What are the specific aspects of the regional differentiation law of natural geographical environment?

The law of regional differentiation is gradually acquired and deepened in the process of people's understanding of nature. Eratosthenes of ancient Greece divided the earth into five climatic zones according to his understanding of the latitude difference of the earth's surface temperature at that time, which was the earliest understanding of the law of climate differentiation.

Although there is no consensus on the law of regional differentiation at present, it is acknowledged that there are several laws of regional differentiation: ① zonality caused by uneven distribution of solar radiation energy along latitude; (2) Regional differentiation caused by tectonics and topography; (3) Dry-wet zonality from coast to mainland center caused by land-sea interaction; ④ Vertical zonation with mountain height; ⑤ Local differences caused by different local topography, ground composition and groundwater depth.

Two aspects:

1. Horizontal regional differentiation: regional differentiation from equator to poles, and regional differentiation from coastal to inland.

Second, vertical regional differentiation

Specifically, it can be divided into:

(1) Differentiation law or latitude zonality from equator to poles: the natural environment extends from east to west, alternating north and south;

(2) The laws of coastal inland differentiation or longitude zonality and dry-wet zonality: the natural environment generally extends from north to south and changes from east to west;

(3) The law of vertical regional differentiation in mountainous areas: the natural environment in mountainous areas changes with height from the foothills to the mountainous areas.

The main difference in understanding the law of regional differentiation is the broad and narrow understanding of zonality and non-zonality. There are three main opinions:

① Understand zonality in a broad sense and non-zonality in a narrow sense. It is considered that zonality includes latitude zonality, dry-wet zonality (also called longitude zonality) and some vertical zonality. Non-zonality refers to the non-zonal distribution or differentiation characteristics caused by geotectonics, topography, lithology, etc., and even only refers to the changes of landform, geological structure, lithology (see natural division), soil temperature and soil moisture in natural provinces.

② zonal understanding in a narrow sense and non-zonal understanding in a broad sense. It is considered that zonality is latitude zonality, and non-zonality includes not only narrow non-zonality, but also dry-wet zonality and vertical zonality.

③ zonality and non-zonality are narrowly understood, in addition to the division of dry and wet zonality and vertical zonality. These differences are mainly due to the different understanding of the scope of regional differentiation factors and regional differentiation laws. The narrow understanding of zonality holds that the variation of surface solar radiation energy with latitude is a zonal differentiation factor, while the distribution of land and sea, geotectonics, topography and lithology are non-zonal differentiation factors; The regional differentiation of the surface is the result of long-term interaction between zonal factors and non-zonal factors; The local factors are mainly local topography, ground composition and groundwater depth.