Quantitative assessment and spatial characteristics analysis of agricultural drought vulnerability in China

In this study, the spatial characteristics of agricultural drought vulnerability in China were investigated using a GIS-based agricultural drought vulnerability assessment model, which was constructed by selecting three agricultural drought vulnerability factors. Seasonal crop water deficiency, available soil water-holding capacity and irrigation were identified as the main indicators of agricultural drought vulnerability in China. The study showed that the distribution of seasonal crop moisture deficiency showed significant differentiation in both north south and east west directions, and the agricultural drought vulnerability presented a similar trend. At a regional scale, southern and eastern China typically has a low- and moderate-vulnerability to drought, while high and very high vulnerability to agricultural drought is observed in northern and western China. In terms of China's agricultural regions, the central part of the southwest region, the area between the southern Huang-Huai-Hai region and the northern part of the Middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River region, and the northeast region are the areas of low agricultural drought vulnerability in China, while areas of high agricultural drought vulnerability are mainly located in the Inner Mongolia, Loess Plateau and Gan-Xin regions. Due to differences in the physical and social economic conditions within the agricultural areas, vulnerability to agricultural drought exhibits substantial variability both between different agricultural regions and within the same region. The methodology of grid-cell-based agricultural drought vulnerability assessment, developed in this study, provides a foundation for better description of the differences in regional and even smaller scale

Recommendation domains for pond aquaculture: country case study: development and status of freshwater aquaculture in Henan Province, China

This monograph is the case study for China, with a particular focus on Henan Province, the project location. Written in three parts, it first describes the historical background, production levels and trends, economic and institutional environment, policy issues, and market situation in China in general. The main part of the study presents findings from two different surveys conducted in Henan Province. County-level information is used to analyze the current situation of aquaculture, providing a more disaggregated picture than what is generally available from national statistics. Data collected in a survey of fish farmers in two locations in Henan are then analyzed with regard to the prevailing aquaculture technology and production practices, economic performance of pond fish farming, and the key reasons for aquaculture adoption. In the final chapter, constraints and opportunities for the aquaculture sector in China in general are discussed.Freshwater aquaculture, Economic analysis, Trade, Ecosystems, Pond culture, Fish consumption, Food security, Policies, Regulations, Legislation, Socioeconomic aspects, Yield, China, People's Rep.,

Threats to the Soil Resource Base of Food Security in China and Europe. A report from the Sino-EU Panel on Land and Soil

To secure adequate food supply is the major challenge for humanity in the 21st century. Growing world population and its urbanization put pressure on this basic need, which is further threatened by the constant loss of fertile land. The assessment of sustainability of food supply under increasing pressure on land resources has been selected as one of the most important priority topics of the activities of Sino-EU Panel on Land and Soil (SEPLS). The Panel has performed a number of related researches and discussed the results on a scientific seminar in January 2012 in Nanjing, China. This report is an output of this seminar with a summary of the structured discussions on the below issues. 1. Urban and peri-urban development (soil sealing and loss of land functions) Urbanization and the linked spread of infrastructural development mean sealing of soil surfaces. Soil sealing is the most rapidly growing limitation for soil functions (including biomass production function) both in China and Europe. Soil sealing in China has been taking dramatic degree in the last two decades and the process is estimated to continue in the coming period as well. While urban and peri-urban development is looked as a necessity for social development, its negative effect on natural resources are inevitable. 2. Land degradation Despite the widely recognized importance of land degradation in the unsustainability of economic development and implementation of various policies to halt degradation (e.g. green for grain programme in China; cross-compliance measures in the EU), loss of land productivity by degradation is an ongoing process both in China and the EU. Major forms of soil degradation (erosion, desertification, landslides etc.) are similar in both regions. Assessment of the causes and consequences of soil degradation processes in relation to policy actions is highlighted among the priorities of the SEPLS. 3. Intensive agriculture and multi-function management of land resources Intensification and extensification in agriculture can be considered as the main changes in land use in rural areas in both EU and China. While agricultural intensification is one of the greatest threats to the soil and environment and then hampers the sustainable development of agriculture and food security. To meet this challenge, sustainable management of multi-functionality of land resources is undoubtedly an effective strategy, in which the EU has a good expertise. Bilateral exchange of the experience and knowledge benefits the sustainable management of land resources.JRC.H.5-Land Resources Managemen

Regulation and optimization of cultivated land in different ecological function areas under the guidance of food security goals-a case study of Mengjin County, Henan Province, China

