The cost of mitigation strategies for agricultural adaptation to global change

Land recovery and the improvement of lands affected by desertification for agricultural use, is achieved when a sustained recovery of agricultural productivity over time is obtained. In the areas affected by desertification and drought, it is common that the ecosystems do not have enough funding for water management and irrigation. This situation leads to an inadequate assessment of the environmental goods and services in arid zones. As a result we have a misuse of these dry lands. Many countries are implementing policies and making investments and efforts to mitigate arid land degradation and desertification through the National Action Programs (NAP). However, for the long term planning of mitigation and adaptation strategies, it is necessary to know the cost of recovery and land improvement in certain areas in order to forecast the budgets. This is the main objective of this paper in order to combat desertification and drought in central northern Chile. We have calculated a recovery cost per hectare by region and for each of the agriculture, livestock and forestry (ALF) promotion agencies. The results indicate that the cost of land reclamation in the northern regions is much higher than in the southern regions of this studied area. The cost is especially high for Region II, where investment per hectare is almost to 3000 US$ per hectare. At the other extreme is the Region VII, in the south of the studied area where the investment required per hectare barely reaches 500 US$. The contribution of the promotion agencies to the total cost also varied among regions and agencies. We discuss the results within a context of recovery cost per hectare depending on the different environmental characteristics and agricultural development of each of the studied regions.     

Numerical model to assess the impact of the strategies to mitigate desertification

Desertification is considered a global environmental problem with political and socioeconomic implications. Desertification, exacerbated by climate change, is the largest environmental problem in Chile affecting almost two third of the national territory. This study takes place in a latitudinal gradient of the north-central Chilean drylands, where desertification is a threat to agriculture, livestock and forestry (ALF). In the context of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) and the implementation of the Chilean National Action Programme (NAP), the country is conducting policies and investing in mitigation strategies to combat land degradation and desertification. The main objective of this paper is the development of an integrative methodological approach using real data of the territorial and socioeconomic indicators. With the proposed methodology we assess the impact of the mitigation and land degradation strategies supported by the ALF promotion agencies in the fight against desertification, projecting different scenarios of change. The data were collected in 2008 in Santiago, Chile. The results of the Principal Component Analysis (PCA) suggest that technical irrigation and the improvement of grasslands and pastures play an important role in the fight against desertification. The results of the model projections are consistent, suggesting that the efforts of the ALF promotion agencies have a positive impact in fighting desertification. Inaction of ALF mitigation strategies would increase desertification. This methodological approach, performed with real data, is a contribution for the development of integrative assessments, for replication and for forthcoming discussions.     

Mitigation and adaptation investments for desertification and climate change: an assessment of the socioeconomic return

Climate change will further increase the risk of desertification, which is already affecting large areas of the world. Many countries are making investments for the implementation of mitigation and adaptation strategies to combat desertification. The long term effectiveness of these strategies necessarily require a socioeconomic return for its sustainability. The main goal of our paper is to assess the relation between the mitigation and adaptation investments and the socio-economy of the rural population. The area of study is located in north-central Chile. The northern regions are mostly composed by arid land, which can be considered as a marginal area for agriculture. The area formed by the southern regions is optimal for the agricultural activity which is characterized by an industrialized agriculture with and increased use of technology. The indicators we have used for our study are the following: the Investments provided by the Chilean Agriculture Livestock and Forestry (ALF) promotion agencies, the ALF Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and the Population Employed in ALF. The results show that the relationship between the investments and the socioeconomy varies among the regions analyzed. Investments are positively correlated (P?≤?0.05) with the ALF GDP and the labor in ALF in the northern regions, but do not seem to be directly related to labor in ALF in the southern regions (P?≥?0.05). Therefore, our conclusion is that the Investments are significantly relevant for the agricultural activity in the arid northern regions, while in the southern regions they have no direct impact on the labor in ALF.     

