Cost Path Analysis Research Articles

Landscape genomic signatures indicate reduced gene flow and forest-associated adaptive divergence in an endangered neotropical turtle.

Human-induced transformations of ecosystems usually result in fragmented populations subject to increased extinction risk. Fragmentation is also often associated with novel environmental heterogeneity, which in combination with restricted gene flow may increase the opportunity for local adaptation. To manage at-risk populations in these landscapes, it is important to understand how gene flow is changing, and how populations respond to habitat loss. We conducted a landscape genomics analysis using Restriction-site Associated DNA sequencing to investigate the evolutionary response of the critically endangered Dahl's Toad-headed turtle (Mesoclemmys dahli) to severe habitat modification. The species has lost almost all of its natural habitat in the southwestern part of its range and about 70% in the northeast. Based on least cost path analysis across different resistance surfaces for 3,211 SNPs, we found that the landscape matrix is restricting gene flow, causing the fragmentation of the species into at least six populations. Genome scans and allele-environment association analyses indicate that the population fragments in the deforested grasslands of the southwest are adaptively different from those in the more forested northeast. Populations in areas with no forest had low levels of adaptive genetic diversity and the fixation of ancestrally-polymorphic SNPs, consistent with directional selection in this novel environment. Our results suggest that this forest-stream specialist is adapting to pond-grassland conditions, but it is also suffering from negative consequences of habitat loss, including genetic erosion, isolation, small effective population sizes, and inbreeding. We recommend gene flow restoration via genetic rescue to counteract these threats, and provide guidance for this strategy.

Title: Ecological relevance of least cost path analysis: An easy implementation method for landscape urban planning

Landscape connectivity promotes dispersal and other types of movement, including foraging activity; consequently, the inclusion of connectivity concept is a priority in conservation and landscape planning in response to fragmentation. Urban planners expect the scientific community to provide them with an easy, but scientifically rigorous, method to identify highly connecting contexts in landscapes. The least-cost paths (LCP) method is one of the simplest resistance-based models that could be a good candidate to spatially identify areas where movement is potentially favored in a given landscape. We tested the efficiency of LCP predictions to detect highly connecting landscape contexts facilitating individual movements compared to those performed in un-connecting landscape contexts. We used a landscape-level behavioral experiment based on a translocation protocol and individual repeated measures. In the city of Rennes (France), 30 male hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) were translocated and radio-tracked in both highly connecting and un-connecting contexts, respectively, which were determined by the presence and absence of modelled LCPs. Individual movement patterns were compared between the two predicted contexts. Individuals travelled longer distances, moved faster, and were more active in the highly connecting contexts compared to the un-connecting contexts. Moreover, in highly connecting contexts, hedgehog movement followed LCP orientation, with individuals using more wooded habitats than other land cover class. By using a rigorous experimental design, this study validated the ecological relevance of LCP analysis to identify highly connecting areas, and could be easily implemented by urban landscape planners.

Coastal migration into the Americas and least cost path analysis

We present a theoretical framework for applying Geographic Information System least-cost path modeling to initial migration into the Americas. When integrated with theory, geospatial models can serve as a powerful tool for exploring how ancient humans may have moved through marine environments. We show how a strong theoretical foundation can be used to conduct Maritime Least Cost Path analysis to better understand where, when, and how migration and movement events may have taken place in the deep past. This paper examines possible peopling events along the Pacific Coast of North America during the Late Pleistocene. We ask what the role of modeling is in the search for early sites in the Americas and how models can most effectively be employed by looking at two case studies of migration into Prince Rupert Harbor and the Dundas Islands in British Columbia, Canada around 16,000 cal. yr BP. Our analysis created paths of least resistance for moving through landscapes based on different environmental, physiological, and cultural factors of boat-based travel. We examine the predicted paths created by our model to determine what they say about possible routes of maritime migration and consider the implications for understanding constraints and human agency in migration events.