China’s arable land is facing the dual constraints of increasing “non-grain” and tightening ecological control. However, extreme emphasis on food production or excessive attention to ecological protection cannot effectively solve the practical problems of cultivated land utilization. In this paper, evaluation indexes were selected from the aspects of ecological service, landscape integrity, ecological sensitivity, etc., and ecological importance evaluation system for territory space was constructed. The ecological importance of territorial space was divided into three ecological functional areas, namely, the extremely important regions, the relatively important regions and the general regions. The morphological characteristics of cultivated land use in different ecological function areas were described systematically, and the main problems of cultivated land use in different regions were analyzed. On the basis of ensuring the ecological security of territorial space, this paper puts forward the regulation and control plan of cultivated land in different ecological functional areas aiming at food security, and makes an empirical study with Mengjin County as the case area. The results showed that: under the guidance of food security objectives, the implementation of different types of cultivated land remediation programs according to the problems existing in different ecological functional areas could guarantee food security to the greatest extent and amplify the ecological and environmental effects of land remediation. By means of land consolidation and ownership adjustment, the abandoned farmland in general and relatively important ecological regions can be restored for food use, which can not only enhance the food supply capacity, but also without causing damage to the ecological environment. There is a large area of arable land in the ecologically extremely important regions. Large-scale ecological conversion will have a certain impact on food security supply. Promoting ecological farming is an important way to resolve the contradiction between food safety production and ecological environment protection. This study can provide reference for decision making of arable land consolidation in the new period

Development of Regional Economic Supply Curves for Surface Water Resources and Climate Change Assessments: A Case Study of China

Recently, a number of reports on global renewable water resources have been produced. These studies generally report the average annual renewable water resources for large regions or countries based on runoff from rivers and streams. These average resource data are compared with estimated current and future water demand to determine which regions and countries could be facing serious water scarcity problems. Microeconomic analysis, however, suggests that increasing the supply leads to higher costs and could thereby reduce demand. Furthermore, the total renewable water resources are not 100% usable. The global studies to date have not systematically considered the costs of developing and supplying water, the potential water loses due to development, or the relationship between supply and demand. This report aims to improve the analysis of global and regional water resources by developing a methodology to study climate change impacts on the supply of water from storage in large watershed regions of China. There are four major steps in developing the supply curves from regional reservoir storage. In step one, the Climate- and Human Activities-sensitive Runoff Model (CHARM), a spatially explicit hydrologic model that is sensitive to land-use and climate changes, is developed to use climate databases to produce time series runoff calibrated to the annual averages. In step two, a methodology is developed to calculate evaporation from regional reservoir storage, incorporating hundreds or thousands of reservoirs for areas where little reservoir information is available. In the third step, the storage- yield curve is calculated based on the CHARM results and the evaporation calculated from the area-volume curves developed in step two. Finally, reservoir storage cost curves are developed based on watershed physiography and reservoir size. These cost curves are then combined with the storage-yield curve to produce a curve representing regional water supply from storage. This regional water supply curve methodology is applied to examine the impacts of climate change on the water supply from storage in nine major watershed regions in China. The general circulation model scenarios used produce results suggesting that China will benefit from increased runoff in regions of water scarcity and high demand. However, the increased evaporation and flow variability will take its toll in some regions, increasing the frequency of floods and droughts and thereby the cost of and need for storage in those regions

Construction and optimization of ecological security pattern based on landscape ecological risk assessment in the affected area of the Lower Yellow River

In the context of urban expansion and climate change, the world is under pressure from multiple ecological risks. Key ecological protection areas play a pivotal role in preserving ecological stability and promoting development. Due to its unique geographical conditions, the Yellow River basin has been facing huge ecological risk pressure. In the affected area of the Lower Yellow River (AALYR) as an agricultural hub, ecological protection has gradually become a key factor restricting the development of cities and agriculture. Taking AALYR as an example, the landscape ecological risk assessment (LERA) system is established based on three aspects “natural environment—human society—landscape pattern”. We construct a comprehensive cumulative resistance surface based on the risk assessment results as the basis for the future study. Ecological corridors are identified by minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) models to establish and optimize Ecological security pattern (ESP) in the AALYR. We found that the landscape ecological risks (LER) in the study area show a uniform spatial distribution, with a slightly higher distribution in the northeast than the southwest. The ecological risk levels are generally high in AALYR, indicating a more severe risk problem in this area. A total of 56 ecological sources were identified, with a total area of 21176 km2. The ecological sensitivity of AALYR was high, and 99 ecological corridors and 59 ecological nodes were extracted. Ecological corridors and nodes were consistently and densely distributed throughout the study area. The network analysis method improves the stability of the network structure after optimization. Based on the key components of the ESP, with the combination of geographical characteristics and local policy planning guidance, we constructed the “One Belt and One Axis, Two Cores and Two Corridors, Four zones” ESP. The study results may offer guidance and suggestions for the construction of ESP and ecological environment protection system in the world’s major river basins, and may also provide information for ecological planning of other similar river basins in the world