全球变化对我国荒漠化的影响

本文根据当前国内外科学家们对全球变化的研究及＂联合国环境与发展大会＂的决议第１２款,＂荒漠化＂的定义,探讨全球变化对我国土地荒漠化的影响。文中利用我国７００多个气象站点３０年的平均气象资料,采用联合国环境规划署环境监测系统／全球资料数据库方案活动中心以及国际上广泛应用的Ｔｈｏｒｎｔｈｗａｉｔｅ计算ＰＥ与气候分类方法,计算和绘制了当ＣＯ_２倍增、气温升高１．５－４．５℃时我国干旱区、半干旱区及半湿润干旱区（Ａｒｉｄ,ｓｅｍｉ－ａｒｉｄａｎｄｄｒｙｓｕｂ－ｈｕｍｉｄａｒｅａｓ）分布变化的图表,同时利用我国北方１６０个气象台站近４０年连续记录的气象资料,进行滑动平均,计算和绘制了干旱、半干旱区的最近４０年来气温变暖及干湿变化的趋势图,分析了在全球变化下如果工业发展和其结构不变的情况下,未来３０－５０年我国土地荒漠化的发展趋势,为我国荒漠化监测预报和防治提供依据和对策。     

气象干旱对甘肃省榆中县乡村社会—生态系统的影响

干旱影响研究是干旱及半干旱地区人地关系研究的重要内容,社会—生态系统的视角为西北地区生态脆弱—贫困区的可持续性研究提供了新的思路。选取甘肃省榆中县为研究区,运用标准化降水指数、干旱经济损失估算模型和GIS分析工具,分析干旱对粮食产量、经济发展和农户家庭的影响,归纳干旱对乡村社会—生态系统的影响机制。研究结果表明：（1）1960-2015年,榆中县气象干旱程度较强,且与粮食产量呈显著正相关,尤其对榆中县南、北部山区的粮食产量影响显著;（2）气象干旱造成的经济损失具有频率高和空间分布广的特征,经济损失严重区集中在榆中县南、北部山区;（3）农户家庭受灾面积较大,农作物减产和家庭收入损失明显,气象干旱造成的粮食安全问题严重,且“纯农型”家庭收入损失和粮食安全问题尤为突出;（4）水资源利用环、产量环、收入环—生计环和经济环为干旱影响社会—生态系统运行机制的关键环节。     

旱灾对石漠化影响评估及灾后石漠化防治分区

以西南五省区(四川、重庆、云南、贵州、广西)为研究对象,将岩性、坡度、降水、土地利用、土壤类型、植被覆盖度、与居民点距离、人口密度作为评价指标,研究了石漠化敏感性及西南旱灾导致的变化,并以贵州省兴义市为示范,制定了旱灾后石漠化防治分区. 结果表明:干旱可提高石漠化敏感性,受旱灾程度越深,石漠化敏感性增强越明显. 旱灾导致西南五省区石漠化极重度敏感区和重度敏感区面积分别增加了777和16 484 km2. 贵州省兴义市石漠化敏感性显著变化面积最大,达到石漠化总面积的54%,灾后治理区、监督区、预防区的面积分别为110.9、221.8和509.1 km2,其中需对33.7 km2的石漠化区域进行优先治理.      

近30年青海三江源西部干旱区草地退化特征的遥感分析

使用自20世纪70年代末~2004年的3期遥感图像(70sMSS、90sTM和2004年TM/ETM),研究了近30年青海三江源西部干旱区草地退化的格局与过程,结果表明:整个研究时段内,草地退化发生面积占总草地面积的10%左右,且以草地覆盖度轻度下降为主,其退化面积占总草地退化面积的80%以上,其次是轻度沙化/盐化,相应比重占10%以上。草地退化面积呈东南向西北减少趋势,退化程度呈东南向西北降低格局,而退化类型也由复合型向单一型过渡。整个时段内,草地退化面积呈增加趋势,尤其是沙化面积增加较快。不同海拔、坡度和坡向间草地退化面积差异显著。海拔4 800~5 100m范围内为草地退化发生的主要分布区,4 500~4 800m和5 100m以上草地退化基本相当。退化率较高的坡度级别介于2~8°之间,类似于草地面积随坡度变化的基本趋势。不同坡向呈阴坡、半阴半阳坡高于阳坡的态势。脆弱的基底、极端气候年际间周期波动等限制性因子控制着草地退化的基本格局,人为扰动则决定草地退化的强度和速度。总体看来,研究区地带性自然条件决定的荒漠化草地已占据主导地位,人类活动相对较弱,草地退化程度增加趋势不明显,新的草地退化现象不十分突出。     

Rural vulnerability to environmental change in the irrigated lowlands of Central Asia and options for policy-makers: A review

