Land Use/Land Cover Change(LUCC) and Eco-Environment Response to LUCC in Farming-Pastoral Zone,China

In order to understand land use/land cover changes （LUCC） and the eco-environment response to LUCC in farming- pastoral zone of the northern China during the recent twenty years, Baotou prefecture was selected as a case study area for investigation and quantitative evaluation. Technologies of remote sensing （RS）, global positioning system （GPS）, geographic information system （GIS）, and other statistical methods were employed to implement. Results showed that： （1） During the recent twenty years, the areas of forest lands, grasslands and water were reduced, whereas the areas of other types were enlarged. Parts of forest lands, grasslands, and waters had become farmlands, and about 31.5% of the changed grasslands transferred into unused lands. The newly increased farmlands mainly came from grasslands and unused lands. And the newly increased construction lands mainly came from grasslands and farmlands. （2） Regional eco- environmental quality decreased by 12.6%, for which the land degradation （especially the meadow degeneration） and the developing of the cultivated land were mainly responsible, and their contributions to the regional eco-environment changes were 51.84 and 23.63% respectively. （3） The tendency of LUCC and the eco-environment response to LUCC displayed spatial heterogeneity. It can be concluded that the present agricultural production mode was not sustainable in farming-pastoral zone of northern China. Land degradation, especially meadow degradation induced by over-trampling and overgrazing, and developing of cultivated land were mainly responsible for regional eco-environment deterioration. Changing the cultivated land to forest or grass, however, can relieve deterioration of local eco-environment to some extents. And in the farming-pastoral zone in the northern China, evaluating regional eco-environment responses to LUCC was very necessary due to its fragile eco-environments.

Impacts of revegetation management modes on soil properties and vegetation ecological restoration in degraded sandy grassland in farming-pastoral ecotone

Focusing on the impact of various vegetation management modes on sandy grassland's soil property and vegetation ecological restoration of farming-pastoral ecotone,field surveys and lab analysis were conducted to study the correlation between the characteristics of soil properties and vegetation ecological restoration under four different vegetation management modes,i.e.,unenclosed natural restoration,enclosed natural restoration,unenclosed artificial restoration and enclosed artificial restoration,which have a restoration history of 15 years in the southern edge of the degraded sandy land area of Mu Us Desert in Leilongwan Town,Hengshan County,Shaanxi Province.After 15 years of vegetation restoration,these four vegetation management modes all proved to be useful for improving the vegetation ecological restoration and the soil quality of the degraded sandy grassland not only by enhancing the aboveground vegetation height,coverage and biomass but also increasing the content of soil clay,organic matter,CEC,total nitrogen,available nutrient while reducing soil bulk density.The vegetation ecological restoration effect and soil quality under enclosed or artificial restoration management are better than those of unenclosed or natural restoration management;and the most satisfactory vegetation ecological restoration effects and soil quality can be achieved under the integration of enclosed and artificial restoration management.Severely degraded sandy grassland,during the vegetation restoration,would form an interactional coordinating relationship with the vegetation and soil properties.Vegetation properties as height,coverage and biomass have significant positive correlations with organic matter,CEC,total nitrogen and available nitrogen,phosphorus,and potassium contained in soil.Only the adoption of the strict enclosure system,implementation of aggressive artificial vegetation restoration measures and the realization of the regurgitation-feeding policy of industry towards husbandry can guarantee the gradual restoration of degraded sandy grassland in farming-pastoral ecotone,so that it can continue to play the role of ecological protective screen.

