One of the aims of the recently initiated land fallow policy is to encourage winter wheat abandonment in order to recover the groundwater environment of the North China Plain (NCP);although this also threatens a natio...One of the aims of the recently initiated land fallow policy is to encourage winter wheat abandonment in order to recover the groundwater environment of the North China Plain (NCP);although this also threatens a national secure supply of this crop,as the NCP is the major wheat producing area in China.It is therefore necessary to consider regional wheat reallocation in order to meet the twin challenges of production and water conservation.An evaluation of spatiotemporal changes in wheat area and production across China in recent years may shed light on the regions that have the potential for reallocation;such trends are analyzed in this study using agricultural statistical data.Three over-arching principles are proposed that reallocation must be naturally suitable,economically feasible,and socially acceptable,and together with the result of the spatiotemporal analysis,two continuous areas are recommended as potentially suitable for wheat reallocation-alongside the Huai River and the cold region of northeastern China.We also present strategies to improve wheat yields as well as policies for farmers,aiming to encourage the reallocation of wheat to the regions highlighted in this study.展开更多
Land fragmentation is widely known to have an impact on farm performance. However, previous studies investigating this impact mainly focused on a single crop, and only limited data from China are available. This study...Land fragmentation is widely known to have an impact on farm performance. However, previous studies investigating this impact mainly focused on a single crop, and only limited data from China are available. This study considers multiple crops to identify the impact of land fragmentation(LF), as well as cropping system(CS), on farm productivity and the efficiency of grain producers in the North China Plain(NCP), using Cangxian County of Hebei Province as an example. Detailed household-and plot-level survey data are applied and four stochastic frontier and inefficiency models are developed. These models include different sets of key variables in either the production function or the inefficiency models, in order to investigate all possibilities of their influences on farm productivity and efficiency. The results show that LF plays a significant and detrimental role, affecting both productivity and efficiency. A positive effect is evident with respect to the CS variable, i.e., multiple cropping index(MCI), and the wheat-maize double CS, rather than the maize single CS, is usually associated with higher farm productivity and efficiency. In addition to LF and CS, four basic production input variables(labor, seed, pesticide and irrigation), also significantly affect farmers’ productivity, while the age of the household head and the ratio of the off-farm labor to total labor are significantly relevant to technical inefficiency. Policies geared toward the promotion of land transfer and the rational adjustment of cropping systems are recommended for boosting farm productivity and efficiency, and thus maintaining the food supply while mitigating the overexploitation of groundwater in the NCP.展开更多
The continuous increase of livestock production in Inner Mongolia has caused severe degradation of the grassland ecosystems in recent years. Previous grazing experiments have shown a wide range of vegetation responses...The continuous increase of livestock production in Inner Mongolia has caused severe degradation of the grassland ecosystems in recent years. Previous grazing experiments have shown a wide range of vegetation responses between the biome types on a global scale, but there is still a lack of sufficient studies to discern the relative responses of a given biome type. We conducted a meta-analysis of vegetation coverage(VC), plant density(PD), total biomass(TB), above-ground biomass(AGB), under-ground biomass(UGB) and Shannon–Weaver Index(SI) in different grassland types in Inner Mongolia obtained under conditions of different grazing intensities and durations. The results showed that grazing decreased VC, TB, AGB, UGB, and PD significantly. Compared to the global and national average values, the negative effects of grazing to steppe biomass in Inner Mongolia were higher than that on the global scale, while less pronounced than that in China. TB of the meadow steppe in Inner Mongolia increased by 40% under moderate grazing intensity and duration because of compensatory growth. SI of the desert and meadow steppe showed negative linear relationships with the grazing intensity in Inner Mongolia. The percentage changes in AGB, PD, and SI to grazing showed quadratic relationships with the mean annual temperature of the experimental year. With increasing mean annual precipitation, the negative effects of grazing on UGB and SI first decreased and then increased, with that of VC and grazing showing a cubic relationship.展开更多
