Impact of livelihood diversification of rural households on their ecological footprint in agro-pastoral areas of northern China

Human-environment relationship is a focus of academic researches and an understanding of the rela- tionship is important for making effective policies and decisions. In this study, based on rural household survey data of Taibus Banner, Duolun county and Zhengxiangbai Banner in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region of China, we identified the impact of livelihood diversification on ecosystems in these agro-pastoral areas by using the ecological footprint theory and methodology together with the one-way analysis of variance （ANOVA） and correlation analysis methods. In 2011, the total ecological footprint of consumption （EFC） was 0.665 g hm2, and the total ecological footprint of production （EFP） was 2.045 g hm2, which was more than three times the EFC. The ecological footprint of arable land consumption （EFAC） accounted for a large proportion of the EFC, and the ecological footprint of grassland production （EFGP） occupied a large proportion of the EFP. Both the ecological footprint of grassland consumption （EFGC） and EFGP had a significant positive correlation with the income, indicating that income was mainly depended on livestock production and the households with higher incomes consumed more livestock prod- ucts. The full-time farming households （FTFHs） had the highest EFP, ecological footprint of arable land production （EFAP）, EFGP and EFGC, followed by the part-time farming households （PTFHs） and non-farming households （NFHs）, which indicated that part-time farming and non-farming employment reduced the occupancy and con- sumption of rural households on local ecosystems and natural resources to some extent. When farming households engaged in livestock rearing, both the EFAP and EFAC became smaller, while the EFP, EFC, EFGC and EFGP increased significantly. The differences in ecological footprints among different household groups should be taken into account when making ecosystem conservation policies. Encouraging the laborers who have the advantages of participating in non-farming employment to move out of the rural areas and increasing the diversification of liveli- hoods of rural households are important in reducing the environmental pressures and improving the welfare of households in the study area. Moreover, grassland should be utilized more effectively in the future.

Spatial pattern and mechanisms of farmland abandonment in Agricultural and Pastoral Areas of Qingzang Plateau

With the rapid development of social economy and urban−rural integration,the phenomenon of farmland aban-donment worldwide has proved to be one of the main trends of land use and land cover change(LUCC),and profoundly affected the rural landscape and regional ecological environment.Restricted by the natural environ-ment,economic development and backward agricultural technology,the phenomenon of farmland abandonment is also common in the Qingzang Plateau(QP).Therefore,this paper adopted the spatial autocorrelation method to analyze the spatial pattern of abandonment in the agricultural and pastoral areas of the Qingzang Plateau(APA−QP)in 2017,and the geographically weighted regression(GWR)model to explore the effects of geograph-ical resources,socio-economic development and location conditions on farmland abandonment.This study found that:1)From 2015 to 2017,the abandoned farmland area in the APA−QP was approximately 18.23×10^(4)ha,with an overall abandonment rate of 15.18%.On the whole,it showed the distribution characteristics of“strong in the south and weak in the north,strong in the east and weak in the west”.2)There were positive spatial correlation between both abandoned area and abandonment rate in the APA−QP,showing“concave”and“convex”patterns,respectively,mainly concentrated in the Huang−shui Valley and the Southeast Tibet;while in the western and northern regions,the degree of abandonment was relatively low.3)Farmland abandonment in the APA−QP was mainly driven by the geographical environment changes and farmers’decision−making on farmland utilization.There was significant spatial heterogeneity on farmland abandonment associated with the impact of geographical resources,socio−economics and location conditions.The geographical resource factors had a positive impact on the abandonment,and were strongly constrained by natural geographic conditions such as altitude and slope.The farmland resources in the Qingzang Plateau are limited,but are of strategic significance for the sustainable development of agriculture in the whole Qingzang Plateau.In order to realize the rational distribution of agricul-ture and animal husbandry and the sustainable utilization of farmland resources in the plateau region,land use strategies should be implemented according to regional differences and regional advantages in order to ensure the ecological environment security of Qingzang Plateau.

