Crop production changes and the impact of Grain for Green program in the Loess Plateau of China

Since the Grain for Green(GFG)program was implemented in 1999,most steeply sloping farmlands in the Loess Plateau of China have been returned to forestland and grassland.To understand its impact on the food production,this study analyzed the spatiotemporal changes of food crop production(FCP)in the plateau and quantified the contribution of sown area and yield changes to the total FCP during 1998–2014 using factor decomposition models,and then discussed the impact of GFG program on the FCP based on literature data.With the implementation of GFG program,total sown area in the Loess Plateau quickly deceased by 17.3%from 1998 to 2003,and then gradually restored to 1.03×107 hm2 in 2010.Thereafter,it slightly decreased to 1.02×107 hm2(94.6%of the area in 1998)in 2014.By contrast,total FCP generally showed an apparent growth trend,averagely increased by 1.71%per year in the whole plateau during 1998–2014.This increase was jointly contributed by the improved yield of individual crops,and the adjustment of cropping structure,i.e.,the expansion of high yield maize crop.The factor decomposition analysis results indicate that the sown area shrinkage only reduced the growth rate of total FCP by 0.29%per year during 1998–2014,although a significant impact was found for the early stage of 1999–2003.The results suggest that the implementation of GFG program would not induce an obvious risk of the food security.Therefore,it is suggested that the GFG program should be set as a long-term strategic policy,by not only supporting the conversion of slope farmlands,but also helping local farmers to seek sustainable ways of land use to improve the income and livelihood.It can be combined with the poverty eradication program,to simultaneously achieve the national goals of ecological civilization building and the livelihood improvement of rural people in the Loess Plateau.Considering rainfall limitation,the conversion of slope farmlands should be prioritized to grasslands.

An examination on several key problems inChina's urbanization process

Industrialization is the leading factor to urbanization which is the inexorable trend ofeconomic construction. In the future urbanization process three key problems are identified as I)relation between urban construction and cultivared land protetion, 2) how to take China's way tourbanization, and 3) China should take the Way of nd and urban coordination and forbid to occupyagricultural land for blind urbsn condtruction.

Application of the Modified Neighborhood Interference Model to the Cultivation of Forest and Herbaceous Ecosystem

This paper is an extension of the application of neighborhood interference model--being modified--to the study of the interference between forest plants and herbaceous plants. The exploration of the neighborhood interference between triploid Populus tomentosa and Lolium multiflorum shows that the interference of Lolium multiflorum on triploid populus tomentosa is positive, with the primary interference factor living weight, and secondary factor cover degree; the growth of an individual tree is affected by the number, height, and coverage of the Lolium multiflorum; the more dense the coverage of the Lolium multiflorum in a certain area, the taller, faster and more trees will grow as a result of a greater positive neighborhood interference. The modified neighborhood interference model well serves as an effective approach to extend the application of neighborhood interference researches.

Farmland to Forest Conversion Suspended

Due to a lack of farmland,a reforestation project in its eighth year has been tem- porarily

A Study of Consistency between Land Degradation Control Policy and Farmers’ Needs in Western Area, China

The paper chose two counties (Qis) in Inner Mongolia as the research areas to study the policies of conversion of farmland to forest and grazing prohibition and indoor raising implemented in there, which are closely related to the interests of farmers and herdsmen. Based on the investigation and interview among farmer households, the paper analyzed the consistency between land degradation prevention and control policy and the needs of farmers and herdsmen, and finally presented the countermeasures and suggestions which are conducive to improving the effectiveness of land degradation prevention and control policy.