Northeast China is an important agricultural region in China. The NortheastPlain is the largest plain in the country and one of the three famous black soil zones in the world.Despite of fertility of the soil, however,...Northeast China is an important agricultural region in China. The NortheastPlain is the largest plain in the country and one of the three famous black soil zones in the world.Despite of fertility of the soil, however, large-scale agricultural development mainly took placesince 1900. The land exploitation and utilization has been fast and intensive in this region sincethen and change in the land-cover process has been remarkable. Both national and internationalresearchers on land use and land cover are paying more attention to these processes in this regionand their implication for local ecological environment. This article discusses the land reclamationprocesses and their main driving forces in Northeast China since 1900. According to the research,the 20th century was the most important period for land reclamation in Northeast China. In theseyears the rate, intensity and quantity of land reclamation have been staggering, and more than 100000km^2 of land was converted into farmland. This magnitude of land reclamation inland is unique inthe world. Research on the land reclamation of Northeast China can provide some data on the effectof human activity on environment. As in many other places in the world, the primary driving force ofreclamation in Northeast China was the increasing pressure of population. In the 20th century thepopulation increased from 10 x 10~6 to 110 x 10~6 in Northeast China and from 400 x 10~6 to 1. 3 x10^9 in China. Population pressure is thus the most important driving force for land reclamation.展开更多
文摘Northeast China is an important agricultural region in China. The NortheastPlain is the largest plain in the country and one of the three famous black soil zones in the world.Despite of fertility of the soil, however, large-scale agricultural development mainly took placesince 1900. The land exploitation and utilization has been fast and intensive in this region sincethen and change in the land-cover process has been remarkable. Both national and internationalresearchers on land use and land cover are paying more attention to these processes in this regionand their implication for local ecological environment. This article discusses the land reclamationprocesses and their main driving forces in Northeast China since 1900. According to the research,the 20th century was the most important period for land reclamation in Northeast China. In theseyears the rate, intensity and quantity of land reclamation have been staggering, and more than 100000km^2 of land was converted into farmland. This magnitude of land reclamation inland is unique inthe world. Research on the land reclamation of Northeast China can provide some data on the effectof human activity on environment. As in many other places in the world, the primary driving force ofreclamation in Northeast China was the increasing pressure of population. In the 20th century thepopulation increased from 10 x 10~6 to 110 x 10~6 in Northeast China and from 400 x 10~6 to 1. 3 x10^9 in China. Population pressure is thus the most important driving force for land reclamation.