Climate change, land degradation and drought affect millions of people living in drylands worldwide. With its food security depending almost entirely on irrigated agriculture, Central Asia is one of the arid regions highly vulnerable to water scarcity. Previous research of land and water use in the region has focused on improving water-use efficiency, soil management and identifying technical, institutional and agricultural innovations. However, vulnerability to climate change has rarely been considered, in spite of the imminent risks due to a higher-than-average warming perspective and the predicted melting of glaciers, which will greatly affect the availability of irrigation water. Using the Khorezm region in the irrigated lowlands of northwest Uzbekistan as an example, we identify the local patterns of vulnerability to climate variability and extremes. We look at on-going environmental degradation, water-use inefficiency, and barriers to climate change adaptation and mitigation, and based on an extensive review of research evidence from the region, we present concrete examples of initiatives for building resilience and improving climate risk management. These include improving water use efficiency and changing the cropping patterns that have a high potential to decrease the exposure and sensitivity of rural communities to climate risks. In addition, changes in land use such as the afforestation of degraded croplands, and introducing resource-smart cultivation practices such as conservation agriculture, may strengthen the capacity of farmers and institutions to respond to climate challenges. As these can be out-scaled to similar environments, i.e. the irrigated cotton and wheat growing lowland regions in Central Asia and the Caucasus, these findings may be relevant for regions beyond the immediate geographic area from which it draws its examples.     

影响北京沙尘源地的气候特征与北京沙尘天气分析

分析并找出了影响北京沙尘暴天气的源地,该源地主要位于北京北部的浑善达克沙地的西北部边缘,内蒙古中西部、河套以西地区的沙漠、荒漠化地区以及干旱、半干旱地区广大的农业开垦区,指出影响北京的沙尘传输路径有3条,即西路、北路和西北路.对源地的气候特征做进一步分析表明,源地的气候特征为温暖干旱、降水不足,这些因素加速了沙尘天气的发生.同时将源地春季降水和北京沙尘天气相比较,发现北路和西北路源地春季降水和北京沙尘暴天气有较好的负相关,西路源地春季降水和北京浮尘天气有较好的负相关.      

风沙化土地的整治与利用

风沙化是指干旱和半干旱地带以外地表具有风沙活动,并形成风沙地貌景观的过程。风沙化是继沙漠化研究之后的另一分支。风沙化土地既是可利用的土地资源,又是环境污染的物质源地。对风沙化土地宜采取整治与高效利用并举的措施。建设生物工程和发展生态农业是风沙化土地整治和利用的最佳途径。     

贵州石漠化空间分布与喀斯特地貌、岩性、降水和人口密度的关系

本次研究从地貌发育的角度揭示了贵州省石漠化景观及其等级的空间分布与下垫面的物质组成和气候(降雨量)的空间变化存在着密切的联系,而与现今人类活动强度(人口密度)的空间分布不存在关联性。具体体现为:(1)贵州溶蚀为主地貌类型区和纯碳酸盐岩分布区基本一致,区内的峰丛(林)地貌主要分布于年降水量≥1200mm的威宁-毕节-贵阳-凯里一线以南的溶蚀为主地貌类型区,随着降水量由北向南逐渐增加,塔状峰丘增多;溶丘,峰丛(林)不发育地貌主要分布于年降水量≤1100mm的威宁-毕节以北的黔西北溶蚀为主地貌类型区和毕节-贵阳-凯里一线以北的溶蚀侵蚀地貌类型区,(2)贵州石漠化程度与喀斯特地貌类型空间分布的耦合关系较好,与人口密度空间分布的耦合关系不好。峰丛(林)地貌发育的威宁-毕节-贵阳-凯里一线以南的溶蚀为主地貌区,黔中地区人口密度为300～400/km2,该区一些县的石漠化,远不如黔西南地区人口密度为200～300/km2或黔南地区人口密度为100～200/km2的严重。历史时期森林植被的全面破坏是贵州喀斯特地区石漠化的主要驱动力,除荔波茂兰喀斯特森林保护区等少数地区,贵州喀斯特地区的原始森林无论是现在人口密度高的地区,还是低的地区,历史时期均已遭受全面的破坏。喀斯特坡地次生植被的恢复状况在很大程度上取决于坡地的岩土组成,现代石漠化严重程度的区域差异,主要受下垫面地面物质组成的控制,也就是"石山"的多寡。     

