Developing interactive land use scenarios on the Loess Plateau in China,presenting risk analyses and economic impacts

This study aimed to present a risk analysis of the effects of different land use scenarios on reducing soil and water losses, using a physically based hydrological and soil erosion model. We quantified the effect of various land use scenarios on the expected rate of discharge and sediment loss during a single rain event in a small agricultural watershed on the Loess Plateau in China, using the geometric mean and stochastic distributions of measured field saturated conductivity (K_s) values. Land use scenarios were based upon physical, economic and agricultural interests, and effects on farmers’ incomes were evaluated using empirically derived equations. A physically based hydrological and soil erosion model was used to quantify the effects of land use on discharge and soil loss. Using geometric mean values of K_s as the model input resulted in higher values for runoff coefficients and total soil loss compared with the use of stochastic K_s values. The use of stochastic K_s-distributions resulted in a range of model outcomes reflecting the effect of spatial heterogeneity on simulated discharge and soil loss. The conservation-driven scenario was most effective in reducing water and sediment losses by runoff and erosion, followed by the soil-driven scenario and the agriculture-driven land use scenario. Only the agriculture-driven scenario resulted in a small increase in household income, while a serious loss of income is predicted for the other scenarios. The use of variability of parameters and a Monte Carlo analyses allows statistical analyses and comparison of computed results for alternative land use scenarios, and leads to a more balanced judgement.     

澜沧江流域云南段土地利用及其变化对土壤侵蚀的影响

采用GIS空间分析与传统统计分析相结合的方法,通过在ARCGIS 8.1的GRID模块中,对澜沧江流域南段土地的栅格(GRID)图进行地图代数运算,形成具有复合数据的新GRID数据表;对新生成GRID属性表的数据进行统计计算,获得研究时段内不同空间范围的土地利用转移矩阵数据及各类用地上的土壤侵蚀数据;通过土壤侵蚀综合指数(INDEX)的计算,反映了不同区域、不同土地利用类型上的土壤侵蚀程度及其变化.研究结果表明,耕地、其它林地、低覆盖度草地上土壤受侵蚀的可能性较其它用地类型大;耕地、中覆盖度草地、水域的土壤侵蚀强度较其它用地类型大;土地利用变化对土壤侵蚀变化的影响在澜沧江中游和下游区域表现较为明显,而在上游区域不明显;上游区域土壤侵蚀的主导因素不是土地利用及其变化,而是地形、气候等其它因素.     

基于土地利用与植被恢复情景的土壤侵蚀演变特征

基于土地利用与植被恢复情景,使用USLE和土壤风蚀方程对坝上地区水蚀和风蚀强度进行估算。结果表明:(1)2015年坝上地区风蚀、水蚀和总侵蚀强度均值分别为8.83±5.15 t·ha^-1·a^-1、4.37±6.62 t·ha^-1·a^-1和13.22±8.18 t·ha^-1·a^-1;风蚀占总侵蚀67%,水蚀占33%。(2)土地利用调整情景下,风蚀、水蚀和总侵蚀强度分别减少4.9%～9.9%、2.9%～8.3%和4.3%～9.3%;土地利用+植被恢复情景下,风蚀、水蚀和总侵蚀强度则分别减少6.3%～13.8%、5.2%～16.2%和5.9%～14.3%。(3)土地调整面积与风蚀强度减少率呈对数关系,与水蚀强度减少率呈指数关系,与总侵蚀强度减少率呈线性关系(P<0.01)。本文结果可以为土壤侵蚀方程计算及区域土壤侵蚀防治提供数据参考。     

Modelling interactions and feedback mechanisms between land use change and landscape processes

