中国过去2000年耕地的时空变化及其可持续利用策略

Tempo-spatial changes and sustainable usestrategies of cropland in China over the past 2000 years

明确中国历史时期耕地时空变化及其可持续利用策略,可为当前及未来国土资源开发和保护提供历史经验和借鉴之处。本研究集成过去2000年中国农耕区分布和耕地空间重建成果,概括了过去2000年间中国耕地的时空变化特征;进一步针对不同历史时期耕地扩展过程中遇到的突出问题,探讨了耕地的可持续利用策略。主要结论如下:①过去2000年中国耕地面积在波动中增加,公元初至公元8世纪维持在3.33×10^(7) ha上下,11世纪末接近5.33×10^(7) ha,17世纪初超6.67×107 ha,清末(1910年)达9.33×10^(7) ha,1980年后逾13.33×10^(7) ha。②过去2000年中国农耕区经历了3次扩展:西汉时期耕地扩展至长江以北,唐宋时期长江以南地区的耕地开发奠定了现代中国耕地分布的主体格局,清以来耕地变化以平原地区垦殖加深,以及对山地、边疆地区的开垦为主要特征。③中国历史上因地制宜地主动对耕地进行适应性改造,涵盖水利、农具等农业生产技术和耕作方法、作物选种等田间管理技术等诸多方面,是维系中国历史时期精耕细作的小农经济长期存在和发展的重要因素。

Clarifying the spatial and temporal changes of cropland and its sustainable use strategies in historical China can provideexperience and lessons for the development and protection of current and future land resources.This study integrated reconstructed dataon the spatial distribution of agricultural areas and cropland cover to analyze the temporal and spatial changes of cropland cover inChina over the past 2000 years.Then,focusing on the problems encountered during the expansion of agricultural areas in differenthistorical periods,this study discussed the sustainable strategies for the cropland utilization.The main conclusions are as follows:①The cropland in China showed an increasing trend with fluctuations in the past 2000 years,which was around 3.33×10^(7) ha from the1st century to the 8th century,about 5.33×107 ha in the late 11th century,more than 6.67×10^(7) ha in the early 17th century,over 9.33×107ha by the end of the Qing Dynasty(AD 1910),and over 13.33×10^(7) ha after 1980.②The agricultural areas in China experienced threeexpansions over the past 2000 years.First,the cropland expanded to the north of the Yangtze River during the Western Han Dynasty.Second, the expansion of cropland south of the Yangtze River contributed to the formation of cropland distribution pattern in modernChina. Third, the cropland expansion since the Qing Dynasty was mainly characterized by the intensification of cultivation in the plainsand the reclamation of cropland in the mountainous and frontier areas. ③ The sustainable strategies of cropland use in historical Chinawere based on flexible adaptations to local conditions, including various agricultural production techniques such as water conservancyinfrastructure and farming implements, as well as field management techniques such as cropping methods and seed selection. Thesefactors were indispensable for sustaining the long−term existence and development of an intensively cultivated peasant economy duringhistorical periods in China.