Desertification,and climate change: the case for greater convergence

Poor knowledge of links between desertification and globalclimate change is limiting funding from the Global Environment Facility foranti-desertification projects and realization of synergies between theConvention to Combat Desertification (CCD) and the FrameworkConvention on Climate Change (FCCC). Greater convergence betweenresearch in the two fields could overcome these limitations, improve ourknowledge of desertification, and benefit four areas of global climate changestudies: mitigation assessment; accounting for land cover change in thecarbon budget; land surface-atmosphere interactions; and climate changeimpact forecasting. Convergence would be assisted if desertification weretreated more as a special case in dry areas of the global process of landdegradation, and stimulated by: (a) closer cooperation between the FCCCand CCD; (b) better informal networking between desertification and globalclimate change scientists, e.g. within the framework of theIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Both strategies wouldbe facilitated if the FCCC and CCD requested the IPCC to provide ascientific framework for realizing the synergies between them.     

我国北方的土地利用与沙漠化

沙漠化已成为我国北方地区一个重大的环境和社会经济问题。土地利用的方式和程度是沙漠化发展或逆转的主导因素。人类经济活动强度的增加和范围的扩大,造成北方地区农牧交错带的逐渐北移,大面积土地利用方式的改变和地表植被覆盖的减少,使得以风沙活动为主导外营力的沙漠化过程得以发展。我国北方地区近５０年来的土地沙漠化面积不断扩展,已达近３５万ｋｍ２,其蔓延的速率呈加快的趋势。据历史资料分析、野外调查和遥感动态监测与评价,对典型沙漠化地区的土地利用与沙漠化过程的发展及其防治开展了深入的研究。     

内蒙古地区土地沙漠化成因分析及防治措施

内蒙古自治区是我国沙漠化土地分布面积最广、程度最严重的地区.特别是在内蒙古的半干旱草原及农牧交错带,土地沙漠化已经严重制约着农牧业及工矿业的发展,土地沙漠化已成为内蒙古中西部地区可持续发展的一大障碍.本文根据近年来的统计资料,对内蒙古地区土地沙漠化的成因进行了分析,并提出防治措施.     

基于MODIS-NDVI的2000—2018年中国北方土地沙化敏感性时空变化

选择植被覆盖度、湿润指数、大风日数、土壤表层砂粒含量和坡度5个因子作为评价指标,基于多源数据开展了中国北方14省（区）2000—2018年土地沙化敏感性空间分布格局及其动态变化研究,并按土地易起沙尘程度的高低依次划分为极易起沙尘和高度易起沙尘（高敏感等级）、中等易起沙尘（中敏感等级）、轻度易起沙尘和不易起沙尘（低敏感等级）。结果表明：2000—2018年中国北方14省（区）处于土地沙化高敏感等级的面积从48.1%下降至40.4%,处于土地沙化低敏感等级的面积从30.3%上升至38.8%,整体呈土地沙化高敏感等级向中、低敏感等级过渡的趋势。与2000年相比,2018年内蒙古科尔沁、浑善达克和毛乌素沙地及其周边区域极易起沙尘和高度易起沙尘的土地面积明显减小,植被覆盖度的增加和大风日数的减少是这种变化的重要原因。     

西南岩溶山地坡地石漠化分类刍议

现行的西南岩溶山地石漠化程度分级标准过于简单,只能表征坡地的无植被覆盖的石质土地面积比例,不能反映石漠化前后地面物质组成和植被景观的变化。本文提出的石漠化分类,是土壤流失程度、石漠化程度和地面物质组成类型的叠加分类。这一分类较全面地反映了石漠化坡地的现今景观特征和石漠化前后的景观变化,可以更好地满足石漠化成因分析、石漠化治理规划编制和治理措施选择的需要。     

西北干旱荒漠生态区脆弱性动态监测及驱动因子定量分析

全球气候变化和人类活动双重胁迫下,西北干旱荒漠生态区的脆弱生态系统发生了深刻变化。论文在充分考虑研究区生态环境背景特征（沙漠化、盐渍化、风力侵蚀、干旱等灾害严重）的基础上,引入极端气候灾害因子（指示气候变化）和大尺度景观格局指数（指示人类活动对生态景观的干扰）,构建了西北干旱荒漠生态区的生态脆弱性评价体系,并对研究区2000—2013年的生态脆弱性时空变化格局及其驱动机制进行了定量分析和讨论。研究结果表明：西北干旱荒漠生态区的生态脆弱性总体上处于中-重度脆弱状态;其生态脆弱性空间分布格局总体上呈现自东向西递减的趋势,西部局部地区则呈现“E”字型格局,该分布格局主要受西北内陆地区大气环流以及三山夹两盆的特殊地貌影响;2000—2013年,西北干旱荒漠生态区生态脆弱性呈现减小趋势,其生态脆弱性变化状况受气温、降水以及人类活动影响显著。研究成果可以为西北干旱荒漠生态区的生态保护和治理提供决策支持。     