Cycling investment expedience: Energy expenditure based Cost-Path Analysis of national census bicycle commuting data

“The bicycle share has risen to a level of 7%” – This newsletter headline is just one example that highlights the growing interest of current Austrian transport-policy in fostering bicycle traffic. But where is it most expedient to invest into new infrastructure or initiatives? This work seeks to shed light on the question and therefore presents a new supporting methodology for planners and decision-makers that builds upon body-energy consumption and relies on Austrian census commuter data.The main challenges and scientific contributions lie in the proposal of a new raster-based GIS model to calculate the energetic demand between and inside of Austrian municipalities, overcoming limitations of previous approaches. A regression analysis is conducted in order to check for a statistical relationship between cycle-share and body energy expenditure. This further allows the calculation of a potential value for investments as the deviation between the energetically predicted cycle-share and the present cycling level. Topography and routing distance are reported to explain between 53 and 63 percent of intra- and interzonal bicycle shares. It is therefore concluded that body energy consumption has a major impact on cycling. The work ends with the discussion of results and provides a perspective on the usage of this evidence-based methodology in national and international planning and research. Additionally, a discussion of the results in the context of the simultaneously developed British Propensity to Cycle Tool is provided.

An analysis of network brokerage and geographic location in fifteenth-century AD Northern Iroquoia.

Iroquoian villagers living in present-day Jefferson County, New York, at the headwaters of the St. Lawrence River and the east shore of Lake Ontario, played important roles in regional interactions during the fifteenth century AD, as brokers linking populations on the north shore of Lake Ontario with populations in eastern New York. This study employs a social network analysis and least cost path analysis to assess the degree to which geographical location may have facilitated the brokerage positions of site clusters within pan-Iroquoian social networks. The results indicate that location was a significant factor in determining brokerage. In the sixteenth century AD, when Jefferson County was abandoned, measurable increases in social distance between other Iroquoian populations obtained. These results add to our understandings of the dynamic social landscape of fifteenth and sixteenth century AD northern Iroquoia, complementing recent analyses elsewhere of the roles played in regional interaction networks by populations located along geopolitical frontiers.

Landscape linkages for the distribution of the endangered Hierophis cypriensis in Cyprus

The effects of habitat fragmentation on species distribution are well documented. Measuring habitat connectivity is an important prerequisite for species conservation and management in fragmented landscapes. The aim of this study was to evaluate landscape connectivity in the region of Troodos massif, Cyprus for the distribution of the endangered Hierophis cypriensis, for which information on the ecology and distribution are limited. The methodology employs two approaches to evaluate aspects of habitat connectivity in the landscape. We used Least Cost Path Analysis (LPCA) to identify potential species movement routes between core habitat areas, and a graph analytical approach to identify critical nodes and links for the potential expansion and long-term viability of the species in the region using CONEFOR software. We used the results of these methods to evaluate the spatial configuration of the existing Natura 2000 sites in the study area with reference to the species known distribution. We identified 20 habitat core areas, ranging in size from 0.61km2 to 580.08km2, with a combined extent of 966.62km2, covering 34% percent of the Natura 2000 sites in the area. Pathways length varied from 0.68 to 5.04km transversing 29.6km of inhospitable territory for the species. The LCPA identified important movement routes and demonstrated that there is a good degree of connectivity between habitat core areas. CONEFOR analysis evidenced that in particular three land parcels located in the forest complexes of Paphos, Troodos and Adelfoi are the most important for sustaining connectivity among the 17 examined land parcels.

Environmental Sensitive Area (ESA) for Route Selection of Transmission Tower

Transmission route selection needs to determine in order to have the best route for the transmission line. This paper presents a few alternative transmission line routes together by using cost path analysis application, minimizing and avoiding propose new located tower in landslide hazard area. The conventional route planning method usually only take into considerations of topographical such as gradient and curvature. This method unable to sustain the environment. This study can take into consideration of many factors that related to Environmental Sensitive Area (ESA) such as prone to landslide area, forestry area, land cover and land use. Different influence factor that assign to the weightage will resulted to different output of the suitability map. This study will have used nine Environmental Sensitive Area (ESA) factors, and using three difference influence factors that will optimize the result of the suitability map.

COUPLING LITHIC SOURCING WITH LEAST COST PATH ANALYSIS TO MODEL PALEOINDIAN PATHWAYS IN NORTHEASTERN NORTH AMERICA

Projections of Paleoindian range mobility in the late Pleistocene are typically inferred from straight-line distances between toolstone sources and sites where artifacts of these raw materials have been found. Often, however, these sourcing assessments are not based on geologic analysis, raising the issue of correct source ascription. If sites of similar age can be linked to a toolstone source through geologic study, and direct procurement of toolstone can be inferred, geographic information systems (GIS) modeling of travel routes between the source and those sites can reveal route segments of annual rounds and aspects of landscape use. In the Hudson Valley of eastern New York, Paleoindian peoples exploited Normanskill chert outcrops for toolstone during the late Pleistocene. Here, we combine X-ray fluorescence sourcing results that link Normanskill chert artifacts at Paleoindian sites to the West Athens Hill source outcrop in the Hudson Valley with GIS least cost path analysis to model seasonal pathways of late Pleistocene peoples in northeastern North America.

