Prediction of Farmland Protection Area in County-level Land Use Planning: A Case Study of Mizhi County of Shaanxi Province

Taking Mizhi County as an example and the year of 2005 as base period of planning,this paper made a prediction of farmland demand in 2010 and 2020 using grain security method,supply-demand balance method,and trend extrapolation method. In addition,it built a fixed weight combination model to make scientific summary of three prediction results. Finally,it predicted the farmland demand of Mizhi County in 2010 and 2020 will be 40 967 hm2 and 36 556 hm2,which can provide basis and reference for determination of farmland protection area in the land use planning.

Relationship between Farmland Use Right Circulation and Non-agricultural Employment——Based on Survey Data from Eastern and Western China

Relationship between Chinese rural non-agricultural employment and farmland use circulation has always been a hot research topic without final conclusions.This paper uses survey data of"China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS)"covering 1,549 households of 95 villages in Zhejiang and Gansu Province in 2008.According to the data analysis,Zhejiang Province has a higher ratio of rural households leasing out their farmland than Gansu Province has,while the latter has a higher ratio of rural residents going out for earning a living.In both provinces,non-agricultural employment and farmland use circulation show significant positive correlation,but in Gansu,non-agricultural employment of farmers shows no significant positive correlation with rural households leasing out their farmland.The factor shows that for peasants in underdeveloped regions of west China,they rely more on land because of its social security functions,so they are not willing to lease out their land even when they go to cities for earning a living.For local government,it is not appropriate to promote farmland use circulation by depending on the transfer of rural labor forces,fundamental needs of peasants must be taken into consideration.

Understanding the Nexus between Climate Change, the Shift in Land Use toward Cashew Production and Rural Food Security in Ghana;the Experiences of Farmers in the Transition Zone of Ghana

This study summarises the findings from a study investigating rural small-holding farmers’experiences on the shift from food crop to cashew in the forest/savanna transitional agro-ecological zone of Ghana and its impact on rural food security.Using a mix method approach,the study sampled the views of 400 farmers from 9 farming communities in the Wenchi Municipality of Ghana via questionnaire and semi-structured interview and collated statistical data on crop production to trace the nexus between climate change,agrarian land-use decisions and food security.The study found evidence of increasing shift from food crop to cashew production.This was evidenced by increasing cashew cultivation and cashew output and decreasing total land acreage for food crops and increasing food insecurity of farmers.The findings revealed that about 71%of farmers had expanded their cashew farms and another 41.0%have turned their food crops’lands to cashew production.Besides cashew production,(57.0%)has overtaken the traditional food crop-maize(25.5%)production in terms of output.Instructively,the study found that the main motivation for the shift from food crop to cashew production is not only to maximise income in bulk,but also climate change adaptability issues.The study found that the cashew crop is resilient in adapting to the changing climate and less prone to pests’invasion compared to maize in the study District.The study found that food security among rural folks had been seriously compromised by the conversion of farmlands from food crop to cashew farming.Although,the study found that female farmers have higher consciousness to food security yet less motivated to shift from food crop to cashew crop production compared to men.Worryingly,females are the hardest hit group because of their low ownership of or access to farmlands and low voices of women in farmland use decision making in a men-dominant rural extended family setting of the study District.The study concludes that climate change adaptability concern has introduced a new set of risks including crop failure due to changing rainfall pattern and increasing incidence of pest invasions forcing the rural folks to compromise innovative indigenous farming focus and practices that have helped them to navigate extreme food poverty.This study,therefore,argues for improved food crop seeds tailored to the specific climatic context and innovative farming practices that beef-up small-holding farmers’capacity to navigate climate change to continually produce food crop to ensure rural food security and sustainability.

