The Impact of Arid Climate Change on Agriculture of Dry Valley in Southwest China and Its Adaptive Countermeasures

The eco-environmental vulnerability and underdevelopment of the agriculture in Southwest China would strengthen its disadvantage conditions further on the condition of arid climate change.It is necessary to deal with the relations between resource utilization and eco-environment finely and ascertain the adaptive principles on the dry valley agriculture to the arid climate change in order to change the extensive utilization of the special agricultural resources.The paper gave some adaptive countermeasures that develop modern rangeland husbandry,strengthening the special agriculture and agricultural industrialization,emphasis on the ecological agriculture development,constructing the extension system of water-saving modern agriculture,encouraging the service industry related to ＂agriculture,peasants and the countryside＂,constructing water utilization facilities,and exploiting the renewable energies.

Observational Study on the Onset of the South China Sea Southwest Monsoon

Based on the long-term marine ship observation data, records of meteorological stations and High-Reflective Cloud(HRC) data by satellite remote sensing , this paper has studied the circulation patterns and variability in elements during onset and the established periods of the South China Sea(SCS) southwest(SW) monsoon. The averaged date of the onset SW monsoon in the SCS occurs in the middle of May climatologically. The corresponding date for the northern part is little earlier (May 12) and those for the southern parts are little later (May 20). The interannual range of the onset dates is about one month. Following the onset of the SW monsoon, the cloud amount and the precipitation increase while the convection activities enhance over the SCS. But there is a strong spatial heterogeneity within the domain. After onset of the SW monsoon the strong convective area moves northwards, while the SCS rain band moves to the center and north. Sea surface temperature(SST) increases rapidly before the onset and the leading time is about one month. The increment of SST supplies heat and vapor for the onset. From April to May the surface heat fluxes display obvious changes, e.g., latent heat exchange and evaporation enhancement. It is one of the reasons why the SW monsoon bursts firstly in the SCS.

ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC REHABILITATION IN THE KARST OF SOUTHWEST CHINA

The Karst of Southwest China is a typical representative of poverty stricken region with impoverishment-degradation spiral. To essentially break away from this vicious circle, the local ecology, economy and society should be rehabilitated, and hence to strengthen the self-development capacity building of the localities. Two considerations are stressed in this article: (1) Poverty alleviation is a system project with great complexities. Any single approach is difficult to success and integrated measures should be taken. (2) Some typical and feasible areas should be selected to demonstrate the project of poverty alleviation and ecological, socio-economic reconstruction. Then, they can be used as a model to promote the sustainable development of the whole region. Based upon these ideals, a project entitled “Reversal of Impoverishment-Degradation Spiral in the Karst of Southwest China' was proposed and has been listed in 《Priority Programme for China's Agenda 21》.

Rocky Land Desertification and its Driving Forces in the Karst Areas of Rural Guangxi,Southwest China

With a subtropical climate,Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has a typical karst landscape.Rocky desertification has become a serious environmental issue due to its high vulnerability caused by the joint effect of natural settings and human activities,because of which its eco-environment has been deteriorated in recent years,and farmland has been disappearing sharply at the same time.This,in turn,has exacerbated the poverty level in the rural areas of the region.In this study,we monitored the spatial distribution of rocky land desertification and its temporal evolution using Landsat TM/ETM images of 1985,1995,2000 and 2005.We also analyzed the driving forces of the desertification and its expansion.Through constructing regression models by using all the relevant variables and considering the lagged effects as well as fixed effects,we quantified the exact role of different factors causing rocky land desertification in the study area with some new findings.The new findings in this study are greatly helpful for preserving,restoring and reconstructing the degraded mountain environment in Guangxi and other karst areas in Southwest China,and also for alleviating poverty in the rural areas in the future.

