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.

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.

北方农牧交错带在保障国家大粮食安全中发挥重要作用

粮食安全是国家安全的重要基础。随着社会经济发展和居民对营养健康的更高要求,我国面临的粮食安全已不是传统意义上的口粮安全,而是逐渐演变为饲料粮安全,为此应树立大粮食安全观。文章分析了2010-2019年我国牛羊肉和牛奶的消费量及生产量,发现生产量的增长速度显著低于消费的增长速度,因而导致大量进口国外的牛羊肉和牛奶产品。对比世界和亚洲地区的平均消费量,未来我国的牛羊肉和牛奶消费需求将持续增长。针对我国牛羊肉自给率保持在85%左右、奶源自给率保持在70%以上的发展目标,如何实现在保护生态环境的条件下提高畜牧业生产是一个重要课题。根据“以小保大”原理,通过发展小面积高产人工草地,服务大面积天然草地保护的生态草牧业,过去几年在国内不同区域的实践取得了可借鉴的成功经验。文章就如何发挥我国北方农牧交错带区域农牧系统的耦合效应,通过发展生态草牧业服务我国大粮食安全和乡村振兴战略实施,从而实现该区域的高质量发展,提出4点建议:加强顶层设计,做好总体规划;利用现代分子生物学手段,加快优良牧草品种培育;加强草产品加工的科技研发,提高饲草原料的利用效率;结合实施乡村振兴战略,打造一批由畜产品产业主导的特色乡镇。

气候变化对北方农牧交错带界线变迁影响的定量探测方法研究

气候对北方农牧交错带界线变迁的定量影响是目前生态脆弱敏感区对气候变化响应领域的研究热点问题。前人已在气候变化对农牧交错带界线的定性影响方面有较为深刻的认识,但仍缺乏在时间和空间上对气候贡献率进行有针对性的定量辨识。本文利用1970年以来长时间序列的国家气象站点数据和土地利用遥感解译数据,分别提取了基于气候要素和土地利用的20世纪70年代、80年代、90年代和21世纪前10年4个时期的北方农牧交错带界线,通过垂直和水平方向变动探测方法(Fish Net)和界线变迁方向变动探测方法(DSAS)对气候界线与土地利用界线的时空变化进行探测,定量分析了不同时期气候对农牧交错带界线变迁影响的贡献率。结果表明,气候与土地利用界线空间分布格局及气候贡献率在不同时期、不同区域差异较大,在西北地区变幅最小,东北地区变幅最大。在大兴安岭东南缘农田控制水源涵养生态功能区西北段以及内蒙古高原东南缘农、林、牧业生态—生产功能区西北段,气候与土地利用界线空间耦合关系最为密切,在该地区基于Fish Net方法下水平方向上气候贡献率达10.7%~44.4%,垂直方向上达4.7%~55.9%;基于DSAS方法下气候贡献率为1.1%~16.8%。两种方法探测结果大部分趋于一致,但DSAS方法精度高,适用于小范围精确探测;Fish Net方法更简单,适用于精度要求不高、快速直观的统计分析。本研究可为北方农牧交错带内农牧业生产适应气候变化、合理开发土地生产潜力、保护农牧交错带区内生态环境提供科学依据和指导。