Vegetation changes in the agricultural-pastoral areas of northern China from 2001 to 2013

Climate change and human activity have resulted in increasing change of vegetation growth globally. Numerous studies have been conducted on extreme climate events and analyses of ecological environment evolution. However, such studies have placed little emphasis on vegetation change and spatial variation in this type of ecotone. Accordingly, this study analyzed the changes in vegetation type and growth using the 16-d composite MOD13A1 product with 1-km resolution and MOD12Q1 product with 1-km resolution. We used the mean, maximum, standard deviation normalized-difference vegetation index（NDVI） values, and the rate of change（ROC） of NDVI value to explain vegetation changes within the studied ecotone. Our results showed that significant vegetation type and growth changes have occurred in the study area. From 2001 to 2013, for example, with the exception of 2001, 2004 and 2009, a certain extent of grassland area was converted to cropland. Drought severity index（DSI） results indicate that there exists drought in 2001, 2004 and 2009. Such temporal changes in cropland and grassland area confirmed the ecological vulnerability of the ecotone. At the same time, vegetation varied spatially from west to east and from south to north. The mean, maximum and standard deviation NDVI values were all sorted in descending order based on differences in latitude and longitude, as follows： NDVI_（2013）〉NDVI_（2009）〉NDVI_（2004）〉NDVI_（2001）

Livelihood Diversification of Farm Households and Its Impact on Cultivated Land Utilization in Agro-pastoral Ecologically-vulnerable Areas in the Northern China

The relationship between livelihood diversification of farm households and cultivated land utilization has become a core research topic related to global environmental change.Agro-pastoral ecologically-vulnerable areas face challenges such as insufficient ecosystem conservation,low agricultural production,and weak economies.In this study,215 farm households from Zhengxiangbai Banner,Taibus Banner,and Duolun County of Inner Mongolia were surveyed.The sustainable livelihoods framework of the United Kingdom(UK)Department for International Development(DFID)was used to measure the livelihood capital of these farm households.A one-way analysis of variance(ANOVA)was applied to examine the differences in the livelihood capital of different types households,and a correlation analysis was applied to analyze its impact on cultivated land utilization.Results showed that households with non-farming activities accounted for 64.7%of the total surveyed households,and non-farming employment was becoming more prevalent.Physical and financial capital was the driving factors for livelihood diversity.Each livelihood capital had key factors that affected household farmland use behaviors,such as the age of householder,the labor ratio,proportion of income,farmland scale,number of machines,and these had a significantly positive or negative influence on farmland use.Full-time farming households were more likely to transfer the land into cultivation and invest more labor,while non-farming households with high income were likely to transfer farmland out and invest more money to develop efficient farming or improve the employment skills.The results of this study suggest that policymakers need to fully consider livelihood changes of local households.It is effective to strengthen labor training,create farmland market and improve the efficiency of farmland utilization.We hope to achieve a win-win scenario to improve local economies and ecosystem conservation.

Adaptability and Application of Australian Merino Sheep in the Alpine Pastoral Areas

[Objective] The paper was to study the adaptability of Australian Merino sheep in the alpine pastoral areas. [Method]Through introduction of Australian Merino sheep for hybridizing with Gansu alpine fine wool sheep,the improvement effect of offspring was observed. [Result]The introduced Australian Merino sheep had good adaptability in the alpine pastoral areas with good hair quality,strong cold resistance and disease resistance,and they could grow and reproduce healthily in the alpine pastoral areas. The application effect of the ram was outstanding,showing large breeding amount,high conception rate and survival rate.[Conclusion]The improvement effect of offspring of Australian Merino sheep and Gansu alpine fine wool sheep was significant,and the growth performance was improved greatly.

Modern Trend Found in Traditional Lives in Rural/Pastoral Areas

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Wavelet analysis of spring climate characteristics in arid aeolian area of agro-pastoral ecotone in China

The unique regional climate characteristics are among the main reasons for the frequent wind-sand activity in arid and cold areas in the agro-pastoral ecotone in Inner Mongolia, China. This paper focuses on the time series of temperature and precipitation in spring when sandstorms often occur in the area. Based on meteorological data for a 46-year period from 1959 to 2004, multi-scale variations and abrupt changes in temperature and precipitation were analyzed with the Mexican hat function （MHF） wavelet method, showing the multi-scale variation characteristics of temperature and precipitation, as well as the periods and change points at different time scales. The relationship between temperature and precipitation was obtained using the wavelet analysis method. Obvious staggered features of the variations of spring temperature and precipitation were observed in this agro-pastoral ecotone. The strongest oscillation periods of spring temperature variations were 1 and 22 years, while for precipitation, the strongest oscillation periods of variations were 2, 8, and 22 years. In addition, lower spring temperature corresponded to lower precipitation, whereas higher temperature yielded higher precipitation rate.