Division of Farmland Use in East China at County level Based on Landscape Structure and Output Function——a Case of Pingdu City, Shandong Province

[Objective] The aim was to research the relationships among different e- valuation farmland units and conduct division-of farmland use in order to provide scientific references for protection and rational use of farmland at county level. [Method] Using Pingdu City as a case, the research selected land use indices such as farmland use structure, output, geographical location, eta/., and then performed a cluster analysis for farmland use division. [Result] Farmlands in Pingdu can be classified into 4 groups. In groups 1 and 2, it is necessary to strengthen farmland protection, especially for highly-quality farmlands, to guarantee the quantity and quality of local crops. In groups 1 and 3, it is necessary to improve concentration degree and use rate of construction lands and control farmland pollution possibly caused by constructions. In group 4, priority should be given to maintaining diversity of land use patterns, and avoiding aimless farming expansion. [Conclusion] During urbanization process in eastern coastal agricultural regions, it is of importance to prevent fertile farmlands being occupied by construction lands to enhance use rate of construction lands. Furthermore, agricultural non-point pollution should be detected constantly in intensively used farmlands, especially in vegetable fields. Additionally, land use diversity should be well protected by avoiding farmland expansion and im- proving farmland environment.

Land Use Land Cover Dynamics and Farmland Intensity Analysis at Ouahigouya Municipality of Burkina Faso,West Africa

Sahel zone has been reported as one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, so serious attention must be paid to this zone by researchers and development actors who are interested in environmental-human dynamics and interactions. The aim of this study was to bring more insight into the impact of actions aiming at reducing land degradation, regreening the Sahel, stopping population migration and reducing the pressure on land in the Sahelian zone. The study focused on farmland dynamic in Ouahigouya municipality based on remote sensing data from 1986 to 2016 using intensity analysis. The annual time interval change was 0.77% and 2.46% for 1986-2001 and 2001-2016, respectively. Farmlands gained from mixt vegetation, water bodies and from bar lands. Mixed vegetation and water bodies were both active during both intervals while the other land use such as woodland and bar land were dormant. Combining land use land cover analysis and intensity analysis was found to be effective for assessing the differentiated impact of the various land restoration actions.

Livelihood Strategy and Farmland Use in Xinping County of Yuanjiang Dry-hot Valley

Methods of participatory rural appraisal and mathematical statistics were adopted to study livelihood diversification, livelihood strategy and farmland use of the four types of farmers in Xinping County of Yuanjiang dry-hot valley with field survey data. The results showed as follows： firstly, as farmers are transforming from pure agriculture to non-agriculture, their agricultural livelihood diversification index will decrease, while non-agricultural livelihood diversification index will increase. In term of livelihood activities, pure agricultural farmers are exclusively engaged in agricultural activities, agricultural-dominant and non-agricultural-dominant farmers are engaged in both agricultural and non-agricultural ones, while non-agricultural farmers are basically engaged in off-farm activities. Secondly, as for crops planted, pure agricultural and agricultural-dominant farmers tend to choose those crops with more investment,shorter growth period and higher value, meanwhile non-agricultural-dominant farmers tend to choose crops with less investment, simpler management and longer growth period. Thirdly, to cope with current problems in farming, pure agricultural farmers will adopt measures such as changing planting structure, maintaining or expanding planting scale, increasing planting investment and renting in more land to promote the development of farming; agriculture-dominant farmers will adopt measures such as changing planting structure, reducing planting scale, maintaining planting investment, renting in and taking back the leased land as well as engaging in non-agricultural activities to overcome the difficulties faced; while non-agricultural-dominant farmers will adopt measures such as reducing both planting scale and investment,changing planting structure and engaging in farmland transfer as well as various offfarm activities to avoid livelihood risks.

The Impact of Changes of Property Rights on Farmland Use:An Empirical Study of China during Transition

In China, farmland property rights characterized by the household-responsibility system (HRS) have been improved since the reform and opening-up. The rights of use, transfer and gain become more stable, authorized and complete. This paper firstly analyzes the impact on farmland productivity, which comes from the improvement of farmland property rights. Then, an economet- ric model is built to test the above analysis. It concludes that changes of property rights will affect farmland performance in China. In the end, some policy implications are explored for fur- ther reforms.

On China's New Urbanization and Land Use

This paper analyzes the history and current situation of Chinese urbanization,as well as the adverse effects on farmland during the past urbanization process,and points out the major problems in land use during urbanization. Finally,this paper brings forward the relevant recommendations: promoting the new urbanization centered around farmer citizenization and strengthening the transfer of agricultural land; developing and implementing urban construction land reduction plan and controlling construction land increment from the supply side; implementing land use and ecological coordination project.