Land use changes and landscape processes are interrelated and influenced by multiple bio-physical and socio-economic driving factors, resulting in a complex, multi-scale system. Consequently in landscapes with active landscape processes such as erosion, land use changes should not be analysed in isolation without accounting for both on-site and off-site effects on landscape processes. To investigate the interactions between land use, land use change and landscape processes, a case study for the Álora region in southern Spain is carried out, coupling a land use change model (CLUE) and a landscape process model simulating water and tillage erosion and sedimentation (LAPSUS). First, both models are run independently for a baseline scenario of land use change. Secondly, different feedbacks are added to the coupled model framework as ‘interaction scenarios’. Firstly effects of land use change on landscape processes are introduced by means of a ‘changed erodibility feedback’. Secondly effects of landscape processes on land use are introduced stepwise: (i) an ‘observed erosion feedback’ where reallocation of land use results from farmers’ perception of erosion features, and (ii) a ‘reduced productivity feedback’ whereby changes in soil depth result in a land use relocation. Quantities and spatial patterns of both land use change and soil redistribution are compared with the baseline scenario to assess the cumulative effect of including each of the interaction mechanisms in the modelling framework.Overall, total quantities of land use change (areas) and soil redistribution do not differ much for the different interaction scenarios. However, there are important differences in the spatial patterns of both land use and soil redistribution. In addition, by incorporating the perception and bio-physical feedback mechanisms, land use types with stable or increasing acreages are increasingly relocated from their original positions, suggesting a current location on landscape positions prone to soil erosion and sedimentation. Implementing the ‘reduced productivity feedback’ causes most of these effects. Another important outcome is that on-site land use changes trigger major off-site soil redistribution dynamics. These off-site effects are attributed to down slope or downstream changes in sediment transport rates and/or discharge caused by changes in land surface characteristics.The results of this study provide insight into the interactions between different processes occurring within landscapes and the influence of feedbacks on the development of the landscape. The interaction between processes goes across various spatial and temporal scales, leading to difficulties in linked model representation and calibration and validation of the coupled modelling system.     

黄土高原坡耕地沟蚀土壤质量评价

黄土高原坡耕地沟蚀广泛而严重。科学评价沟蚀土壤质量是侵蚀环境下土壤保育和利用的重要基础。论文以沟间土壤为对照,分析了坡耕地沟蚀对土壤质量单因子的影响并建立了沟蚀土壤质量综合评价模型。利用加权和法对黄土高原坡耕地不同沟蚀深度下土壤质量进行综合评价。结果表明:①沟蚀对坡耕地不同土壤质量因子的影响有较大差异。沟蚀导致土壤硬化,pH值增加,而土壤团聚体和养分含量(除全磷)随着沟蚀深度增加表现出明显的层次性,近似呈"W"型变化规律。②沟蚀深度对土壤质量的影响可以用幂函数y=0.866 8 x ^-0.142(R²=0.877)较好地拟合。微度侵蚀(<5 cm)、中度侵蚀(5~30 cm)和重度侵蚀(30~50 cm)的土壤质量指数较沟间土壤分别降低了10.6%、27.9%和36.5%。沟蚀深度5 cm和30 cm是土壤质量显著下降的两个关键点。③反映沟蚀土壤质量的指标可以归为肥力因子、质地因子和结构因子三类。土壤有机质、水稳性团聚体、土壤比表面积和容重4项指标能够很好地反映土壤质量状况,可作为坡耕地沟蚀土壤质量的表征指标。     

黄土高原坡耕地沟蚀土壤质量评价

黄土高原坡耕地沟蚀广泛而严重。科学评价沟蚀土壤质量是侵蚀环境下土壤保育和利用的重要基础。论文以沟间土壤为对照,分析了坡耕地沟蚀对土壤质量单因子的影响并建立了沟蚀土壤质量综合评价模型。利用加权和法对黄土高原坡耕地不同沟蚀深度下土壤质量进行综合评价。结果表明：①沟蚀对坡耕地不同土壤质量因子的影响有较大差异。沟蚀导致土壤硬化,pH值增加,而土壤团聚体和养分含量（除全磷）随着沟蚀深度增加表现出明显的层次性,近似呈＂W＂型变化规律。②沟蚀深度对土壤质量的影响可以用幂函数y=0.866 8 x-0.142（R2=0.877）较好地拟合。微度侵蚀（〈5 cm）、中度侵蚀（5～30 cm）和重度侵蚀（30～50 cm）的土壤质量指数较沟间土壤分别降低了10.6%、27.9%和36.5%。沟蚀深度5 cm和30 cm是土壤质量显著下降的两个关键点。③反映沟蚀土壤质量的指标可以归为肥力因子、质地因子和结构因子三类。土壤有机质、水稳性团聚体、土壤比表面积和容重4项指标能够很好地反映土壤质量状况,可作为坡耕地沟蚀土壤质量的表征指标。     