Path of Social Construction in Northwest Sichuan Plateau Pastoral Area

On the basis of main contents of social construction and key points of construction,this paper analyzes features of conditions of northwest Sichuan plateau pastoral area.The social construction at current stage mainly includes social cause in narrow sense,and social management at meso-level.The northwest Sichuan plateau pastoral area is faced with the best policy and development opportunity.However,there are still many weak aspects.Firstly,social structure is not coordinated with economic structure.Secondly,social construction ability of grass-roots government is weak.Thirdly,the ability to respond to public demands is low.Fourthly,there is a big gap in availability of basic public service.Finally,it presents path selection for social construction of northwest Sichuan plateau pastoral area:strengthen social construction ability of grass-roots government;promote social construction with livelihood projects as key projects;boost social construction taking advantage of ecological construction;develop basic public service with the aid of external forces;intensify evaluation system for supervision of social construction works.

Estimation of Economic and Ecological Value of Raising Sheep in Pastoral Area

Tibetan sheep is a unique breed of livestock in Alpine pastoral areas,which is one of the main economic pillars of animal husbandry in pastoral areas,in order to analyze and compare the estimated the economic and ecological benefits of Tibetan sheep under different feeding modes,this paper used a simplified model from multiple angles of animal production,economics and Ecology,The results show that:(i)Under the traditional grazing condition,the annual income of raising one ewe is only 23.4 yuan;(ii)Under the high-efficiency breeding mode,the average income of ewes bred by high-efficiency technology was 168 yuan/(head·year),which was 7 times higher than that of ewes under traditional grazing;each lamb could produce an indirect economic benefit of 500 yuan;(iii)The ecosystem service value affected by each Tibetan sheep through grassland was above 150000 yuan.

Research on the Particularity of Poverty in Hulunbeier Pastoral Area and Countermeasures

Pastoral area is a special area in China's rural areas.It has special ecological environment,national culture and geographical location.These special factors also determine the particularity of poverty in pastoral areas.Based on the current situation and particularity of poverty in Hulun Buir pastoral area,this paper analyzes the poverty problem in Hulun Buir pastoral area and provides some suggestions to solve the poverty problem of herdsmen according to the particularity of poverty in pastoral area.

Estimation of Regional Evapotranspiration in Alpine Area and Its Response to Land Use Change:A Case Study in Three-River Headwaters Region of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China

Three-River Headwaters （TRH） region involved in this paper refers to the source region of the Changjiang （Yangtze） River, the Huanghe （Yellow） River and the Lancang River in China. Taking the TRH region of the Qing- hai-Tibet Plateau as a case, the annual evapotranspiration （ET） model developed by Zhang et al. （2001） was applied to evaluate mean annual ET in the alpine area, and the response of annual ET to land use change was analyzed. The plant-available water coefficient （w） of Zhang＇s model was revised by using vegetation-temperature condition index （VTCI） before annual ET was calculated in alpine area. The future land use scenario, an input of ET model, was spa- tially simulated by using the conversion of land use and its effects at small regional extent （CLUE-S） to study the re- sponse of ET to land use change. Results show that the relative errors between the simulated ET and that calculated by using water balance equation were 3.81% and the index of agreement was 0.69. This indicates that Zhang＇s ET model based on revised plant-available water coefficient is a scientific and practical tool to estimate the annual ET in the al- pine area. The annual ET in 2000 in the study area was 221.2 ram, 11.6 mm more than that in 1980. Average annual ET decreased from southeast to northwest, but the change of annual ET between 1980 and 2000 increased from southeast to northwest. As a vast and sparsely populated area, the population in the TRH region was extremely unbalanced and land use change was concentrated in very small regions. Thus, land use change had little effect on total annual ET in the study area but a great impact on its spatial distribution, and the effect of land use change on ET decreased with in- creasing precipitation. ET was most sensitive to the interconversion between forest and unused land, and was least sen- sitive to the interconversion between cropland and low-covered grassland.