Development of quantitative methods for detecting climate contributions to boundary shifts in farming-pastoral ecotone of northern China

The quantitative effect of climate change on fragile regions has been a hot topic in the field of responses to climate change. Previous studies have qualitatively documented the impacts of climate change on boundary shifts in the farming-pastoral ecotone （FPE）; however, the quantitative methods for detecting climate contributions remain relatively limited. Based on long-term data of meteorological stations and interpretations of land use since 1970, climate and land use boundaries of the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s were delineated. To detect climate contributions to the FPE boundary shifts, we developed two quantitative methods to explore the spatial-temporal pattern of climate and land use boundary at the east-west （or south-north） （FishNet method） and transect directions （Digital Shoreline Analysis System, DSAS method）. The results indicated that significant differences were exhibited in climate boundaries, land use boundaries, as well as climate contributions in different regions during different periods. The northwest FPE had smaller variations, while the northeast FPE had greater shifts. In the northwest part of the southeast fringe of the Greater Hinggan Mountains and the Inner Mongolian Plateau, the shifts of climate boundaries were significantly related to the land use boundaries. The climate contributions at an east-west direction ranged from 10.7% to 44.4%, and those at a south-north direction varied from 4.7% to 55.9%. The majority of the results from the DSAS were consistent with those from the FishNet. The DSAS method is more accurate and suitable for precise detection at a small scale, whereas the FishNet method is simple to conduct statistical analysis rapidly and directly at a large scale. Our research will be helpful to adapt to climate change, to develop the productive potential, as well as to protect the environment of the FPE in northern China.

Land use pattern evolution and optimization in the Farming-Pastoral Zone of Northern China

Using information about the land cover of the Farming-Pastoral Zone of Northern China retrieved from multi-temporal NOAA/AVHRR and SPOT VEGETAN images obtained in 1989, 1994 and 1999, the authors analyzed land-use pattern evolution over this 10-year period and built a land-use pattern simulation model, based on which land-use pattern evolution and optimization modeling in this region were studied. Results showed that the proposed model can effectively simulate regional land-use patterns and help improve regional ecological environments.

Drought and flood characteristics in the farmingpastoral ecotone of northern China based on the Standardized Precipitation Index

The farming-pastoral ecotone of northern China(FPENC)provides an important ecological barrier which restrains the invasion of desert into Northwest China.Studying drought and flood characteristics in the FPENC can provide scientific support and practical basis for the protection of the FPENC.Based on monthly precipitation data from 115 meteorological stations,we determined the changes in climate and the temporal and spatial variations of drought and flood occurrence in the FPENC during 1960-2020 using the Standardized Precipitation Index(SPI),Morlet wavelet transform,and inverse distance weighted interpolation method.Annual precipitation in the FPENC showed a slightly increasing trend from 1960 to 2020,with an increasing rate of about 1.15 mm/a.The interannual SPI exhibited obvious fluctuations,showing an overall non-significant upward trend(increasing rate of 0.02/a).Therefore,the study area showed a wetting trend in recent years.Drought and flood disasters mainly occurred on an interannual change cycle of 2-6 and 9-17 a,respectively.In the future,a tendency towards drought can be expected in the FPENC.The temporal and spatial distribution of drought and flood differed in the northwestern,northern,and northeastern segments of the FPENC,and most of the drought and flood disasters occurred in local areas.Severe and extreme drought disasters were concentrated in the northwestern and northeastern segments,and severe and extreme flood disasters were mainly in the northeastern segment.Drought was most frequent in the northwestern segment,the central part of the northeastern segment,and the northern part of the northern segment.Flood was most frequent in the western part of the northwestern segment,the eastern part of the northeastern segment,and the eastern and western parts of the northern segment.The accurate evaluation of the degrees of drought and flood disasters in the FPENC will provide scientific basis for the regional climate study and critical information on which to base decisions regarding environmental protection and socio-economic development in this region.

DYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF PRESENT PRODUCTIVITY FOR CULTIVATED LAND IN THE FARNMING-PASTORAL ZONE OF INNER MONGOLIA

In this article, the distribution of cultivated land, the changes ofcultivated land productivity, and regional differentiation of the Change forpresent productivity in the Farming-Pastoral Zone, Inner Mongolia arediscussed. Then, the close relationship between dynamic characterlsticsdivision and atmospheric circulation systems is revealed. Finally, based ondynamic characteristics, four regions are divided, including thenortheastem area, the eastern area, the western area, and the middle area.