黄土高原清水河流域土地利用/覆盖和降雨变化对侵蚀产沙的影响

近50 a来,在气候变化和生态恢复与治理工程实施的背景下,黄土高原的侵蚀产沙特征发生了明显的变化。以黄土高原典型中尺度流域清水河流域(面积436 km2)为研究对象,利用1959、1986、2007年的土地利用解译结果和1960—2005年该流域实测输沙和降水资料,采用非参数Mann-Kendall趋势分析法和滑动t检验法研究了该流域年输沙量、降雨量的变化趋势和突变点,并与通用土壤流失方程相结合分析了该流域土地利用和降雨变化对输沙量变化的贡献率。结果表明:该流域年输沙量47 a间有显著的下降趋势,突变点位于1980年;降雨量没有明显的趋势性变化,极端降雨指数下降。降雨因素对输沙量减少的贡献率为9.89%,土地利用的贡献率为90.11%,土地利用变化中工程措施淤地坝的贡献率为5.56%,植被变化的贡献率为84.55%。该流域47 a间乔木林地面积增加了944.27%,灌木林地增加了19.33%,表明清水河流域林地面积增加是导致输沙量减少的主要原因。     

鄂尔多斯市1988-2000年土壤水力侵蚀与土地利用时空变化关系

土地利用是引起土壤侵蚀的重要驱动过程。基于1988年和2000年TM影像数据和气候、土壤、植被及DEM等数据,运用通用的土壤流失预报方程（RUSLE）,对鄂尔多斯市1988-2000年间的土壤水力侵蚀进行定量估算,揭示期间水力侵蚀的时空变化特点,并对土地利用类型与土壤侵蚀的关系进行分析。结果显示：1988-2000年间,研究区土壤水力侵蚀时空变化较为明显。时间变化上侵蚀强度明显减弱,除了微度侵蚀从53.16%剧增至81.24%以外,中度、强度、极强度和剧烈侵蚀类型均有较大幅度的下降;空间变化亦很明显,2000年与1988年相比,剧烈侵蚀只有准格尔旗东南部还有少量分布,强度侵蚀和极强度侵蚀主要分布在准格尔旗境内。土地利用方式对土壤侵蚀有明显的影响,高覆盖草地和水域的土壤侵蚀强度较小。此外,不同土地利用类型的平均土壤侵蚀模数和土壤强度指数均有大幅度的下降。其中未利用地的下降幅度最大（68.14%）,其次为低覆盖度草地（64.09%）,耕地的下降幅度最小（49.62%）。研究结果表明,鄂尔多斯土壤水力侵蚀治理的重点区域是东北部,改变土地利用方式,增加水土保持工程措施,加强采矿迹地的修复重建等是有效防治土壤水力侵蚀的重要措施。     

Effect of land use and land cover change on soil erosion and the spatio-temporal variation in Liupan Mountain Region, southern Ningxia, China