THE ‘UPPER REGIONS’ AND THE ROUTE OF PAUL’S THIRD JOURNEY FROM APAMEA TO EPHESUS

Luke’s phrase ἀνωτeρικὰ μέρη in Acts 19:1 has been an interpretative conundrum for scholars of Acts for centuries. How Paul came to Ephesus at the start of the third journey is the geographical issue. The article begins with a brief lexical discussion. It then examines each of the proposed routes and their variants. Recent archaeological and hodological research in western Asia Minor as well as new cartographic productions provide fresh insights into these routes. How contemporary Bible atlases portray the route of the journey is then discussed. The methodological tools of Least Cost Path Analysis, Network Analysis, and 3D modelling are next employed to evaluate these routes. Based on these data, the Meander valley route from Apamea to Ephesus is preferred. The article concludes with several insights about Paul’s travel and ministry programme in Acts derived from the study.

Landfill sites selection through analytical hierarchy process for twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Identification of suitable landfill sites for the sake of public health is a critical issue which has been addressed in the present study. Sites that are far away from settlements minimize public health problems. In the present study, suitable landfill sites with minimum hazards for environment and public health for Islamabad and Rawalpindi city of Pakistan were identified through analytical hierarchy process, which is a useful technique for the identification of suitable landfill sites with minimum influence on environment, ecology, economy and public health. Afterward, least cost path analysis in GIS was chosen for selection of most suitable landfill site. The environmental (groundwater, surface water, vegetation, soil type and environmental sensitive areas), social (roads, slope) and economic (settlements, airports, railways) factors were taken into consideration and were prioritized with pair-wise comparison and weighted sum analysis. Initially twelve sites were found very highly suitable for landfill site. After ground truthing, seven sites were identified as very highly suitable with total area of 1108 ha complied with prerequisite factors for locating landfill site. Latter least cost path analysis led to identification of four most suitable sites for landfill site. The proposed landfill sites have been sited with maximum accuracy in order to help management authorities to select the more suitable areas and so helping the decision makers in solving waste management problems with minimum pollution and public health risks.

Diversity in obsidian use in the prehistoric and early historic Middle East

The presence of obsidian in the Near East has always evoked a response about its exotic nature and origins. It was not until 1960s, however, that this was put onto a scientific footing when Colin Renfrew and his collaborators began to explore obsidian in Turkey and the Mediterranean. Their characterisation of the sources allowed them to attribute artefacts to different sources and suggest models of dispersal and distribution. Since then considerably more artefacts have been attributed to sources, although mostly only small numbers from individual sites. This has led to various interpretations of how obsidian was obtained and used; new studies have considered least cost path analysis, network analysis and agent based modelling. Increasingly, new methods of provenancing of artefacts have also meant that large number of artefacts can be analysed relatively speedily and efficiently. Portable instruments allow data to be collected outside laboratories, avoiding restrictions imposed by export licenses or simplifying work on museum collections. Here we employ richness and diversity indexes to elucidate some of the patterns in obsidian source use and argue that there are several reasons why the provenancing of large proportions of assemblages will be critical in exploiting the true potential of obsidian studies in the Near East, even though the initial haphazard, small sample approach has been quite effective in sketching out the big picture.

A GIS-BASED TSUNAMI EVACUATION MODEL CONSIDERING LAND COVER AND SPATIAL CONFIGURATION (CASE OF PURWOREJO REGENCY, INDONESIA)

