Index System and Influence of Drought in Northwest China

In this paper, the index systems of the agricultural drought and decrease percentage of grain crop are established. The trend and influence of drought in the region is analyzed based on the 50 years （1951-2000） statistical data of precipitation and 52 years （1951 2002） agricultural drought of the region, including tire provinces： Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai and Xinjiang. The result shows that the drought disaster is increasing and the most serious were in the 1970s and 1990s, and main agricultural drought is a great disaster incident. The regression prediction equation of drought and flood grades and agricultural drought areas grades are set up by the harmonic wave method, and forecasting the drought will lighten during the first ten years of the 21st century.     

干旱灾害对江西省农业生产的影响及其对策

江西是农业大省,是国家重要的粮食主产区。近10 a来江西省干旱发生频繁,导致农业生产损失严重,威胁到农业的可持续发展。基于历史文献与资料,结合江西省农业厅的农业灾情调查数据和干旱指数最高的星子县、都昌县调研数据,着力分析近10 a来江西省的干旱状况及其对农作物生产的影响,探讨农业干旱灾害的成因。研究结果表明:江西干旱灾害以秋旱为主,近10 a年对江西的粮食和棉花生产造成重大损失,尤其是鄱阳湖区地区;江西农业干旱灾害的主要成因包括降水分布不均匀、红壤持水能力低、水利设施年久失修、植被结构破坏和易改变水文过程的大型水利设施建设。最后针对农业干旱灾害的主要成因,提出了减轻干旱灾害对农业生产不利影响的对策     

Change of Flood Patterns in China under the Influences of Climate Change and Human Activities

Abstract

Based on the flood affected area (FA) data of the provinces in China from 1950 to 2005, the article discusses the change of the flood patterns in China, and investigates its relationship with climate change and human activities. The flood center shifted from North China and the Yangtze–Huaihe basin in the 1950s towards the south, north and west of China, and located in the south of the Yangtze River and South China after the 1990s. The FA in the western provinces was continuously on the rise since the 1950s. There are two characteristics for the future flood pattern in China. The pattern of “flood in the south and drought in the north” depends on the north–south shift of the maximum rainfall region in eastern China. The flood intensification to the west of Hu Huanyong’s line mainly results from the increase of rainfall, extreme precipitation and the melting of glaciers under the background of human activity magnification.     

Sensitivity of typical Mediterranean crops to past and future evolution of seasonal temperature and precipitation in Apulia

The region of Apulia, which is located in the south-east tip of the Italian Peninsula, has a typical Mediterranean climate with mild winters and hot-dry summers. Agriculture, an important sector of its economy, is potentially threatened by future climate change. This study describes the evolution of seasonal temperature and precipitation from the recent past to the next decades and estimates future potential impacts of climate change on three main agricultural products: wine, wheat and olives. Analysis is based on instrumental data, on an ensemble of climate projections and on a linear regression model linking these three agricultural products to seasonal values of temperature and precipitation. In Apulia, precipitation and temperature time series show trends toward warmer and marginally drier conditions during the whole analyzed (1951–2005) period: 0.18 °C/decade in mean annual minimum temperature and ?14.9 mm/decade in the annual total precipitation. Temperature trends have been progressively increasing and rates of change have become noticeably more intense during the last 25 years of the twentieth century. Model simulations are consistent with observed trends for the period 1951–2000 and show a large acceleration of the warming rate in the period 2001–2050 with respect to the period 1951–2000. Further, in the period 2001–2050, simulations show a decrease in precipitation, which was not present in the previous 50 years. Wine production, wheat and olive harvest records show large inter-annual variability with statistically significant links to seasonal temperature and precipitation, whose strength, however, strongly depends on the considered variables. Linear regression analysis shows that seasonal temperature and precipitation variability explains a small, but not negligible, fraction of the inter-annual variability of these crops (40, 18, 9 % for wine, olives and wheat, respectively). Results (which consider no adaptation of crops and no fertilization effect of CO₂) suggest that evolution of these seasonal climate variables in the first half of the twenty-first century could decrease all considered variables. The most affected is wine production (?20 ÷ ?26 %). The effect is relevant also on harvested olives (?8 ÷ ?19 %) and negligible on harvested wheat (?4 ÷ ?1 %).     