The Liupan Mountains are located in the southern Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China, that forms an important divide between landforms and biogeographic regions. The populated part of the Liupan Mountain Region has suffered tremendous ecological damage over time due to population pressure, excessive demand and inappropriate use of agricultural land resources. To present the relationship between land use/cover change and spatio-temporal variation of soil erosion, data sets of land use between the late 1980s and 2000 were obtained from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery, and spatial models were used to characterize landscape and soil erosion conditions. Also, soil erosion in response to land use and land cover change were quantified and analyzed using data from geographical information systems and remote sensing. Soil erosion by water was the dominant mode of soil loss, while soil erosion by wind was only present on a relatively small area. The degree of soil erosion was classified into five severity classes: slight, light, moderate, severe, and very severe. Soil erosion in the Liupan Mountain Region increased between the late 1980s and 2000, both in terms of acreage and severity. Moderate, severe, and very severe eroded areas accounted for 54.86% of the total land area. The lightly eroded area decreased, while the moderately eroded area increased by 368817 ha (22%) followed by severe erosion with 146552 ha (8.8%), and very severe erosion by 97067.6 ha (5.8%). Soil loss on sloping cropland increased with slope gradients. About 90% of the cropland was located on slopes less than 15°. Most of the increase in soil erosion on cropland was due to conversion of steep slopes to cropland and degradation of grassland and increased activities. Soil erosion was severe on grassland with a moderate or low grass cover and on dry land. Human activities, cultivation on steep slopes, and overgrazing of pastures were the main reasons for the increase in erosion severity.     

秦岭山地丹江流域土地利用变化的土壤侵蚀效应评价

论文采用ArcGIS 10.0及InVEST土壤保持模型,分析2000—2010年秦岭山地丹江流域土地利用类型变化特征,模拟流域不同时期不同土地利用类型土壤侵蚀及土壤保持量的变化规律,并着重探讨土地利用类型方式转变对流域土壤侵蚀的影响。结果表明：1）2000—2010年间,流域裸地大比例减少90.18%（831.06 hm²）,主要转移至水域,耕地大面积减少5 197.24 hm²（4.11%）,主要流向灌丛和城镇;坡耕地还林还草初见成效,湿地的保护与恢复成效显著。2）2000—2010年间,流域土壤侵蚀状况较为严重,整体处于中度侵蚀至强度侵蚀级别,但10 a间侵蚀状况有减缓趋势;在该研究时段内,耕地大面积转为灌丛是该流域由土地利用类型变化引起的土壤侵蚀减缓的主要原因;另外,耕地转为林地以及裸地面积的减少也起到了减轻土壤侵蚀的作用;以自然生态系统为主的林地、灌丛及草地转为耕地时,土壤侵蚀强度则会明显增加。3）生态系统土壤保持功能受多方因素共同影响;2000、2010年研究区实际土壤保持量分别为5.35×10⁸、5.47×10⁸ t;占全区面积一半以上的林地和灌丛单位面积土壤保持量较为稳定,全区土壤保持功能有所提高。保证一定面积的林地、在人工干预下合理安排坡耕地还林还草区域的空间分布是秦岭山地丹江流域减少土壤侵蚀的必要措施,同时应注重对可利用耕地的保护。     

基于BP神经网络的三峡库区土壤侵蚀强度模拟

降雨侵蚀力变化是一复杂过程,其变化存在一定的随机波动性,土壤侵蚀是三峡库区生态环境脆弱最主要的影响因素之一,查明库区土壤侵蚀强度的演化过程及未来趋势是库区生态文明建设过程中急需解决的关键科学问题。论文基于三峡库区1990年侵蚀降雨特征,利用BP神经网络对2010年75个站点降雨侵蚀力进行模拟、验证,预测2030年75个站点降雨侵蚀力。选取2030年预测结果中位于库区周围的27个站点,结合2030年库区自然增长、生态保护情景下土地利用模拟数据,使用RUSLE计算2030年土壤侵蚀强度。结果表明：1）2010年库区降雨侵蚀力模拟相对误差为15%,测试样本数据相对误差为14.67%,预测相对误差为19.65%,NE系数为0.85,说明BP神经网络对库区降雨侵蚀力具有良好模拟效果;2）2010年库区土壤侵蚀强度的Kappa指数为0.75,计算结果能满足模拟与预测需求;3）在土地利用不变情况下,2030年库区轻度、中度侵蚀面积均有所增加,微度及强烈以上侵蚀面积均呈减少趋势,且侵蚀强度转变中的58%来源于相邻侵蚀强度,跨侵蚀等级区的较少;4）在降雨侵蚀力不变情况下,自然增长、生态保护情景下未来土地利用变化所导致的土壤侵蚀均呈下降趋势,后者下降的趋势更为明显;5）在降雨侵蚀力及土地利用均变化的情况下,自然增长、生态保护情景下土壤侵蚀均呈下降趋势。     