Regional disparity in the changes of agricultural land use intensity in China during 1980-2002

Based on the cost-benefit data （1980-2002） of farm products and China Agriculture Yearbooks, this paper studies the regional disparity in the changes of the agricultural land use in China during the period 1980-2002 from three aspects such as the degree of intensity, the sown area and the abandoned farmland. The results show that： （1） The degree of intensity of land use in the westena region during 1980-2000 has a strong uptrend, but in the eastern and central regions the degree of intensity descends obviously and has shown a continuous downtrend since 1997. （2） The total sown area shrinks notably in the eastern region, while it enlarges constantly in the western region. （3） The sown area in the eastern, central and western regions has gone through a similar cyclic process： down （1980-1985）-up （1985-1991）-down （1991-1994）-up （1994-1999）-down （1999-2002）. However, there are obvious differences in amplitude variation and tendency among them. The sown area has shrunk in the eastern region and expanded in the central and western regions especially before 1999. （4） The most cases of abandoned farmland are reported in the central region, the second in the eastern region and the least in the western region. The abandonment phenomena chiefly occurred during 1992-1995 in the eastern region, and during 1998-2002 in the central region.

Contrasting habitat use and conservation status of Chinese-wintering and other Eurasian Greater White-fronted Goose(Anser albifrons)populations

Background:GPS/GSM tracking data were used to contrast use of(i)habitats and(ii)protected areas between three Arctic-nesting Greater White-fronted Geese(Anser albifrons,GWFG)populations throughout the annual cycle.We wished to demonstrate that the East Asian Continental Population(which winters on natural wetlands in the Chinese Yangtze River floodplain and is currently declining)avoids using farmland at multiple wintering sites.We also gath-ered tracking evidence to support general observations from two increasing population of GWFG,the North Sea-Baltic(which winters in Europe)and the West Pacific(which winter in Korea and Japan)winter mostly within farmland landscapes,using wetlands only for safe night roosts.Methods:We tracked 156 GWFG throughout their annual cycle using GPS/GSM transmitters from these three popu-lations to determine migration routes and stopover staging patterns.We used Brownian Bridge Movement Models to generate summer,winter and migration stopover home ranges which we then overlaid in GIS with land cover and protected area boundary at national level to determine habitat use and degree of protection from nature conserva-tion designated areas.Results:Data confirmed that 73%of European wintering GWFG homes ranges were from within farmland,com-pared to 59%in Japan and Korea,but just 5%in China,confirming the heavy winter use of agricultural landscapes by GWFG away from China,and avoidance of farmland at multiple sites within the Yangtze River floodplain.The same GWFG used farmland in northeast China in spring and autumn,confirming their experience of exploiting such habi-tats at other stages of their annual cycle.Chinese wintering birds showed the greatest overlap with protected areas of all three populations,showing current levels of site safeguard are failing to protect this population.Conclusions:Results confirm the need for strategic planning to protect the East Asian Continental GWFG popu-lation.While the site protection network in place to protect the species seems adequate,it has failed to stop the declines.Buffalo grazing could serve as one simple strategy to improve the condition of feeding habitats at Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake in the Yangtze,where vast Carex meadows exist.In addition,while we warn against pushing GWFG to winter farmland feeding in China because of the long-term potential to conflict with agricultural interests,we recommend experimental sacrificial,disturbance-free farmland within designated refuge areas adjacent to the Yangtze River floodplain wetland reserves as a manipulative experiment to improve the conservation status of this population in years when natural food sources are limited.