Geology and Isotope Geochemistry of the Yinchanggou-Qiluogou Pb-Zn Deposit,Sichuan Province,Southwest China

The Yinchanggou-Qiluogou Pb-Zn deposit,located in the western Yangtze Block,southwest China,is hosted by the Upper Sinian Dengying Formation dolostone.Ore bodies occur in the Qiluogou anticline and the NS-and NNW-trending faults.Sulfide ores mainly consist of sphalerite,pyrite,galena and calcite,with subordinate dolomite and quartz.Seventeen ore bodies have been discovered to date and they have a combined 1.0 million tons of sulfide ores with average grades of 2.27wt%Zn and 6.89wt%Pb.The δD（H2O-SMOW） and δ18O（H2O-SMOW） values of fluid inclusions in quartz and calcite samples range from-68.9‰ to-48.7‰ and 7.3‰ to 15.9‰,respectively,suggesting that H2O in the hydrothermal fluids sourced from metamorphic water.Calcite samples have δ13C（PDB） values ranging from-6.2‰ to-4.1‰ and δ18O（SMOW） values ranging from 15.1‰ to 17.4‰,indicating C and O in the hydrothermal fluids likely derived from a mixed source of metamorphic fluids and the host carbonates.The δ34S（CDT） values of sulfide minerals range from 5.5‰ to 20.3‰,suggesting that thermal chemical reduction of sulfate minerals in evaporates were the most probable source of S in the hydrothermal fluids.The 206Pb/204Pb,207Pb/204Pb and 208Pb/204Pb ratios of sulfide minerals fall in the range of 18.11 to 18.40,15.66 to 15.76 and 38.25 to 38.88,respectively.The Pb isotopic data of the studied deposit plot near the upper crust Pb evolution curve and overlap with the age-corrected Proterozoic basement rocks and the Upper Sinian Dengying Formation hosting dolostone.This indicates that the Pb originated from a mixed source of the basement metamorphic rocks and the ore-hosting carbonate rocks.The ore geology and C-H-O-S-Pb isotopic data suggest that the YinchanggouQiluogou deposit is an unusual carbonate-hosted,strata-bound and epigenetic deposit that derived ore-forming materials from a mixed source of the underlying Porterozoic basements and the Sinian hosting carbonates.

The inequality of educational resources and its countermeasures for rural revitalization in southwest China

Equal access to education has long been a global concern and is important for rural revitalization strategy in the new era. However, little is known about the regional differences of educational resources in China, especially southwest China, where the spatial heterogeneity of human and physical geography is extremely significant. Using a dataset of primary and secondary schools of southwest China at county level in 2015, this study builds an index system to comprehensively measure the supply of educational resources, investigates the spatial pattern of educational resources via exploratory spatial data analysis(ESDA), and explores its influence factors through spatial econometrics. Results indicated that the supply level of educational resources in southwest China was relatively low;the high-high clusters of the supply of educational resources were mainly located in Sichuan Basin and the east of Western Sichuan Plateau, while the concentrated poverty-stricken areas of Guizhou and the border areas of Yunnan-SichuanGuizhou, especially Wumeng mountain area, were characterized by the low-low clusters. Furthermore, this study suggested that altitude, population density, local government revenue and rural residents' income were positively correlated with the supply of educational resources, while the negative influenceswere exerted by proportion of ethnic minority population and urbanization rate. And there were differences in the specific objects of actions of each factor. Ultimately, we proposed that village relocation and combination, as well as sustainable urbanization and regional development were practical paths to optimize the supply of educational resources in rural areas, thus promoting the modernization of agriculture and countryside.

Assessing the impacts of climate change and anthropogenic activities on vegetation in southwest China

The topography and geomorphology of southwest China are complex,and the intensity of human activities not balanced.The impact of climate change and anthropogenic activities on vegetation shows temporal and spatial differences.Therefore,we used normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI)to analyze the impact of climate change and anthropogenic activities on vegetation in four provinces and municipality in the southwest China from 2000 to 2015.The results showed that(1)NDVI increased 0.004–0.005/yr during this period.About 57.74%–69.09%of the area with significant changes was found to be primarily affected by anthropogenic activities during all four seasons and the growing season,while 6.05%–10.74%and 5.09%–9.77%of the area was affected by temperature and precipitation,respectively.(2)The impact of temperature and precipitation changes were spatially heterogeneous.Temperature had a positive impact during spring and summer in the northwestern region.Furthermore,NDVI was positively affected in the southwestern and eastern regions,while the western region was negatively affected by precipitation.Summer temperatures and precipitation had the greatest impact throughout the year.(3)Returning farmland to forests and improving agricultural management demonstrated positive impacts of anthropogenic activities on the vegetation,while areas with significant negative impacts due to anthropogenic activities were located near the provincial capitals of the four provinces and municipality.This study can provide a scientific basis for accurately identifying key ecological protection areas in Southwest China.

