Research on the coordinated development of ecological and economic systems in Ansai County, Northern Shaanxi Province

The 14th Five-Year Plan of China proposes promoting urbanization construction, with counties as an important carrier. In order to evaluate the urbanization development level of counties in Western China, this study established an index system of population, land, and industry, constructed the coupling coordination model, selected Shaanxi Province as a representative case, and evaluated the comprehensive development level and its coordination degree of urbanization at the county level. The results show that: (1) there are two stages of urbanization in Western counties, namely “increment” and “quality improvement”; (2) county urbanization in Western China radiates from central cities, presenting the characteristics of a “core-edge” circle structure. Northern Shaanxi has significant spatial difference characteristics, the coordination and development level of the Guanzhong area are both in the lead, and Southern Shaanxi is still in the stage of weak level coordination; (3) unlike urbanization in metropolises, urbanization in Western counties is mainly driven by industrial agglomeration instead of land urbanization. However, population outflow is an obstacle to the urbanization of Western counties. The evaluation of the coordinated development of county urbanization can provide a theoretical basis and practical path for enhancing public service functions in counties, guiding urban–rural harmonious development.

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Estimating Changes in the Green Water Productivity of Cropping Systems in Northern Shaanxi Province in China’s Loess Plateau

Water ◽

10.3390/w10091198 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (9) ◽

pp. 1198 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Jinping Wang ◽

Jinzhu Ma ◽

Afton Clarke-Sather ◽

Jiansheng Qu

Keyword(s):

Loess Plateau ◽

Hydrological Modeling ◽

Meteorological Data ◽

Water Productivity ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Northern Region ◽

Green Water ◽

Shaanxi Province ◽

Cropping Patterns ◽

Northern Shaanxi

Water shortages limit agricultural production in the world’s arid and semi-arid regions. The Northern region of China’s Shaanxi Province, in the Loess Plateau, is a good example. Raising the water productivity of rainfed grain production in this region is essential to increase food production and reduce poverty, thereby improving food security. To support efforts to increase crop water productivity (CWP), we accounted for limitations of most existing studies (experimental studies of specific crops or hydrological modeling approaches) by using actual field data derived from statistical reports of cropping patterns. We estimated the CWPs of nine primary crops grown in four counties in Northern Shaanxi from 1994 to 2008 by combining statistics on the cultivated area and yields with detailed estimates of evapotranspiration based on daily meteorological data. We further calculated both the caloric CWP of water (CCWP) and the CWP of productive water (i.e., water used for transpiration). We found that regional CWP averaged 6.333 kg mm–1 ha–1, the CCWP was 17,683.81 cal mm–1 ha–1, the CWP of productive green water was 8.837 kg mm–1 ha–1, and the CCWP of productive green water was 24,769.07 cal mm–1 ha–1. Corn, sorghum, and buckwheat had the highest CWP, and although potatoes had the largest planted area and relatively high CWP, they had a low CCWP.

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