Grain Production Driven by Variations in Farmland Use in China:An Analysis of Security Patterns

自从1978年改革开放以来,随着经济的迅速发展,中国的耕地利用格局发生了很大的变化。耕地数量和质量的变化直接导致粮食生产的变动。本文利用来自政府部门的农业统计数据,分析了1978-2004年间中国耕地利用水平的时空动态格局,并通过构建"粮耕弹性系数"来反映耕地利用变化与粮食生产的互动关系。研究结果表明:耕地投入的增加和质量的提升在一定程度上缓解了1978年以来我国耕地资源严重流失给粮食生产安全带来的压力;自改革开放以来,中国耕地利用水平呈现由经济快速发展带来的普遍性提升局面,并随着经济发展程度由东南沿海向内陆递减,耕地利用水平的提升速率也呈现由东南沿海向内陆梯级递减态势。然而,耕地集约利用程度的不断提升,并不一定会带来粮食产量的持续稳定增长。耕地集约利用增长的边际效用递减特性,使得中国粮食生产安全的保障已逐步由耕地集约利用水平的提升转向了耕地面积的保护,由此导致耕地资源的数量成为了左右粮食生产安全的关键,这也为当今中国制定严格的耕地保护目标和战略提供了现实的科学依据。

产权界定、层次差异与资源配置效应

产权边界由产权界定与实施的边际收益和边际成本决定,部分权利因而被弃置于公共领域,这并不构成德姆塞茨意义上的产权残缺。残缺了的权利如果未能专有的授予另一有行动能力的主体,其租金将在竞争中趋于消散,产生资源配置无效率。权利的残缺和权利的重新安排在产生资源配置效应之外也会影响人们之间的收入分配。我国的征地制度造成了农民及其集体的产权残缺,并由此导致农地的过度非农化和过大的城乡收入差距。

Epidemiology of children and adolescent eye injuries in British Columbia

To quantify and characterize children and adolescent eye injuries treated in trauma department.METHODSA retrospective analysis was conducted of children and adolescent patients （0-19 years of age） with eye injuries using the British Columbia Trauma Registry （BCTR） data. BCTR data was obtained from January 1, 2000 to December 31, 2008. The BCTR provides the most detailed information on severe injuries throughout the province of BC. There are 12 trauma-receiving facilities in BC from which BCTR collects data.RESULTSA total of 162 patients with eye injuries were registered in BCTR during the data collection period. The highest number of injuries occurred in the 15-19 age group, followed by 10-14 and 5-9 age groups. Seventy-one point six percent of all patients were male. The mean age for all patients was 12.9 （SD = 5.8） years. Vehicular crash was by far the most common mechanism of injury among all patients （42.0%） followed by blunt injury （14.2%） and cuts （12.3%）. The child and adolescent eye injury data set we used for our study indicated that there were in total, 50 patients that were tested for alcohol and drug use. The majority of them were 15-19 years of age （ n = 38）. Among the tested eye injury patients in the 15-19 age group, 47% （18/38） tested positive for alcohol. There were approximately 30 cases of physical fighting （assault） and fighting-related injury among adolescents. Some injuries were caused by use of fire arms and knife during the assaults. Out of all patients, 62 （38%） were seen by an Ophthalmologist on admission, whereas 100 （62%） patients were not seen by an eye specialist on admission. The most common injury diagnosis among the patients not consulted by ophthalmologist was conjunctiva injury （53%）, whereas almost 9 out of 10 patients with ophtha-lmological consultation had laceration of cornea injury diagnoses. Using Glasgow Coma Scale （GCS）-basedclassification of brain injury severity, 3.7% of all patients were classified with severe brain injury （GCS ≤ 8）, while more than 64% had diagnosed with a mild brain injury （GCS ≥ 13）.CONCLUSIONThis study suggests that most child and adolescent eye injuries in BC occur at street/highway locations followed by incidents at home. Vehicular crash was by far the most common mechanism of injury among all patients （42%）. Sixty-four point two percent of child and adolescent eyeinjury patients also had mild brain injuries. Further, the child and adolescent eye injury data set we used for our study indicated that there were in total, 50 patients tested for alcohol and drug use. There is an urgent need for a child and adolescent eye injury prevention plan in our province.