The increasing predominance of extreme precipitation in Southwest China since the late 1970s

Extreme precipitation events cause severe environmental and societal damage worldwide.Southwest China(SWC)is sensitive to such effects because of its overpopulation,underdevelopment,and fragile ecosystems.Using daily observations from 108 rain-gauge stations,the authors investigated the frequency of extreme precipitation events and their contribution to total precipitation in SWC since the late 1970 s.Results indicate that total precipitation is decreasing insignificantly,but rainfall-events frequency is decreasing significantly,whereas the region is experiencing more frequent and intense extreme precipitation events.Note that although fewer stations are statistically significant,about 60%of the rain-gauge stations show an increasing trend in the frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation.Furthermore,there is an increasing trend in the contribution of total extreme precipitation to total precipitation,with extreme precipitation becoming dominant in the increasingly arid SWC region.The results carry important implications for policymakers,who should place greater emphasis on extreme precipitation and associated floods and landslides when drafting water-resource management policies.

ON THE ORIGIN AGE OF THE SOUTHWEST BASIN IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

This paper propounds that the origin and evolution of the Southwet Basin (SWB) in the South China Sea (SCSh) are closely related with those of the SCS, reviews various viewpoints on its origin age with a large gap between the oldest age and the youngest age. offers some suggestions on the SWB’s origin age and gives some proposals to ascertain satisfactorily the origin and evolution, and multi-phasal and multiaxial spreading of the SCS and SWB.

Palaeorunoff estimations achieved from palaeoclimatic information for the southwest part of the North China Plain: an attempt to apply a climatological approach to palaeohydrology

Palaeoclimatic scenario projecting annual temperature and annual precipitation is firstly formalized with data available and speculations for the southwest part of the North China Plain (35— 37°N, 115—119°E) during the last 25000 years. Then, with three regression equations relating annual runoff to annual precipitation and derived with data of modern hydrological and meteorological records, values of annual runoff are calculated in terms of the corresponding values of annual precipitation from this palaeoclimatic scenario for this region during this temporal interval. These results indicate that runoff is the most during 8000—3000 a B.P. and the least during 25000—12000 a B.P.; runoff occurring during 12000—8000 a B.P. and during 3000—0 a B.P. is less than the one occurring during 8000—3000 a B.P. and more than the one occurring during 25000—12000 a B.P.; and the runoff occurring during 25000—12000 a B.P., 12000—8000 a B.P., and 3000—0 a B.P. is respectively 43, 46 and 66 percent of the one occurring during 8000—3000 a B.P. Values of bankfull discharge for palaeochannels of the Yellow River flowing in this region during the same interval are calculated from available estimates of slope of stream bed of these palaeochannels with a regression equation relating bankfull discharge to slope of stream bed and ratios of bankfull discharge are further calculated from these values for different groups of palaeochannel formed during different time spans embraced in this interval. To conduct a cross check, these values and ratios of bankfull discharge are compared to the corresponding values and ratios of runoff occurring during roughly the same time spans. The same direction and similar relative magnitude of changes of the surface water occurring in this region during the last 25000 years are indicated by these comparisons.