Research for changes of soil water and salt is an important content of land sciences and agriculture sciences in arid and semi arid regions. In this paper, sampling in actual agricultural fields, laboratory analysis o...Research for changes of soil water and salt is an important content of land sciences and agriculture sciences in arid and semi arid regions. In this paper, sampling in actual agricultural fields, laboratory analysis of soil samples and statistical analysis methods are used to quantitatively analyze soil salinity changes under different ir- rigation methods throughout the cotton growing season in Shihezi reclamation area. The results show that irrigation methods play an important role in soil salt content in the surface soil (0-20 cm) and sub-deep soil (40-60 cm), fol- lowed by deep soil layer (60-100 cm) and root soil layer (20-40 cm). Furrow irrigation yields the maximum soil salt content in deep layer (60-100 cm) or sub-deep layer (40-60 cm) and the maximum salinity occurs in the first half of the cotton growing season (June or earlier). In contrast, drip irrigation yields the maximum soil salinity in the root layer (20-40 cm) or sub-deep (40-60 cm), and this usually appears in the second half growing season (July or af- ter). The ratio of chloride ion to sulfate ion (Cl-/SO2- 4) and its change in the soil are on the rise under furrow irrigation while the value first increased and then decreased with a peak point in June under drip irrigation. This suggests that furrow irrigation may shift the type of soil salinization to chloride ion type moreso than drip irrigation. Potassium and sodium ion contents of the soil show that soil sodium+potassium content will drop after the first rise under furrow irrigation and the value is manifested by fluctuations under drip irrigation. Potassium+sodium content change is relatively more stable in the whole cotton growth period under irrigation methods. The maximum of sodium and potassium content of the soil usually occur in deep soil layer (60-100 cm) or sub-deep soil layer (40-60 cm) in most sample points under furrow irrigation while it is inconsistent in different sample points under drip irrigation. A non- parametric test for paired samples is used to analyze differences of soil salt content under different irrigation methods. This analysis shows that the impact of irrigation on soil salinity is most significant in July, followed by August, June, May, and April in most sample points. The most significant impact of irrigation methods occurs in the surface soil layer (0-20 cm), followed by deep layer (60-100 cm), root layer (20-40 cm) and sub-deep (40-60 cm). These conclusions will be benefitial for mitigation of soil salinization, irrigation and fertilization and sustainable land use.展开更多
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(41701092)National Key Research and Development Program of China(2016YFC0502103)National Key Basic Research and Development Program(2015CB452706)
文摘One of the aims of the recently initiated land fallow policy is to encourage winter wheat abandonment in order to recover the groundwater environment of the North China Plain (NCP);although this also threatens a national secure supply of this crop,as the NCP is the major wheat producing area in China.It is therefore necessary to consider regional wheat reallocation in order to meet the twin challenges of production and water conservation.An evaluation of spatiotemporal changes in wheat area and production across China in recent years may shed light on the regions that have the potential for reallocation;such trends are analyzed in this study using agricultural statistical data.Three over-arching principles are proposed that reallocation must be naturally suitable,economically feasible,and socially acceptable,and together with the result of the spatiotemporal analysis,two continuous areas are recommended as potentially suitable for wheat reallocation-alongside the Huai River and the cold region of northeastern China.We also present strategies to improve wheat yields as well as policies for farmers,aiming to encourage the reallocation of wheat to the regions highlighted in this study.
基金The National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC0502103)The National Natural Science Foundation of China (41701092)。
文摘Land fragmentation is widely known to have an impact on farm performance. However, previous studies investigating this impact mainly focused on a single crop, and only limited data from China are available. This study considers multiple crops to identify the impact of land fragmentation(LF), as well as cropping system(CS), on farm productivity and the efficiency of grain producers in the North China Plain(NCP), using Cangxian County of Hebei Province as an example. Detailed household-and plot-level survey data are applied and four stochastic frontier and inefficiency models are developed. These models include different sets of key variables in either the production function or the inefficiency models, in order to investigate all possibilities of their influences on farm productivity and efficiency. The results show that LF plays a significant and detrimental role, affecting both productivity and efficiency. A positive effect is evident with respect to the CS variable, i.e., multiple cropping index(MCI), and the wheat-maize double CS, rather than the maize single CS, is usually associated with higher farm productivity and efficiency. In addition to LF and CS, four basic production input variables(labor, seed, pesticide and irrigation), also significantly affect farmers’ productivity, while the age of the household head and the ratio of the off-farm labor to total labor are significantly relevant to technical inefficiency. Policies geared toward the promotion of land transfer and the rational adjustment of cropping systems are recommended for boosting farm productivity and efficiency, and thus maintaining the food supply while mitigating the overexploitation of groundwater in the NCP.
