六十年代初,中国地理学界首先提出化学地理,到现在已经过整整二十年。在漫长岁月中,化学地理学经历过不平凡的变化,由播种、发芽,到现在已开着茂盛花朵,结着丰硕的果实。分支科学——水化学、大气化学、土壤化学和生物化学地理、区域化学地理等均逐渐壮大,在农业、林业、医学和环境保护等部门得到广泛应用。随着现代科学技术的迅速发展,特别是在分子生物学、量子化学、湍流理论、变流学和近代应用数学与系统论及光电分析技术和计算技术等推动下,化学地理学已进入到新阶段,出现了“第二代”化学地理。

This paper places its emphasis on the analysis of changes in the field ofchemical geography in China for the last twenty years.Chemical geography is abranch of physical geography.At early 60’s of the 20th century,it was onlyconsidered as the science dealing with the transfer of the elements on the surfaceof the earth and confined to the study of the simple cycle of the elements,andit was in a static state of qualitative study.With the rapid development of modern science and technology,chemical geographyhas entered a new era,and become the science studying the transfer laws andchange mechanisms of substances in the geographical environment by means of thesystem theory.Thus,it has been changed from the study of static state into study ofits dynamic state.The author,based on his study in this field for these twentyyears,presents here to the readers with the new developments in the followingaspects:1.The system analysis of environment;2.The changes of substances in the system;3.The matter flow in the system.