THE EFFECT OF EQUATORIAL CENTRAL PACIFIC SSTAS ON THE INTERANNUAL VARIATION OF PRECIPITATION OVER SOUTHWEST CHINA DURING SPRING

The interannual variations of rainfall over southwest China(SWC) during spring and its relationship with sea surface temperature anomalies(SSTAs) in the Pacific are analyzed, based on monthly mean precipitation data from 26 stations in SWC between 1961 and 2010, NCEP/NCAR re-analysis data, and Hadley global SST data. Sensitivity tests are conducted to assess the response of precipitation in SWC to SSTAs over two key oceanic domains, using the global atmospheric circulation model ECHAM5. The interannual variation of rainfall over SWC in spring is very significant.There are strong negative(positive) correlation coefficients between the anomalous precipitation over SWC and SSTAs over the equatorial central Pacific(the mid-latitude Pacific) during spring. Numerical simulations show that local rainfall in the northwest of the equatorial central Pacific is suppressed, and a subtropical anticyclone circulation anomaly is produced, while a cyclonic circulation anomaly in the mid-latitude western Pacific occurs, when the equatorial Pacific SSTAs are in a cold phase in spring. Anomalous northerly winds appear in the northeastern part of SWC in the lower troposphere. Precipitation increases over the Maritime Continent of the western equatorial Pacific, while a cyclonic circulation anomaly appears in the northwest of the western equatorial Pacific. A trough over the Bay of Bengal enhances the southerly flow in the south of SWC. The trough also enhances the transport of moisture to SWC. The warm moisture intersects with anomalous cold air over the northeast of SWC, and so precipitation increases during spring. On the interannual time scale, the impacts of the mid-latitude Pacific SSTAs on rainfall in SWC during spring are not significant, because the mid-latitude Pacific SSTAs are affected by the equatorial central Pacific SSTAs; that is,the mid-latitude Pacific SSTAs are a feedback to the circulation anomaly caused by the equatorial central Pacific SSTAs.

Diagenesis-Mineralization and Ore Prospecting of the Yangla Copper Deposit, Yunnan Province, Southwest China

The large-scale Yangla copper deposit, located in the central part of the Sanjiang Tethys polymetallic belt, is structurally controlled by the Jinsha River Fault and Yangla Fault. This deposit consists of seven ore blocks, including the Beiwu, Nilv, Jiangbian, Linong, Lunong, Tongjige and Jiaren. The Cu metal prospective reserves of the Yangla deposit are above 1 million tons. There are widely distributed Indosinian granodiorite and also many gabbro-diabase dikes and few quartz porphyries exposed in the Yangla ore district. The ore-hosting rocks are diopsode-garnet skarn, sericitie sandy slate and metamorphic quartz sandstone of the first member of the Devonian Linong Formation. Ore bodies occur as layered, stratoid, lenticular and veined shapes, and are strictly controlled by rocks, strata and structures.

Evaluation of the WRF Model with Different Land Surface Schemes: A Drought Event Simulation in Southwest China during 2009–10

The authors examined the performance of version 3.4.1 of the Weather Research and Forecasting Model(WRF) with various land surface schemes in simulating a severe drought event in Southwest China. Five numerical experiments were completed using the Noah land surface scheme, the Pleim-Xiu land surface scheme, the Noah-MP land surface schemes, the Noah- MP scheme with dynamic vegetation, and the Noah-MP scheme with dynamic vegetation and groundwater processes. In general, all the simulations reasonably reproduced the spatial and temporal variations in precipitation, but significant bias was also found, especially for the spatial pattern of simulated precipitation. The WRF simulations with the Noah-MP series land surface schemes performed slightly better than the WRF simulation with the Noah and Pleim-Xiu land surface schemes in reproducing the severe drought events in Southwest China. The leaf area index(LAI) simulated by the different land surface schemes showed significant deviations in Southwest China. The Pleim-Xiu scheme overestimated the value of LAI by a factor of two. The Noah-MP scheme with dynamical vegetation overestimated the magnitude of the annual cycle of the LAI, although the annual mean LAI was close to observations. The simulated LAI showed a long-term lower value from autumn 2009 to spring 2010 relative to normal years. This indicates that the LAI is a potential indictor to monitor drought events.

