Spatial pattern and mechanisms of farmland abandonment in Agricultural and Pastoral Areas of Qingzang Plateau

With the rapid development of social economy and urban−rural integration,the phenomenon of farmland aban-donment worldwide has proved to be one of the main trends of land use and land cover change(LUCC),and profoundly affected the rural landscape and regional ecological environment.Restricted by the natural environ-ment,economic development and backward agricultural technology,the phenomenon of farmland abandonment is also common in the Qingzang Plateau(QP).Therefore,this paper adopted the spatial autocorrelation method to analyze the spatial pattern of abandonment in the agricultural and pastoral areas of the Qingzang Plateau(APA−QP)in 2017,and the geographically weighted regression(GWR)model to explore the effects of geograph-ical resources,socio-economic development and location conditions on farmland abandonment.This study found that:1)From 2015 to 2017,the abandoned farmland area in the APA−QP was approximately 18.23×10^(4)ha,with an overall abandonment rate of 15.18%.On the whole,it showed the distribution characteristics of“strong in the south and weak in the north,strong in the east and weak in the west”.2)There were positive spatial correlation between both abandoned area and abandonment rate in the APA−QP,showing“concave”and“convex”patterns,respectively,mainly concentrated in the Huang−shui Valley and the Southeast Tibet;while in the western and northern regions,the degree of abandonment was relatively low.3)Farmland abandonment in the APA−QP was mainly driven by the geographical environment changes and farmers’decision−making on farmland utilization.There was significant spatial heterogeneity on farmland abandonment associated with the impact of geographical resources,socio−economics and location conditions.The geographical resource factors had a positive impact on the abandonment,and were strongly constrained by natural geographic conditions such as altitude and slope.The farmland resources in the Qingzang Plateau are limited,but are of strategic significance for the sustainable development of agriculture in the whole Qingzang Plateau.In order to realize the rational distribution of agricul-ture and animal husbandry and the sustainable utilization of farmland resources in the plateau region,land use strategies should be implemented according to regional differences and regional advantages in order to ensure the ecological environment security of Qingzang Plateau.

Adaptive evolution of the rural human-environment system in farming and pastoral areas of northern China from 1952-2017

The theory on the cyclic adaptation between society and ecosystems sheds new light on the evolution and internal structure of human–environment systems.This paper introduces the risk index(RI)and adaptation capacity index(ACI)to evaluate the rural human–environment system.An evaluation index system for the adaptability of rural human–environment systems is configured in the context of climate change and policy implementation.On this basis,the stages,features,dominant control factors,and evolution mechanism were examined vis-à-vis the adaptability of the rural human–environment system in Darhan Muminggan Joint Banner from 1952 to 2017.The main results are as follows:(1)The evolution of the rural human–environment system can be divided into three stages,namely,the reorganization and rapid development stage(1952–2002)with population,cultivated land,livestock and degraded grassland increasing by 260%,13%,134%and 16.33%,respectively.The rapid to stable development stage(2003–2010)with population increasing by 2.8%;cultivated land,livestock and degraded grassland decreasing by 2.3%,13.6%and 10.7%,respectively.The stable to release stage(2011–2017)with population,cultivated land,livestock and degraded grassland decreasing by 2.6%,0.2%,10.6%and 3.8%,respectively.(2)With the passage of time,the ACI of the rural human–environment system first increased slightly(–0.016–0.031),followed by a slight decline(0.031–0.003),and culminating in a rapid increase(0.003–0.088).In terms of spatial patterns,adaptability is high in the middle,moderate in the north,and low in the south.(3)The evolution of adaptability in the rural human–environment system was mainly controlled by the per capita effective irrigation area(22.31%)and the per capita number of livestock(23.47%)from 1990 to 2000,the desertified area(25.06%)and the land use intensity(21.27%)from 2000 to 2005,and the per capita income of farmers and herdsmen(20.08%)and the per capita number of livestock(18.52%)from 2010 to 2007.(4)Under the effects of climate change and policy interventions,the cyclic adaptation of the rural human–environment system was propelled by the interactions between two kinds of subjects:farmers and herdsmen on the one hand and rural communities on the other hand.The interaction affects the adaptive behavior of the two kinds of subjects,which in turn drives the cyclic evolution of the system.As a result,the system structure and functions developed alternatively between coordinated and uncoordinated states.Small-scale adaptive behaviors of farmers and herdsmen have a profound impact on the evolution of the rural human–environment system.