基金The National Key Research and Development Program of China (2017YFA0604803)。
文摘The continuous increase of livestock production in Inner Mongolia has caused severe degradation of the grassland ecosystems in recent years. Previous grazing experiments have shown a wide range of vegetation responses between the biome types on a global scale, but there is still a lack of sufficient studies to discern the relative responses of a given biome type. We conducted a meta-analysis of vegetation coverage(VC), plant density(PD), total biomass(TB), above-ground biomass(AGB), under-ground biomass(UGB) and Shannon–Weaver Index(SI) in different grassland types in Inner Mongolia obtained under conditions of different grazing intensities and durations. The results showed that grazing decreased VC, TB, AGB, UGB, and PD significantly. Compared to the global and national average values, the negative effects of grazing to steppe biomass in Inner Mongolia were higher than that on the global scale, while less pronounced than that in China. TB of the meadow steppe in Inner Mongolia increased by 40% under moderate grazing intensity and duration because of compensatory growth. SI of the desert and meadow steppe showed negative linear relationships with the grazing intensity in Inner Mongolia. The percentage changes in AGB, PD, and SI to grazing showed quadratic relationships with the mean annual temperature of the experimental year. With increasing mean annual precipitation, the negative effects of grazing on UGB and SI first decreased and then increased, with that of VC and grazing showing a cubic relationship.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China(41171083/U1203181)
文摘Research for changes of soil water and salt is an important content of land sciences and agriculture sciences in arid and semi arid regions. In this paper, sampling in actual agricultural fields, laboratory analysis of soil samples and statistical analysis methods are used to quantitatively analyze soil salinity changes under different ir- rigation methods throughout the cotton growing season in Shihezi reclamation area. The results show that irrigation methods play an important role in soil salt content in the surface soil (0-20 cm) and sub-deep soil (40-60 cm), fol- lowed by deep soil layer (60-100 cm) and root soil layer (20-40 cm). Furrow irrigation yields the maximum soil salt content in deep layer (60-100 cm) or sub-deep layer (40-60 cm) and the maximum salinity occurs in the first half of the cotton growing season (June or earlier). In contrast, drip irrigation yields the maximum soil salinity in the root layer (20-40 cm) or sub-deep (40-60 cm), and this usually appears in the second half growing season (July or af- ter). The ratio of chloride ion to sulfate ion (Cl-/SO2- 4) and its change in the soil are on the rise under furrow irrigation while the value first increased and then decreased with a peak point in June under drip irrigation. This suggests that furrow irrigation may shift the type of soil salinization to chloride ion type moreso than drip irrigation. Potassium and sodium ion contents of the soil show that soil sodium+potassium content will drop after the first rise under furrow irrigation and the value is manifested by fluctuations under drip irrigation. Potassium+sodium content change is relatively more stable in the whole cotton growth period under irrigation methods. The maximum of sodium and potassium content of the soil usually occur in deep soil layer (60-100 cm) or sub-deep soil layer (40-60 cm) in most sample points under furrow irrigation while it is inconsistent in different sample points under drip irrigation. A non- parametric test for paired samples is used to analyze differences of soil salt content under different irrigation methods. This analysis shows that the impact of irrigation on soil salinity is most significant in July, followed by August, June, May, and April in most sample points. The most significant impact of irrigation methods occurs in the surface soil layer (0-20 cm), followed by deep layer (60-100 cm), root layer (20-40 cm) and sub-deep (40-60 cm). These conclusions will be benefitial for mitigation of soil salinization, irrigation and fertilization and sustainable land use.