In Indonesia, several programs have dealt with tsunami mitigation, such as The German-Indonesian Tsunami Early Warning System (GITEWS) project (2005-2011). Despite the success of these projects, many coastal areas in Indonesia are still vulnerable to tsunamis, due to the variety of land cover and spatial configuration characteristics. One of such vulnerable areas includes Purworejo Regency. This paper evaluated the degree to which land cover and spatial configuration characteristics influence the tsunami evacuation process, and thus influence tsunami hazard mitigation. The evaluation drawn on data from a low to medium density populated coastal area of Purworejo Regency. The analysis relied on a quantitative approach, using a cross-sectional field survey, followed by a GIS-based analysis. This is complemented by a raster-based analysis to incorporate the land cover and spatial configuration aspects. The combined analysis derived which buildings could act as evacuation buildings in case of a tsunami. The associated tsunami evacuation routes were calculated using a Least Cost Path (LCP) analysis method. The results suggested that several public facility buildings are likely to be used as tsunami evacuation buildings. Yet, even though the overall capacity of these buildings is adequate to accommodate the estimated number of evacuees in a larger area, the specific demand at certain locations in the study area is much higher than these localities can handle. This disproportionate spatial variation in required capacity needs further attention. Moreover, the survey responses indicated that the majority of the respondents was not well informed regarding the tsunami evacuation procedures

Assessing transhumance corridors on high mountain environments by least cost path analysis: the case of yak herds in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.

Mountain environments in the world host highly specialized flora and fauna which are vulnerable because of land use and climate change. Transhumance and other land use traditional practices are present in most of the mountains of the world, and management tools able to cope with new socioeconomic settings and environmental changes are urgently needed. During past centuries, yak (Bos grunniens) herding in Northern Pakistan involved the migration of herds to high mountain international rangelands, but the recent establishment of international borders breaks the traditional transhumance paths, promoting several ecological problems. In this paper, we propose the use of least cost path (LCP) algorithm to identify the most efficient corridors of transhumance for yak herds on northern high altitudes of Pakistan. Specifically, LCP was implemented to identify the critical grazing areas and the connecting zones to be accounted in a new management plan for the yaks in the region. The LCP analysis showed that some grazing areas are connected with several paths, whereas other areas are connected to a lesser extent. The analyses identified a set of best minimum cost paths able to guarantee local connectivity. We also delineated several medium and low efficient paths that could play a crucial role for maintaining regional connectivity which is essential for reducing the isolation of herds and the consequent inbreeding problems. The analytical framework implemented in this study allowed to (1) provide valuable information concerning the movement of yak herds in Gilgit-Baltistan, (2) identify potential corridors that are able to promote herd movement between villages and high mountain rangelands, and (3) identify critical areas for the connectivity of yaks by ranking of the potential corridors according to their length and permeability. The analysis would be extended to other transhumant herds and high mountain areas that are facing sociopolitical transformations and environmental changes.

Teknologi Pesawat Tanpa Awak untuk Pemetaan Skala Detail Rencana Jaringan Pipa Sanitasi Komunal bagi Masyarakat Dusun Kepek 1, Kepek, Wonosari, Gunungkidul

Human settlements can not be separated from the emergence of waste generated by human activity. Waste will give a negative efect on health and the environment if not handled and managed properly. Hamlet Kepek 1, Kepek, Wonosari have realized the impact that arises when household waste is not managed properly. For that, some residents have initiated a communal waste management and manufacture of communal sanitation pipelines. Conventionally, communal sanitary pipe network planning and data requires a huge cost, for it takes breakthrough of utilization of appropriate technology to facilitate the planning process and reduce the cost incurred.Utilization of small format aerial photographs resulting from the unmanned aircraf vehicle (UAV) used as an alternative technology in the planning communal sanitation pipelines. Analytical methods to create a map of the communal sanitation pipelines through least cost path analysis. Utilization of UAV technology is expected to make the planning of communal sanitary pipelines with good results and at afordable costs. Te result of small format aerial photography from unmanned aircraf vehicle (UAV) can be used to produce the spatial data with high resolution. Small format aerial photographs produced is then processed to obtain the orthophoto image and the image of Digital Surface Model (DSM). Both kinds of remote sensing image are then used as the main data to create maps of the communal sanitation pipelines. Te result of processing in the form of a map of communal sanitation pipelines in t Kepek 1 at low cost and appropriate technology.