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.     

Soil erosion induced by land use changes as determined by plough marks and field evidence in the Aksum area (Ethiopia)

The aim of the research presented here was to analyse soil erosion in response to changes in agricultural and soil conservation practices throughout history. The Aksum area (Tigray, northern Ethiopia) presents favourable conditions for the development of a long-term approach for assessing soil conservation techniques that have been applied for centuries (i.e., since the Aksumite kingdom, 400 BC to 800 AD). These techniques have been maintained until the present day, and parts of the terraced systems of the area are still in use. During the 1970s, social and political events led to a remarkable change in land use patterns, and large arable areas were converted into grazing land, resulting in a significant increase in soil loss. The rates of soil erosion were evaluated based on analyses of the deep scratches (plough marks) left on stones in the soil by the maresha, the ard plough pulled by oxen used in agricultural practices of the area, and the patinas, varnishes and weathering rinds exposed by soil loss after the abandonment of the fields. The study results show average rates of soil erosion of 2.8 t ha⁻¹ y⁻¹ and 65.8 t ha⁻¹ y⁻¹ for the soil conservation conditions under traditional agriculture (long-term observations) and accelerated erosion after abandonment (short-term observations), respectively. A comparison using recently calibrated erosion evaluation techniques conducted to support the field measurements revealed a close correlation between the calculated and recorded data.     

Climate change scenarios to facilitate stakeholder engagement in agricultural adaptation

To prepare agricultural systems for climate change, scientists need to be able to effectively engage with land managers and policy makers to explore potential solutions. An ongoing challenge in engagement is to distil the complexity of climate-change-management-change interactions in agro-ecological systems to identify responses that are most important for adaptation planning. This paper presents an approach for selecting climate change scenarios to provide a focal point for engaging with stakeholders to evaluate adaptation options and communicate assessment outcomes. We illustrate how scenarios selected with the approach can be used by evaluating climate change impacts and an adaptation option for livestock industries in the north-east Australian rangelands. Climate change impacts on forage production, animal liveweight gain and soil loss are found to track projected climate changes in four pasture communities; increasing by up to 50% and declining by up to 110% in response to doubled atmospheric carbon-dioxide (CO₂), 4°C warming, and +20% to ?40% changes in mean annual rainfall. The effectiveness of reducing grazing pressure as an adaptation option shows a similar response; resulting in higher forage production (up to 40%), animal liveweight gains (up to 59%) and gross margins (up to 40%), and reduced soil erosion (down by 91%) per hectare relative to the baseline management. The results show that a few key scenarios may be selected to represent the range of global climate model (GCM) projections for use in assessing and communicating impacts and adaptation; simplifying the assessments and allowing limits to the effectiveness of adaptation options to be explored. The approach provides a framework for capturing and communicating trends in climate change impacts and the utility of options, which are required for successful engagement of stakeholders in finding viable adaption responses.     

