Thoughts on the Development of Physical Geography in the New Era

Physical geography is the basic discipline of geography and the cornerstone of comprehensive geography research. Based on the main research progress of physical geography, This paper considered the development direction of natural geography in the new era. Driven by global environmental change, physical geography and its sub-disciplines have gained new development in heritage. The research progress of physical geography in recent years mainly includes the integration and deepening of natural geographical processes, the integration of terrestrial surface systems, land-sea interactions and regional ecological environment management applications. The development of physical geography and its sub-disciplines needs to face the global environmental change and human needs, explore the application of new technologies and methods, conduct multi-factor and multi-process integration research, develop and improve geographic models, simulate and predict environmental change and sustainable development, and serve Major national needs and government decisions. In the process of development, it is urgent to pay attention to the following frontier areas and directions:(1) Geomorphology needs to focus on strengthening the relationship between geomorphology and global environmental change and human activities;(2) Biogeography needs to deepen the frontier fields such as attribute geography and global change biogeography. Exploring the spatial distribution of biogeography and human needs in the context of connection changes;(3) Hydrology needs to carry out comprehensive integration research of multi-element, multi-process and multi-scale, and develop emerging subject areas such as ecological hydrology, social hydrology and hydromorphology;(4) Physical Geography needs to be comprehensively introduced into climate change research’s role in the major international climate change research program, the climate change framework convention, etc;(5) Comprehensive physical geography needs to face the country’s major needs, focusing on the coupling of human and land systems In the areas of resource and environmental carrying capacity evaluation, ecological security pattern and ecological civilization construction, etc.;(6) Physical geography needs to deepen the coupling of natural and human elements and process research ‘establishing and developing complex system simulation model’ analysis and simulation change environment Nature, humanity Su coupling mechanism and the dynamic changes of land surface systems.