Exploring the spatio-temporal impacts of farmland reforestation on ecological connectivity using circuit theory:A case study in the agro-pastoral ecotone of North China

Farmland reforestation can contribute substantially to ecological restoration.Previous studies have extensively examined the ecological effects of farmland reforestation,but few of them have investigated the spatiotemporal responses of broad-scale landscape connectivity to reforestation.By using a typical agro-pastoral ecotone in northern China as a case study,we addressed this issue based on an innovative integration of circuit theory approach and counterfactual analysis.The forest connectivity through multiple dispersal pathways was measured using the circuit theory approach,and its spatiotemporal changes after reforestation were evaluated by counterfactual analysis.The results showed that from 2000–2015,the reforested farmland occupied 2095 km^2,and 12.5% was on steeply sloped land.Farmland reforestation caused a greater increase in ecological connectivity by adding new ecological corridors and stepping stones in scattered forest areas rather than in areas with dense forest distributions.The newly added corridors and stepping stones were fragmented,short and narrow and thus deserve powerful protection.Future reforestation to improve landscape connectivity should highlight pinch point protection and obstacle removal as well as the tradeoff between farmland loss and farmer survival.Our findings are expected to inform the optimization of the Grain for Green policy from the perspective of broad-scale biodiversity conservation.

城镇化背景下农地非农化的土地增值收益分配机制研究——基于吉林省的实证分析

通过对长春、吉林、松原三个地区2010—2013年农地征收与出让中的土地收益分配格局调查分析,尽管国家和吉林省在2010年提高了农地征收补偿标准,长春、吉林、松原三个地区的征地补偿费仍仅占市场价格的20%—25%,被征地农民没有享受到长期的土地增值收益分配,仅获得一次性补偿。为了保障农民的土地收益权,建议从建立城乡统一建设用地市场、提高补偿标准、构建增值收益分配机制、完善社会保障体系、切实开展确权登记赋予农民分享土地增值收益的法律凭证等方面,完善土地增值收益分配机制。

自物权:重构农村土地承包法的理性思考——解决农地抛荒的制度创新途径

我国农地承包法所依据的现实生活条件已发生了深刻的变化,其制度安排的缺陷与农地抛荒行为有一定的相关性。传统法律文化包含着农地产权私有化的价值观念,市民社会要求农地承包法尊重农民身份及原始取得所有权的历史。未来重构的农地承包法要以农民生存利益为本位,落实农地可持续的发展观,制定农地承包法的双重所有权制度。

新中国成立初期中南区的“和平分田”及其纠正

新中国成立初期,中南各省在土改中普遍出现了"和平分田"现象,原因在于在全国取得胜利的和平形势下,相当一部分土改干部、农民、地主存在"和平分田"的思想。这引起党中央和有关部门的高度关注和批评,强调"土改是一场系统的激烈的斗争",要发动群众,进行斗争土改,彻底摧毁农村的封建统治。新中国成立初期对中南区"和平分田"的批判与纠正可以进一步证实,在中共的土改理论与实践中,"斗争土改"是根本的道路。当然,中共所强调的斗争土改并非乱打、乱捕、乱杀,而是在党和政府领导下的有秩序的合法斗争。

中国农地产权主体的确立探析

随着中国改革开放的深入和经济的快速发展,农地产权主体的明晰与否越来越成为解决“三农”问题,建设社会主义新农村的关键问题。目前,当务之急是如何明晰农地产权主体,改变农地产权主体不清与缺位的现象,使农地产权主体真正落到实处,保障农民土地财产权利的完整,并分享工业化、城市化的成果。

论抗战时期冀鲁豫根据地的减租减息运动

抗战时期,由于地主占据了冀鲁豫边区农村大多数土地,贫苦农民不得不依靠租种地主土地生存,遭受地主的严重剥削。内忧外患下,这种不合理的剥削制度,给边区民众带来了严重的民生问题,也不利于根据地政府团结各阶级共同抗战。冀鲁豫根据地成立后,在中共的领导下,根据地政府发动群众,积极在边区推广减租减息政策,通过开展查黑地、倒粮等运动,改良了农村旧有的以地主为核心的剥削经济制度。随着减租减息政策的执行,农民的经济地位显著提高,负担大幅减轻,民生问题在一定程度上得到改善;同时,地主阶级的实力被削弱,抗日根据地政权得到了巩固。

湟中县关于维护农民土地承包权益调查

分析了在农村土地承包中一些侵犯外出农民工土地承包权益的问题,并提出了相应的解决措施,以期完善农村土地承包制度工作,维护外出农民工土地承包权益。