黑龙江省土地退化类型特征及其驱动力分析

随着经济发展,资源开发规模和强度不断加大,黑龙江省的生态环境日趋脆弱,生态功能逐渐减弱,土地退化问题十分严重。本文分析了黑龙江省土地退化的主要类型特征,并从自然与人文两个方面对黑龙江省土地退化的驱动力进行了探讨,并提出相应的对策建议。黑龙江省土地退化主要表现为水土流失、土地沙化、土地盐渍化等方面,其土地退化是在地形地貌复杂、土壤侵蚀、自然因素组合不够协调等自然因素和水资源的不合理利用、破坏植被,水土流失严重、不合理的耕作制度等人为因素双重作用的结果。     

Modeling the impacts of temperature and precipitation changes on soil CO2 fluxes from a Switchgrass stand recently converted from cropland

Switchgrass(Panicum virgatum L.) is a perennial C_4 grass native to North America and successfully adapted to diverse environmental conditions. It offers the potential to reduce soil surface carbon dioxide(CO_2) fluxes and mitigate climate change. However, information on how these CO_2 fluxes respond to changing climate is still lacking. In this study, CO_2 fluxes were monitored continuously from 2011 through 2014 using high frequency measurements from Switchgrass land seeded in 2008 on an experimental site that has been previously used for soybean(Glycine max L.) in South Dakota, USA. DAYCENT, a process-based model, was used to simulate CO_2 fluxes. An improved methodology CPTE[Combining Parameter estimation(PEST) with "Trial and Error" method] was used to calibrate DAYCENT. The calibrated DAYCENT model was used for simulating future CO_2 emissions based on different climate change scenarios. This study showed that:(i) the measured soil CO_2 fluxes from Switchgrass land were higher for 2012 which was a drought year, and these fluxes when simulated using DAYCENT for long-term(2015–2070) provided a pattern of polynomial curve;(ii) the simulated CO_2 fluxes provided different patterns with temperature and precipitation changes in a long-term,(iii) the future CO_2 fluxes from Switchgrass land under different changing climate scenarios were not significantly different, therefore, it can be concluded that Switchgrass grown for longer durations could reduce changes in CO_2 fluxes from soil as a result of temperature and precipitation changes to some extent.     

Impacts of land use,restoration, and climate change on tropical peat carbon stocks in the twenty-first century: implications for climate mitigation

The climate mitigation potential of tropical peatlands has gained increased attention as Southeast Asian peatlands are being deforested, drained and burned at very high rates, causing globally significant carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions to the atmosphere. We used a process-based dynamic tropical peatland model to explore peat carbon (C) dynamics of several management scenarios within the context of simulated twenty-first century climate change. Simulations of all scenarios with land use, including restoration, indicated net C losses over the twenty-first century ranging from 10 to 100 % of pre-disturbance values. Fire can be the dominant C-loss pathway, particularly in the drier climate scenario we tested. Simulated 100 years of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) cultivation with an initial prescribed burn resulted in 2400–3000 Mg CO₂?ha^?1 total emissions. Simulated restoration following one 25-year oil palm rotation reduced total emissions to 440–1200 Mg CO₂?ha^?1, depending on climate. These results suggest that even under a very optimistic scenario of hydrological and forest restoration and the wettest climate regime, only about one third of the peat C lost to the atmosphere from 25 years of oil palm cultivation can be recovered in the following 75 years if the site is restored. Emissions from a simulated land degradation scenario were most sensitive to climate, with total emissions ranging from 230 to 10,600 Mg CO₂?ha^?1 over 100 years for the wettest and driest dry season scenarios, respectively. The large difference was driven by increased fire probability. Therefore, peat fire suppression is an effective management tool to maintain tropical peatland C stocks in the near term and should be a high priority for climate mitigation efforts. In total, we estimate emissions from current cleared peatlands and peatlands converted to oil palm in Southeast Asia to be 8.7 Gt CO₂ over 100 years with a moderate twenty-first century climate. These emissions could be minimized by effective fire suppression and hydrological restoration.     