Risk analysis of snow disaster in the pastoral areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Snow disaster is one of the top ten natural disasters worldwide, and the most se- vere natural disaster to affect the pastoral areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Based on the hazard harmfulness data collected from historical records and data collected from entities affected by this hazard in 2010, a comprehensive analysis of the 18 indexes of snow disaster on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was conducted, encompassing the hazard harmfulness, the amount of physical exposure the hazard-bearing entities face, the sensitivity to the hazard, and the capacity to respond to the disaster. The analysis indicates that： （1） areas at high-risk of snow disaster on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are located in certain areas of the counties of Yecheng and Pishan in the Xinjiang region; （2） areas at medium-risk of snow disaster are found between the Gangdise Mountains and the Himalayas in the central-western part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the southeastern part of the southern Qinghai Plateau; （3） the risk of snow disaster is generally low throughout the large area to the south of 30°N and the re- gion on the border of the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Overall, the risk of snow disaster in high-altitude areas of the central Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is higher than that at the edge of the plateau.

Research on the Particularity of Poverty in Hulunbeier Pastoral Area and Countermeasures

Pastoral area is a special area in China's rural areas.It has special ecological environment,national culture and geographical location.These special factors also determine the particularity of poverty in pastoral areas.Based on the current situation and particularity of poverty in Hulun Buir pastoral area,this paper analyzes the poverty problem in Hulun Buir pastoral area and provides some suggestions to solve the poverty problem of herdsmen according to the particularity of poverty in pastoral area.

Estimation of Economic and Ecological Value of Raising Sheep in Pastoral Area

Tibetan sheep is a unique breed of livestock in Alpine pastoral areas,which is one of the main economic pillars of animal husbandry in pastoral areas,in order to analyze and compare the estimated the economic and ecological benefits of Tibetan sheep under different feeding modes,this paper used a simplified model from multiple angles of animal production,economics and Ecology,The results show that:(i)Under the traditional grazing condition,the annual income of raising one ewe is only 23.4 yuan;(ii)Under the high-efficiency breeding mode,the average income of ewes bred by high-efficiency technology was 168 yuan/(head·year),which was 7 times higher than that of ewes under traditional grazing;each lamb could produce an indirect economic benefit of 500 yuan;(iii)The ecosystem service value affected by each Tibetan sheep through grassland was above 150000 yuan.

Path of Social Construction in Northwest Sichuan Plateau Pastoral Area

On the basis of main contents of social construction and key points of construction,this paper analyzes features of conditions of northwest Sichuan plateau pastoral area.The social construction at current stage mainly includes social cause in narrow sense,and social management at meso-level.The northwest Sichuan plateau pastoral area is faced with the best policy and development opportunity.However,there are still many weak aspects.Firstly,social structure is not coordinated with economic structure.Secondly,social construction ability of grass-roots government is weak.Thirdly,the ability to respond to public demands is low.Fourthly,there is a big gap in availability of basic public service.Finally,it presents path selection for social construction of northwest Sichuan plateau pastoral area:strengthen social construction ability of grass-roots government;promote social construction with livelihood projects as key projects;boost social construction taking advantage of ecological construction;develop basic public service with the aid of external forces;intensify evaluation system for supervision of social construction works.

A long way to go:impacts of urbanization on migrants’livelihoods and rural ecology in less industrialized regions

Urbanization,often coupled with industrialization,is generally considered as a boost for improving livelihood as well as alleviating ecological pressures of the rural areas.However,this experience needs to be tested in less industrialized areas,particularly where the urbanization is driven by non-economic factors such as urban public services and relevant government policies rather than employment opportunities.Taking two villages on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau as examples,through the field investigation by using semi-structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews,and statistical data analysis,we explored the impacts of urbanization on migrants’livelihoods and the ecological conditions of their original village rangeland.We found that the disposable income and savings of emigrant households were less than the stay households,which might be correlated to the limited employment due to the lagged industrialization in the local township,and the mismatch between their traditional labor skills and the demands of urban services.Their home-village rangeland overuse was not alleviated since the increasing grazing pressure caused by the stay households,though the emigrant households intended to decrease the number of livestock on their home pasture.We concluded that the urbanization misaligned with local industrialization may fail to improve migrant livelihoods and local ecological conditions in less industrialized areas.Our research supplements the previous urbanization theory by highlighting the non-industrialization driven urbanization,and is particularly pertinent for the transitional countries worldwide.

A Study on the Transfer of Rural Surplus Labor in Nyingchi City

This paper studies the surplus labor transfer in Nyingchi City,obtains the first-hand information of the surplus labor transfer through the typical survey,and analyzes the current situation and characteristics of surplus labor transfer. From " transfer channel", " transfer industry" and " transfer space",this paper analyzes the factors affecting the transfer of local surplus farming and animal husbandry labor,discusses the obstacles to surplus farming and animal husbandry labor in Nyingchi City,and finally makes some recommendations for the transfer of rural surplus labor in Nyingchi City.