aspects: modern process and historical process.The modern process integrated study of the physiographical environment involves the distribution,transformation of heat and water on land surface,as well as its function in physiographical environment.It also involves chemical elements migration in the physiographical environment,the matter-energy exchange between the biological community and the environment.Landscape science and land science study natural complex from type structure point view comprehensively,while physical geographical regionalization makes the integrated study at regional angle differently.The physiographical environment is the product of the history.Paleogeographical environment,especially the historical study about the paleogeographical environment-forming process since the Neogene,is a subdiscipline of the IPG,just the content of paleogeography.In China,the IPG with Chinese characteristics has been formed and developed since the 1950s.Chinese IPG integrated study has made so much remarkable progress in paleogeography:integrated physical geographical regionalization,landscape science,land science,modern physical geography processes,regional physical geography,integrated research of physical geography,etc.This paper will make a generalization and retrospection about the achievement from the aspects above.