Estimating changes in flood risks and benefits of non-structural adaptation strategies - a case study from Tyrol,Austria

Flood damage has increased significantly and is expected to rise further in many parts of the world. For assessing potential changes in flood risk, this paper presents an integrated model chain quantifying flood hazards and losses while considering climate and land use changes. In the case study region, risk estimates for the present and the near future illustrate that changes in flood risk by 2030 are relatively low compared to historic periods. While the impact of climate change on the flood hazard and risk by 2030 is slight or negligible, strong urbanisation associated with economic growth contributes to a remarkable increase in flood risk. Therefore, it is recommended to frequently consider land use scenarios and economic developments when assessing future flood risks. Further, an adapted and sustainable risk management is necessary to encounter rising flood losses, in which non-structural measures are becoming more and more important. The case study demonstrates that adaptation by non-structural measures such as stricter land use regulations or enhancement of private precaution is capable of reducing flood risk by around 30 %. Ignoring flood risks, in contrast, always leads to further increasing losses—with our assumptions by 17 %. These findings underline that private precaution and land use regulation could be taken into account as low cost adaptation strategies to global climate change in many flood prone areas. Since such measures reduce flood risk regardless of climate or land use changes, they can also be recommended as no-regret measures.     

世界三大黑土区水土流失与防治比较分析

论文首先明晰了黑土及黑土区的概念与范围界定,将中国东北黑土区分为典型黑土区与黑土区两个层次。在此基础上对世界三大黑土区在成土条件,开发利用过程、水土流失及水土流失防治模式方面进行了对比分析。通过比较分析认为:在自然条件上虽然三大黑土区具有一定的相似性,但我国东北黑土区由于地势起伏相对较大,更易遭受水土流失的危害;国外两大黑土区大规模的开发利用比我国黑土区相对早一些,大规模的农业开垦与不合理的耕作方式是世界三大黑土区水土流失与土地退化的主要原因;国外两大黑土区主要以风蚀为主,我国东北黑土区则是以水蚀为主,但风蚀面积也较大;国外两大黑土区在耕作制度、土地使用政策、水土保持资金投入、水土保持宣传教育及科学试验等方面已经采取了相对有效的措施,我国在这些方面还相对滞后。通过对国外黑土区水土流失治理的借鉴与思考,提出了我国东北黑土区在水土流失防治方面亟待解决的几个问题。     

Climate change impact, mitigation and adaptation strategies for agricultural and water resources, in Ganga Plain (India)

Agriculture consumes more than two-thirds of global fresh water out of which 90 % is used by developing countries. Freshwater consumption worldwide is expected to rise another 25 %by 2030 due to increase in population from 6.6 billion currently to about 8 billion by 2030 and over 9 billion by 2050. Worldwide climate change and variability are affecting water resources and agricultural production and in India Ganga Plain region is one of them. Hydroclimatic changes are very prominent in all the regions of Ganga Plain. Climate change and variability impacts are further drying the semi-arid areas and may cause serious problem of water and food scarcity for about 250 million people of the area. About 80 million ha out of total 141 million ha net cultivated area of India is rainfed, which contributes approximately 44 % of total food production has been severely affected by climate change. Further changing climatic conditions are causing prominent hydrological variations like change in drainage density, river morphology (tectonic control) & geometry, water quality and precipitation. Majority of the river channels seen today in the Ganga Plain has migrated from their historic positions. Large scale changes in land use and land cover pattern, cropping pattern, drainage pattern and over exploitation of water resources are modifying the hydrological cycle in Ganga basin. The frequency of floods and drought and its intensity has increased manifold. Ganga Plain rivers has changed their course with time and the regional hydrological conditions shows full control over the rates and processes by which environments geomorphically evolve. Approximately 47 % of total irrigated area of the country is located in Ganga Plain, which is severely affected by changing climatic conditions. In long run climate change will affect the quantity and quality of the crops and the crop yield is going to be down. This will increase the already high food inflation in the country. The warmer atmospheric temperatures and drought conditions will increase soil salinization, desertification and drying-up of aquifer, while flooding conditions will escalate soil erosion, soil degradation and sedimentation. The aim of this study is to understand the impact of different hydrological changes due to climatic conditions and come up with easily and economically feasible solutions effective in addressing the problem of water and food scarcity in future.