Modeling of urban wind ventilation using high resolution airborne LiDAR data

Accurate mapping of wind ventilation in an urban environment is challenging when large spatial coverage is required. This study has developed a GIS-based model for estimating the frontal area index (FAI) of buildings, infrastructure, and trees using very high resolution airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data, which can also be used to investigate the “wall effect” caused by high-rise buildings at a finer spatial scale along the coasts in the Kowloon Peninsula of Hong Kong. New algorithms were created by improving previous algorithms utilizing airborne LiDAR data in raster unit, as well as considering the backward flow coefficient between windward and leeward buildings.The ventilation corridors estimated by FAI and least cost path (LCP) analysis were analyzed. The optimal ventilation corridors passing through the Kowloon peninsula were observed in the east-west and west-east directions. In addition, these ventilation paths were validated with a computer fluid dynamics (CFD) model i.e. Airflow Analysis in ESRI. The newly developed model calculates finer FAI with greater accuracy when compared with vector-based building polygons. This model further depicts buildings, infrastructure, and trees which are considered as obstacles to wind ventilation. The results can be used by environmental and planning authorities to identify ventilation corridors, and for scenario analysis in urban redevelopment.

Perspectives for Network Analysis: Roman Roads, Barbarian Paths and Settlement Patterns in the Borderlands at the Limes Germanicus in the Main River Region

AbstractIn contrast to the neighboring Roman Empire, no centralized sites in the sense of transregionally significant settlements are definitively verifiable outside of the Limes Germanicus in the research area at the middle Main River. However, some fortified hill forts do exist. Starting in late antiquity, these sites were temporarily occupied in times of internal and external conflict. Hill forts in the Babaricum were, without exception, sited on spurs at the Main or its tributaries. The course of the Main River constituted the primary transport route for the Romans into the Babaricum, although clear evidence of ship or harbor facilities has yet to be discovered for this period. The well-known hierarchical settlement and road system in the Roman Empire is not apparent in the Babaricum although numerous sunken roads in multiple path networks were discernible. Precise dating of these features to the Roman Iron Age or Migration Period has not been possible due to heavy soil erosion in the vicinity. Particular stretches of this network of paths were only seasonally in use depending on weather conditions and soil moisture, and so it is not realistic to discuss roadways as usable year-round in the Babaricum as they are in the Roman Empire. Some of these paths were fortified, although the dating of these fortifications is not possible due to the continued use of some of these pathways into the Early Modern Period. Nearest neighbor settlement relationships are methodically analyzed in network connection diagrams with the use of Delaunay triangulation in this GIS-based study. Probable routes by land and river are calculated with lost cost path analysis on the basis of digital surface models and compared with the local archaeological record.

Urban ecological corridors construction: A review

An ecological corridor, with both ecological and cultural functions, is a symbol of urban ecological or green civilization, and has therefore become one of the major topics in the fields of landscape ecology, urban ecology, and ecological planning. On the one hand, along with the prominent contradiction between regional ecological protection and economic development, as well as between the growing ecological demands of urban residents and the destruction of natural ecosystems, the construction of urban ecological corridors is very challenging. On the other hand, with contemporary urbanization and ecological civilization development, the standards and requirements for the construction of urban ecological corridors are set higher and higher. Constructing an urban ecological corridor is therefore particularly important, and must adopt a spatial approach that balances the relationship between ecological protection and economic development. In this study, the classification of urban ecological corridors was firstly conducted according to the structural or functional differences. Secondly, research progress on the construction of urban ecological corridors was systematically summarized and the main inadequacies were indicated. Following the analysis of the main methods employed in the construction of urban ecological corridors, existing methods were classified into three kinds, i.e. qualitative analysis, quantitative analysis, and spatial analysis. In addition, the advantages and disadvantages of the methods of subjective judgment, suitability and sensitivity analysis, network analysis, and minimum cost path analysis were compared. To provide theoretical support for the construction and management of urban ecological corridors, four key research directions were also pointed out, i.e. the identification of key nodes of urban ecological corridor, the determination of the width of urban ecological corridor, the measurement of integrated effect of urban ecological corridor, and the multi-scale integration of urban ecological corridor. The present study will aid in accelerating and improving the process of ecological corridors construction in China's new-type urbanization.