Characteristics of root pullout resistance of Caragana korshinskii Kom.in the loess area of northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China

Roots exert pullout resistance under pullout force,allowing plants to resist uprooting.However,the pullout resistance characteristics of taproot-type shrub species of different ages remain unclear.In this study,in order to improve our knowledge of pullout resistance characteristics of taproot systems of shrub species,we selected the shrub species Caragana korshinskii Kom.in different growth periods as the research plant and conducted in situ root pullout test.The relationships among the maximum pullout resistance,peak root displacement,shrub growth period,and aboveground growth indices(plant height and plant crown breadth)were analyzed,as well as the mechanical process of uprooting.Pullout resistance of 4-15 year-old C.korshinskii ranged from 2.49(±0.25)to 14.71(±4.96)kN,and the peak displacement ranged from 11.77(±8.61)to 26.50(±16.09)cm.The maximum pullout resistance and the peak displacement of roots increased as a power function(R^(2)=0.9038)and a linear function(R^(2)=0.8242)with increasing age,respectively.The maximum pullout resistance and the peak displacement increased with increasing plant height;however,this relationship was not significant.The maximum pullout resistance increased exponentially(R^(2)=0.5522)as the crown breadth increased.There was no significant relationship between the peak displacement and crown breadth.The pullout resistance and displacement curve were divided into three stages:the initial nonlinear growth,linear growth,and nonlinear stages.Two modes of failure of a single root occurred when the roots were subjected to vertical loading forces:the synchronous breakage mode and the periderm preferential breakage mode.These findings provide a foundation for further investigation of the soil reinforcement and slope protection mechanisms of this shrub species in the loess area of northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China.

Growth behavior and resource potential evaluation of gas hydrate in core fractures in Qilian Mountain permafrost area, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The Qilian Mountain permafrost area located in the northern of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a favorable place for natural gas hydrate formation and enrichment,due to its well-developed fractures and abundant gas sources.Understanding the formation and distribution of multi-component gas hydrates in fractures is crucial in accurately evaluating the hydrate reservoir resources in this area.The hydrate formation experiments were carried out using the core samples drilled from hydrate-bearing sediments in Qilian Mountain permafrost area and the multi-component gas with similar composition to natural gas hydrates in Qilian Mountain permafrost area.The formation and distribution characteristics of multi-component gas hydrates in core samples were observed in situ by X-ray Computed Tomography(X-CT)under high pressure and low temperature conditions.Results show that hydrates are mainly formed and distributed in the fractures with good connectivity.The ratios of volume of hydrates formed in fractures to the volume of fractures are about 96.8%and 60.67%in two different core samples.This indicates that the fracture surface may act as a favorable reaction site for hydrate formation in core samples.Based on the field geological data and the experimental results,it is preliminarily estimated that the inventory of methane stored in the fractured gas hydrate in Qilian Mountain permafrost area is about 8.67×1013 m3,with a resource abundance of 8.67×108 m3/km2.This study demonstrates the great resource potential of fractured gas hydrate and also provides a new way to further understand the prospect of natural gas hydrate and other oil and gas resources in Qilian Mountain permafrost area.