石漠化地区植被对干旱敏感性的遥感观测

西南石漠化地区是国家重点治理的生态脆弱区域,该区尽管年降雨量大,但由于独特的水文特征,植被也常因缺水生长受到抑制。本文利用2000至2004年中分辨率成像光谱辐射计(MODIS)250 m归一化植被指数(NDVI)作为植被生长的指标参数,分析了石漠化地区植被对春旱、夏旱的敏感性。结果表明:干旱发生后,石漠化地区NDVI降低明显,而非石漠化地区植被受到的影响很小。春旱发生后,生长初期NDVI比其它年份减少约12%,生长期开始的时间与春季降雨量有重要关系;夏旱发生后,生长后期NDVI减小约16%,但夏旱对植被的影响具有一个月的滞后。这说明石漠化使生态系统抗旱能力减弱,更易受气候波动的影响。     

Factor Biases and Promoting Sustainable Development: Adaptation to Drought in the Senegal River Basin

The ongoing drought in the Sahel region of West Africa highlights the vulnerability of food-producing systems to climate change and variability. Adaptation to climate should therefore increase the sustainability of agriculture under a long-term drought. Progress towards sustainability and adaptation in the the Senegal River Basin is hampered by an existing set of social and ecological relationships that define the control over the means of production and how people interact with their environment. These relationships are sensitive to the technological inputs and the administration of food production, or the factor bias in the different policy alternatives for rural development. One option is based on state-controlled, irrigated plantations to provide rice (Oryza) for the capital, Dakar. This policy emphasizes a top-down management approach, mechanized agriculture and a reliance on external inputs which strengthens the relationships introduced during the colonial period. A time series decomposition of the annual flow in the Senegal River at Bakel in Senegal suggests that water resources availability has been substantially curtailed since 1960, and a review of the water resources budget or availability in the basin suggests that this policy's food production system is not sustainable under the current climate of the basin. Under these conditions, this program is exacerbating existing problems of landscape degradation and desertification, which increases rural poverty. A natural resource management policy offers two adaptation strategies that favour decentralized management and a reduction of external inputs. The first alternative, “Les Perimetres Irrigués”, emphasizes village-scale irrigation, low water consumption cereal crops and traditional socio-political structures. The second alternative emphasizes farm-level irrigation and agro-forestry projects to redress the primary effects of desertification.     

内蒙古生态环境敏感性综合评价

针对内蒙古土地沙化、土壤侵蚀、土壤盐渍化和生物多样性减少等区域自然环境演变过程中出现的生态问题,采用遥感和地理信息系统技术,构建敏感性评价指标体系与评价模型,对内蒙古生态环境敏感性进行综合研究,定量揭示研究区生态环境敏感性程度和空间分布特征.结果表明:土地沙化不敏感区、极敏感区分别占研究区面积35.9%和10.1%;土地沙化敏感性等级高的区域集中分布在内蒙古辖区内主要沙漠边缘和沙地;土壤基质多为沙粒、冬春季节多大风且植被覆盖度较低是土地容易发生沙化的主要原因.土壤侵蚀轻度、中度和高度敏感区分别占研究区面积的43.9%、30.2%和19.2%;受降水空间差异影响,土壤侵蚀敏感性等级自东南向西北呈逐步下降趋势.土壤盐渍化不敏感区、极敏感区分别占研究区面积的57.6%和14.6%,盐渍化明显地区主要分布在内蒙古西北部和东部;蒸发量远大于降水量,人类活动影响较明显,是土壤盐渍化高发的主要原因.生境不敏感、高度和极敏感区分别占研究区面积的30.5%、25.1%和10.6%,敏感性等级高的区域主要分布在大小兴安岭地区;这些区域水热条件相对较好,植被覆盖度高,物种数量较为丰富,是生物多样性重点保护区域.综合生态环境高度和极敏感区分别占研究区面积的27.9%和9.6%;敏感性等级高的区域位于内蒙古中北部,等级较低的区域位于内蒙古西北、东北和东南部.