The 5-year incidence of male breast cancer in Southwest of China from 2007 to 2011

Objective: Male breast cancer is a rare disease with an incidence of about 1% of breast cancers in USA, but relatively lack of the information of male breast cancer in China, especially in Southwest of China, led us to study its incidence trends. Methods: Chongqing is one of the biggest and the most important areas that is located in Southwest of China. There are around 31.4 million people who live in approximate 82 402.95 km2area of Chongqing. Data about breast cancer patients registered in the Center for Disease Prevention and Control of Chongqing(China) were statistically collected from 187 hospitals, about 58 hospitals in city and 129 hospitals in country, and over 6.2 million people were studied every year. It was tried to represent all the people in villages and cities in Chongqing, China. Results: The incidence of male breast cancer in Southwest of China ranged from 0.34/100 000 to 1.45/100 000 between 2007 and 2011, while the incidence of female breast cancer ranged from 15.40/100000 to 21.66/100000 at the same time. The rate of male breast cancer to female breast cancer ranged from 0.02:1 to 0.07:1, male breast cancer accounted for 1.96% to 6.5%(with the mean value of 2.9%) of breast cancers in Southwest of China from 2007 to 2010. Conclusion: In Southwest of China male breast cancer accounts for about 2.9% of breast cancers which is higher than that in United States. It is important for policy makers and health manager to seriously consider breast cancer in future plan in Southwest of China.

Research Progress of the Mineralization of Carbonate-Hosted Pb-Zn Deposits in the Sichuan-Yunnan-Guizhou Pb-Zn Metallogenic Province, Southwest China

The Sichuan-Yunnan-Guizhou （SYG） Pb-Zn metallogenic province in the western Yangtze Block, is a key component of the low-temperature metallogenic domain in South China. In this area, more than 400 Pb-Zn deposits have been discovered, and the total proven reserves are up to 260 million tons with lead and zinc grade reaching 10%, even up to 30%.

Risk assessment of maize drought disaster in southwest China using the Environmental Policy Integrated Climate model

The East Asian monsoon has a tremendous impact on agricultural production in China. An assessment of the risk of drought disaster in maize-producing regions is therefore important in ensuring a reduction in such disasters and an increase in food security. A risk assessment model, EPIC（Environmental Policy Integrated Climate） model, for maize drought disasters based on the Erosion Productivity Impact Calculator crop model is proposed for areas with the topographic characteristics of the mountainous karst region in southwest China. This region has one of the highest levels of environmental degradation in China. The results showed that the hazard risk level for the maize zone of southwest China is generally high. Most hazard index values were between 0.4 and 0.5,accounting for 47.32% of total study area. However,the risk level for drought loss was low. Most of the loss rate was ＆lt;0.1, accounting for 96.24% of the total study area. The three high-risk areas were mainlydistributed in the parallel ridge–valley areas in the east of Sichuan Province, the West Mountain area of Guizhou Province, and the south of Yunnan Province.These results provide a scientific basis and support for the reduction of agricultural drought disasters and an increase in food security in the southwest China maize zone.

Geographical Names as Cultural Symbols:The Law of Naming System’s Evolution in Southwest China

In this paper,the geographic name in Southwest China is regarded as a symbolic representation of human beings,and the dynamic social and historical process behind the place names is restored from the perspective of the symbolic anthropology.There are three paths in the construction and evolution of geographic names in Southwest China—Ethnic information,sacred systems,and local representation,which have been rewritten,masked,and reconstructed over the years.As a result,the system of geographical names is gradually formed and integrated into local memory through space building,culture filling,and so on,affecting and influencing local group identity and cognitive concept.

Three-stage tectonic subsidence and its implications for the evolution of conjugate margins of the southwest subbasin,South China Sea

