Distribution, characteristics, and influencing factors of fresh groundwater resources in the Loess Plateau, China

Agricultural development is facing two problems: insufficient grain production and low profit of farmers. There is a contradiction between the government’s goal of increasing production and the farmer’s goal of increasing profit. Exploring the appropriate management scale of farmland under different objectives is of great significance to alleviate the conflict of interests between the government and farmers. In this study the Cobb-Douglas production function model was used to measure the appropriate management scale of farmland under different objectives in Shaanxi Province and analyze the regional differences. Under the two objectives, the appropriate management scale of the Loess Plateau was the largest in the three regions, followed by Qinba Mountains and Guanzhong Plain. Farmland area and quality were the main influencing factors for the appropriate management scale of farmland under the goal of maximizing the farmland yield, while the nonagricultural employment rate and farmland transfer rate were the main influencing factors under the goal of maximizing farmers’ profits. It is easy for Shaanxi Province to increase farmers’ profits, but more land needed to be transferred to increase farmland yield. These results suggest that in order to balance the goal of increasing yield and profit, the transfer of rural surplus labor should be promoted, and the nonagricultural employment rate should be improved. In Loess Plateau, restoring the ecological environment and enhancing the farmland quality. In Guanzhong Plain, avoiding urban land encroachment on farmland. In Qinba Mountains, developing farming techniques and moderately increasing the intensity of farmland exploit.

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Spatiotemporal Changes in Vegetation Cover and Its Influencing Factors in the Loess Plateau of China Based on the Geographically Weighted Regression Model

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12060673 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 673

Author(s):

Chen Yang ◽

Meichen Fu ◽

Dingrao Feng ◽

Yiyu Sun ◽

Guohui Zhai

Keyword(s):

Regression Model ◽

Influencing Factors ◽

Loess Plateau ◽

Geographically Weighted Regression ◽

Vegetation Cover ◽

Weighted Regression ◽

Vegetation Coverage ◽

The Loess Plateau ◽

Geographically Weighted Regression Model ◽

Spatiotemporal Changes

Vegetation plays a key role in ecosystem regulation and influences our capacity for sustainable development. Global vegetation cover has changed dramatically over the past decades in response to both natural and anthropogenic factors; therefore, it is necessary to analyze the spatiotemporal changes in vegetation cover and its influencing factors. Moreover, ecological engineering projects, such as the “Grain for Green” project implemented in 1999, have been introduced to improve the ecological environment by enhancing forest coverage. In our study, we analyzed the changes in vegetation cover across the Loess Plateau of China and the impacts of influencing factors. First, we analyzed the latitudinal and longitudinal changes in vegetation coverage. Second, we displayed the spatiotemporal changes in vegetation cover based on Theil-Sen slope analysis and the Mann-Kendall test. Third, the Hurst exponent was used to predict future changes in vegetation coverage. Fourth, we assessed the relationship between vegetation cover and the influence of individual factors. Finally, ordinary least squares regression and the geographically weighted regression model were used to investigate the influence of various factors on vegetation cover. We found that the Loess Plateau showed large-scale greening from 2000 to 2015, though some regions showed decreasing vegetation cover. Latitudinal and longitudinal changes in vegetation coverage presented a net increase. Moreover, some areas of the Loess Plateau are at risk of degradation in the future, but most areas showed a sustainable increase in vegetation cover. Temperature, precipitation, gross domestic product (GDP), slope, cropland percentage, forest percentage, and built-up land percentage displayed different relationships with vegetation cover. Geographically weighted regression model revealed that GDP, temperature, precipitation, forest percentage, cropland percentage, built-up land percentage, and slope significantly influenced (p < 0.05) vegetation cover in 2000. In comparison, precipitation, forest percentage, cropland percentage, and built-up land percentage significantly affected (p < 0.05) vegetation cover in 2015. Our results enhance our understanding of the ecological and environmental changes in the Loess Plateau.

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Spatial-temporal dynamics of agricultural drought in the Loess Plateau under a changing environment: Characteristics and potential influencing factors

Agricultural Water Management ◽

10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106540 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 244 ◽

pp. 106540

Author(s):

Zhiming Han ◽

Qiang Huang ◽

Shengzhi Huang ◽

Guoyong Leng ◽

Qingjun Bai ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Influencing Factors ◽

Loess Plateau ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Agricultural Drought ◽

The Loess Plateau ◽

Changing Environment

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Spatial distribution of rural housing abandonment and influencing factors at the village level: a case study of the Loess Plateau of China

GeoJournal ◽

10.1007/s10708-020-10193-5 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kunkun Xia ◽

Liwen Liu ◽

Wenchang Wang

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Influencing Factors ◽

Loess Plateau ◽

Rural Housing ◽

The Loess Plateau ◽

Village Level ◽

The Village ◽

Housing Abandonment

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Spatial distribution of soil organic carbon and its influencing factors under the condition of ecological construction in a hilly-gully watershed of the Loess Plateau, China

Geoderma ◽

10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.02.010 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 296 ◽

pp. 10-17 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

Binhua Zhao ◽

Zhanbin Li ◽

Peng Li ◽

Guoce Xu ◽

Haidong Gao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Organic Carbon ◽

Soil Organic Carbon ◽

Influencing Factors ◽

Loess Plateau ◽

The Loess Plateau ◽

Ecological Construction

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Research on Small Basin Human Settlements in Loess Plateau Base on GIS

Applied Mechanics and Materials ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amm.170-173.2780 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 170-173 ◽

pp. 2780-2784

Author(s):

Chun Long Yu ◽

Ruo Qi Zhou ◽

Jin Cheng Huang ◽

Ni Li

Keyword(s):

Loess Plateau ◽

Future Development ◽

Natural Environment ◽

Site Selection ◽

Digital Technology ◽

Scientific Study ◽

Distribution Characteristics ◽

The Loess Plateau ◽

Human Settlements ◽

Small Basin

With the wider use of digital technology in the scientific study, a research on small basin human settlements in the Loess Plateau is conducted with the overwhelming computational technologies to calculate and express. In this research, the small basins of Jiangjia River in the Loess Plateau, which is under a typical geographical circumstance, is taken as an example. In terms of the evaluation on the suitability of the natural environment of small basin human settlements in Jiangjia River by adopting the GIS functions, the detailed information on site selection, scale defining and village distribution characteristics is collected. Finally, this research is to figure out the principles which can control the future development and plan for small basin human settlements in the Loess Plateau gully region. Through the concrete research on the typical cases, it is concluded that the digital technology is supposed to be the universal means and approach to study the small basin human settlements in the Loess Plateau.

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