Biological soil crusts and their potential applications in the sand land over Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is now experiencing ecological degradation risks as a result of climate change and human activities.The alpine grassland ecology in permafrost zones is fragile and susceptible to deterioration due to its high altitude,low temperature,and limited oxygen,which complicates the repair of damaged land.Biological soil crusts(BSCs)are crucial for land restoration in plateau regions because they can thrive in harsh conditions and have environmentally beneficial traits.Inoculated biological soil crust(IBSC)has shown success in low-altitude desert regions,but may not be easily duplicated to the plateau environment.Therefore,it is essential to do a comprehensive and multifaceted analysis of the basic theoretical comprehension and practical application of BSCs on the Tibetan Plateau.This review article aims to provide a brief summary of the ecological significance and the mechanisms related to the creation,growth,and progression of BSCs.It discusses the techniques used for cultivating BSCs in laboratories and using them in the field,focusing on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau circumstance.We thoroughly discussed the potential and the required paths for further studies.This study may be used as a basis for selecting suitable microbial strains and accompanying supplemental actions for implementing IBSCs in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Risk analysis of snow disaster in the pastoral areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Snow disaster is one of the top ten natural disasters worldwide, and the most se- vere natural disaster to affect the pastoral areas of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Based on the hazard harmfulness data collected from historical records and data collected from entities affected by this hazard in 2010, a comprehensive analysis of the 18 indexes of snow disaster on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was conducted, encompassing the hazard harmfulness, the amount of physical exposure the hazard-bearing entities face, the sensitivity to the hazard, and the capacity to respond to the disaster. The analysis indicates that： （1） areas at high-risk of snow disaster on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are located in certain areas of the counties of Yecheng and Pishan in the Xinjiang region; （2） areas at medium-risk of snow disaster are found between the Gangdise Mountains and the Himalayas in the central-western part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the southeastern part of the southern Qinghai Plateau; （3） the risk of snow disaster is generally low throughout the large area to the south of 30°N and the re- gion on the border of the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Overall, the risk of snow disaster in high-altitude areas of the central Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is higher than that at the edge of the plateau.

Anomaly feature of seasonal frozen soil variationson the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The seasonal frozen soil on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau has strong response to climate change, and its freezing-thawing process also affects East Asia climate. In this paper, the freezing soil maximum depth of 46 stations covering 1961–1999 on the plateau is analyzed by rotated experience orthogonal function (REOF). The results show that there are four main frozen anomaly regions on the plateau, i.e., the northeastern, southeastern and southern parts of the plateau and Qaidam Basin. The freezing soil depths of the annual anomaly regions in the above representative stations show that there are different changing trends. The main trend, except for the Qaidam Basin, has been decreasing since the 1980s, a sign of the climate warming. Compared with the 1980s, on the average, the maximum soil depth decreased by about 0.02 m, 0.05 m and 0.14 m in the northeastern, southeastern and southern parts of the plateau, but increased by about 0.57 m in the Qaidam Basin during the 1990s. It means there are different responses to climate system in the above areas. The spectrum analysis reveals different change cycles: in higher frequency there is an about 2-year long cycle in Qaidam Basin and southern part of the plateau in the four representative areas whereas in lower frequency there is an about 14-year long cycle in all the four representative areas due to the combined influence of different soil textures and solutes in four areas.

An Estimation of Ground Ice Volumes in Permafrost Layers in North- eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

The ground ice content in permafrost serves as one of the dominant properties of permafrost for the study of global climate change, ecology, hydrology and engineering construction in cold regions. This paper initially attempts to assess the ground ice volume in permafrost layers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau by considering landform types, the corresponding lithological composition, and the measured water content in various regions. An approximation demonstrating the existence of many similarities in lithological composition and water content within a unified landform was established during the calculations. Considerable knowledge of the case study area, here called the Source Area of the Yellow(Huanghe) River(SAYR) in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has been accumulated related to permafrost and fresh water resources during the past 40 years. Considering the permafrost distribution, extent, spatial distribution of landform types, the ground ice volume at the depths of 3.0–10.0 m below the ground surface was estimated based on the data of 101 boreholes from field observations and geological surveys in different types of landforms in the permafrost region of the SAYR. The total ground ice volume in permafrost layers at the depths of 3.0–10.0 m was approximately(51.68 ± 18.81) km^3, and the ground ice volume per unit volume was(0.31 ± 0.11) m^3/m^3. In the horizontal direction, the ground ice content was higher in the landforms of lacustrine-marshland plains and alluvial-lacustrine plains, and the lower ground ice content was distributed in the erosional platforms and alluvial-proluvial plains. In the vertical direction, the volume of ground ice was relatively high in the top layers(especially near the permafrost table) and at the depths of 7.0–8.0 m. This calculation method will be used in the other areas when the necessary information is available, including landform type, borehole data, and measured water content.