To reveal the tectonic characteristics of the continental margins in the southwest subbasin(SWB)of the South China Sea,a long high-resolution seismic profile was studied using empty basin subsidence.We find that tectonic subsidence features on both margins are uniformly divided into three stages:(1)slow subsidence from Tg to 18.5 Ma(synrift stage);(2)extremely slow subsidence/uplift from18.5 to 16 Ma(spreading stage);and(3)accelerated subsidence from 16 to 0 Ma(post-spreading stage).This feature differs from the classic tectonic subsidence pattern of rifted basins,which exhibits fast subsidence during synrift stage and slow subsidence during the post-rift stage.The tectonic uplift occurred during the spreading stage and the magnitude increased from the continent to the ocean,which is likely related to mantle flow during seafloor spreading.We propose that lower crustal flow played a significant role in the tectonic evolution of the continental margins of the SWB.The lower crust of the SWB margins was warmer and therefore weaker,and more prone to flow beneath the faulting center,which compensated for the upper crustal thinning caused by brittle faulting during the synrift period and thus reduced the tectonic subsidence rate.During the spreading stage,faulting attenuated rapidly,and a necking zone appeared at the continentocean transition formed by lithospheric extension.With upwelling asthenosphere,small-scale secondary mantle convection occurred under the necking zone,which raised the continental margin isotherms and increased the buoyancy.Simultaneously,secondary mantle convection lifted the overriding crust,thus the overall subsidence rate decreased sharply or even reversed to uplift.After seafloor spreading,the effect of mantle convection faded away,and sediment loading drove the lower crust to flow landward.Thermal relaxation,lower crust flow,and vanish of secondary mantle convection together led to rapid subsidence in this stage.

Geochemical characteristics and sedimentary environment of the Middle Devonian organic-rich shales in the Northwest of Guizhong Depression, Southwest China

In order to figure out the redox conditions and paleo-sedimentary environment of the Middle Devonian shales in the northwest of Guizhong Depression,the trace element analysis was conducted on the Middle Devonian cores(320.35–938.50 m)of the typical shale gas investigation well(GY-1)at a 1.50 m sampling interval through X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy(XRF)and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS).According to the test result,the average values of V/(V+Ni),V/Cr and Ni/Co in Nabiao formation(Fm.)are larger than 0.67,4.65 and 7.71 respectively,and Nabiao Fm.is rich in biological assemblages such as tabasheer,ammonite,etc.These evidences indicate the rising sea level rose relatively in the sedimentation period of Nabiao Fm.and a deepwater shelf environment,which was favorable for the preservation of organic matters.The V/(V+Ni),V/Cr and Ni/Co in Luofu Fm.and Tangting Fm.are 0.38–0.65,0.73–4.10 and 3.70–6.72 respectively,indicating that the sea level dropped relatively in their sedimentation period,during which the water bodies became shallow,and the sedimentary environment was a weak oxidizing shallow water shelf environment.In addition,the variation of TOC has a high correlation with the enrichment degree of Ba element,indicating the favorable conditions for the enrichment and preservation of organic matters under an oxygen-deficient environment.Moreover,according to the identification of trace element indexes,the northwest of Guizhong Depression experienced the sedimentary cycle of relative rise to relative fall of sea level from bottom to top in the Middle Devonian sedimentation period.The relative sea level rose to the highest in the sedimentation period of Nabiao Fm.,in which the organic-rich shales with stable thickness and high organic content were deposited.Hence,the Nabiao Fm.could be regarded as the favorable exploration target interval in this area.

Strengthened influence of the East Asian trough on spring extreme precipitation variability over eastern Southwest China after the late 1980s

The relationship between variations in the East Asian trough(EAT)intensity and spring extreme precipitation over Southwest China(SWC)during 1961-2020 is investigated.The results indicate that there is an interdecadal increase in the relationship between the EAT and spring extreme precipitation over eastern SWC around the late1980 s.During the latter period,the weak(strong)EAT corresponds to a strong and large-scale anomalous anticyclone(cyclone)over the East Asia-Northwest Pacific region.The EAT-related anomalous southerlies(northerlies)dominate eastern SWC,leading to significant upward(downward)motion and moisture convergence(divergence)over the region,providing favorable(unfavorable)dynamic and moisture conditions for extreme precipitation over eastern SWC.In contrast,during the former period,the EAT-related circulation anomalies are weak and cover a relatively smaller region,which cannot significantly affect the moisture and dynamic conditions over eastern SWC;therefore,the response in extreme precipitation over eastern SWC to EAT is weak over the period.The interdecadal change in the relationship between eastern SWC spring extreme precipitation and the EAT could be related to the interdecadal change in the EAT variability.The large(small)variability of the EAT is associated with significant(insignificant)changes in spring extreme precipitation over eastern SWC during the latter(former)period.