植物景观遗传学研究进展

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 植物景观遗传学研究进展 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201511202349 作者: 作者单位: 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家水体污染控制与治理重大专项（2014ZX07508-001，2015ZX07202-012） Advances in landscape genetics of plants Author: Affiliation: Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:植物景观遗传学是新兴的景观遗传学交叉学科的一个重要研究方向。目前植物景观遗传学的研究虽落后于动物，但其在生物多样性保护方面具有的巨大潜力不可忽视。从景观特征对遗传结构、环境因素对适应性遗传变异影响两个方面，系统综述了近十年来国际上植物景观遗传学的研究焦点和研究进展，比较了植物景观遗传学与动物景观遗传学研究在研究设计和研究方法上的异同，并基于将来植物景观遗传学由对空间遗传结构的描述发展为对景观遗传效应的量化分析及预测的发展框架，具体针对目前景观特征与遗传结构研究设计的系统性差、遗传结构与景观格局在时间上的误配、适应性位点与环境变量的模糊匹配、中性遗传变异与适应性遗传变异研究的分隔、景观与遗传关系分析方法的局限等五个方面提出了研究对策。 Abstract:Landscape genetics of plants is an important research direction of the newly emerged interdisciplinary landscape genetics, which lags behind that of animals. These studies are increasingly important for the conservation of biodiversity and reserve management. This article briefly summarizes the major advances in plant landscape genetics in the past ten years form two aspects:the effects of landscapes on migration, dispersal, and gene flow measured by neutral genetic variation; and the interaction between the environment and adaptive genetic variation in natural populations and individuals. In addition, it compares landscape genetics of plants with that of animals through different study designs and analytical approaches. Due to the complexity of plant dispersal, landscape elements and analytical approaches are not generally considered in landscape genetics studies. For example, the least cost path analysis, popular in animal studies, is rarely used in plant studies. Furthermore, this article elucidates five problems in current studies of plants:(1) many studies lack an explicit research design for evaluating the effect of landscape pattern on genetic structure; (2) genetic structure is often analyzed with regard to contemporary landscapes, but it may reflect historical landscapes; (3) misleading results could be produced when limited loci are matched roughly to a combination of environmental variables; (4) studies on gene flow and adaptation have not yet been combined; and(5) many statistical methods could be inappropriate for landscape genetics. Plant landscape genetics studies should focus on solving these problems in the future and move from the description of spatial genetic structure to quantifying and predicting the effect of landscape pattern on genetic variation. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Least cost path analysis of early maritime movement on the Pacific Northwest Coast

In this paper, we present a new method for modeling past maritime movement events using least cost path analysis. Nontraditional measures of movement cost, including cultural, environmental, and physiological variables, were calculated. Using multiple cost-weighting scenarios, spatial resolutions, and different considerations of overland travel, movement routes were predicted for five Pacific Northwest Coast study areas. This work uses a new application of least cost path analysis to seascapes and marine movement and the results have led to a better understanding of migration during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. The resulting routes were systematically analyzed and compared to determine which produced the results most likely to predict high-use coastal movement corridors. We found that modeling scenarios where culturally derived costs of movement were highly weighted and in which overland travel was very costly produced the best predictions of possible past movement events. These models show that predicted routes cluster in distinct patterns which are influenced by the geography of the seascape through which the movement event is taking place and that areas of high traffic are most likely to be located immediately offshore and to the south of islands as well as in the spaces between landmasses. This knowledge increases our ability to predict the location of drowned sites on the Northwest Coast and is important in contemporary archaeology because it can help locate new sites in a landscape that has radically changed over the last 20,000 years. GIS analysis can reveal new sites hidden by changing sea levels, which may not be easily located using traditional forms of site prospection. Accurate modeling of maritime movement opens many coastal areas to increased archaeological exploration and has the potential for the discovery of new sites in drowned locations.

A quantitative method to detect the ventilation paths in a mountainous urban city for urban planning: A case study in Guizhou, China

In this paper, a new frontal area index (FAI) mapping method is presented to describe the surface roughness of Renhuai, as an example of typical medium high mountain gorge type Karst city. Comparing with the traditional calculating method of FAI, a local topography (hills) factor is added to the calculation of the FAI in each 100 m × 100 m grid cell. The results show that the modified FAI is more strongly related to the mountainous land-use type than traditional, and local topography regions with large podium structure had higher values than other urban land-use types in mountainous city. With the frontal area index mapping procedure and a self-compiled least cost path analysis method, the potential airflow corridors traversing through the study area can be located, and the total computation time is shorter and less than 1 s. Air volume, a significant measurement index of urban ventilation capacity, is then simulated in computational fluid dynamics model (CFD-PHOENICS) to confirm the significance and efficiency of these specific ventilation corridors. Based on our findings, the government and urban planners may use the descendent maps to understand the urban ventilation paths within a mountainous city for urban local renovation decisions.