Adaptive evolution of the rural human-environment system in farming and pastoral areas of northern China from 1952-2017

The theory on the cyclic adaptation between society and ecosystems sheds new light on the evolution and internal structure of human–environment systems.This paper introduces the risk index(RI)and adaptation capacity index(ACI)to evaluate the rural human–environment system.An evaluation index system for the adaptability of rural human–environment systems is configured in the context of climate change and policy implementation.On this basis,the stages,features,dominant control factors,and evolution mechanism were examined vis-à-vis the adaptability of the rural human–environment system in Darhan Muminggan Joint Banner from 1952 to 2017.The main results are as follows:(1)The evolution of the rural human–environment system can be divided into three stages,namely,the reorganization and rapid development stage(1952–2002)with population,cultivated land,livestock and degraded grassland increasing by 260%,13%,134%and 16.33%,respectively.The rapid to stable development stage(2003–2010)with population increasing by 2.8%;cultivated land,livestock and degraded grassland decreasing by 2.3%,13.6%and 10.7%,respectively.The stable to release stage(2011–2017)with population,cultivated land,livestock and degraded grassland decreasing by 2.6%,0.2%,10.6%and 3.8%,respectively.(2)With the passage of time,the ACI of the rural human–environment system first increased slightly(–0.016–0.031),followed by a slight decline(0.031–0.003),and culminating in a rapid increase(0.003–0.088).In terms of spatial patterns,adaptability is high in the middle,moderate in the north,and low in the south.(3)The evolution of adaptability in the rural human–environment system was mainly controlled by the per capita effective irrigation area(22.31%)and the per capita number of livestock(23.47%)from 1990 to 2000,the desertified area(25.06%)and the land use intensity(21.27%)from 2000 to 2005,and the per capita income of farmers and herdsmen(20.08%)and the per capita number of livestock(18.52%)from 2010 to 2007.(4)Under the effects of climate change and policy interventions,the cyclic adaptation of the rural human–environment system was propelled by the interactions between two kinds of subjects:farmers and herdsmen on the one hand and rural communities on the other hand.The interaction affects the adaptive behavior of the two kinds of subjects,which in turn drives the cyclic evolution of the system.As a result,the system structure and functions developed alternatively between coordinated and uncoordinated states.Small-scale adaptive behaviors of farmers and herdsmen have a profound impact on the evolution of the rural human–environment system.

Monitoring rock desert formation caused by two different origins(ice-snow melting and drying)in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China by considering topographic and meteorological elements

Monitoring rock desert formation caused by two different origins(ice-snow melting and drying)through remote sensing is crucial to our understanding of the interaction between the underlying surface of different rock desert and land-atmosphere types,as well as the relationship between bare land and soil erosion.A number of achievements have been made in remote sensing monitoring of desert areas,but there is a lack of accurate classification and remote sensing identification of rock desert types based on formation mechanism.In this study,the north and south sides of the eastern Kunlun Mountains in the northern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China were taken as the study areas.Landsat operational landscape imager,digital elevation model,and precipitation and temperature grid data were used as data sources.By identifying the bare areas based on the normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI),we used the multi-element fusion method of contours,isotherms,and isohyets to identify the rock desert types in the ice-snow melting and dry areas.The results showed that:(1)the rock desert areas identified by remote sensing based on topographic and meteorological elements were highly accurate,with an overall accuracy of 88.45%and kappa coefficient of 0.77.The multi-element fusion method of contours,isotherms,and isohyets could effectively identify the rock desert types in the ice-snow melting and dry areas;(2)the optimal segmentation range of the ice-snow melting and dry areas was 3600 m contour,-2°C-2°C isotherms,and 100-130 mm isohyets.The areas with elevation less than 3600 m,annual average temperature higher than 2°C,and average annual precipitation less than 100 mm were rock desert in the dry areas.The range of-2°C-2°C isotherms and 100-130 mm isohyets was the transition area between the ice-snow melting and dry areas.The areas with elevation higher than 3600 m,annual average temperature less than-2°C,and average annual precipitation higher than 130 mm were rock desert in the ice-snow melting areas;and(3)the identification accuracy of the bare areas based on the NDVI method was better,specifically,the identification accuracy of plain bare areas was generally better than that of mountain bare areas.The remote sensing identification method considers not only the topographic factors that have great influence on the spatial distribution of the two types of rock desert areas,but also the meteorological factors,which can provide a scientific reference for the effective identification of the two types of rock desert areas.