Pre- and postnatal exposures to pesticides and neurodevelopmental effects in children living in agricultural communities from South-Eastern Spain

BackgroundChildrens exposure to neurotoxic compounds poses a major problem to public health because of their actively developing brain that makes them highly vulnerable. However, limited information is available on neuropsychological effects in children associated with pre- and postnatal exposures to pesticides.ObjectiveTo evaluate the association between current and pre- and postnatal exposures to pesticides and their effects on neurodevelopment in children aged 6–11 years living in agricultural communities from South-Eastern Spain.MethodsAn ambispective study was conducted on 305 children aged 6–11 years randomly selected from public schools of the study area. Current exposure to organophosphate pesticides was assessed measuring children's urinary levels of dialkylphosphates (DAPs). Both prenatal and postnatal residential exposure to pesticides was estimated by developing a geographical information system (GIS) technology-based index that integrated distance-weighted measure of agricultural surface, time-series of crop areas per municipality and year, and land-use maps. Neuropsychological performance was evaluated with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV). The association of pre- and postnatal and current pesticide exposure with WISC-IV scale scores was assessed using multivariate linear regression models and generalized estimating equation (GEE) models, respectively.ResultsGreater urinary DAP levels were associated with a poorer performance on intelligence quotient and verbal comprehension domain, with effects being more prominent in boys than in girls. The influence of an increase in 10 ha per year in crop surface around the child's residence during the postnatal period was associated with decreased intelligence quotient, processing speed and verbal comprehension scores. As regards prenatal exposure to pesticides, a poor processing speed performance was observed. These effects were also more prominent in boys than in girls.ConclusionsOur results suggest that postnatal exposure to pesticides can negatively affect children's neuropsychological performance. Prenatal exposure was weakly associated to neurodevelopment impairment.     

基于SPEI的湖北省近52年干旱时空格局变化

根据湖北省及周边地区40个气象台站1960~2012年实测气象资料,基于多时间尺度的标准化降水蒸散指数(SPEI),选取干旱频率、干旱站次比和干旱强度等评估指标,研究结果表明:湖北省干旱影响范围总体较大,全域性干旱年份达54%;但干旱强度偏轻,平均干旱强度为0.65,近52a来仅有两次重旱年,干旱强度在中旱及以下的年份占85%,且年际差异较大;省内干旱强度和站次比变化趋势基本一致,近52a来,总体均呈不明显上升趋势,趋势率分别为0.041/10a和3.692/10a,20世纪80年代前后呈先下降后上升趋势;湖北省总体干旱发生频率较小,52a平均干旱频率在16.5%~18.2%之间,空间分布特征呈现东高西低的特征;干旱发生频率呈先下降后上升的趋势,20世纪70、80年代最低;2000年以后干旱强度、站次比和频率均达到最高,并且有持续上升趋势。     

2011年长江中下游春旱的气候特征分析

利用我国高分辨率逐日降水资料，从降水量、无降水日数、连续无降水日数、气象干旱指数（CI）等指标对2011年春季长江中下游地区发生的气象干旱进行了分析评估。结果表明，2011年春季长江中下游地区降水量为近60 a同期最少，无降水日数、气象干旱影响范围均为近60 a同期最大，重度以上气象干旱日数为近几十年来同期罕见。此次严重气象干旱具有强度强、持续时间长、干旱范围广、影响程度重等特点，为近60 a来长江中下游地区春季发生的最严重的气象干旱，对水资源、水产养殖业、农业生产等造成了重大影响。还从大气环流、水汽输送角度对气象干旱的成因进行了初步分析，认为2011年冬春季北方冷空气势力强大，向南扩张明显，南方热带对流系统不活跃，向长江中下游地区水汽输送弱，是造成此次气象干旱的主要原因     

It is Always Dry Here: Examining Perceptions about Drought and Climate Change in the Southern High Plains

ABSTRACT

Drought is defined, experienced, and communicated about in multiple ways. This case study examines individual definitions of drought (timing, impacts, and severity) and attitudes about climate change. Household surveys (n?=?120) were conducted in Cimarron County, Oklahoma and Union County, New Mexico using a stratified random sampling method to select farmers, ranchers, and town residents. Information about drought is primarily communicated between neighbors, friends, and family, as well as media and local governing agencies. Residents perceive the recent drought to be the worst drought on record, regardless of previous drought experiences. Residents reported widespread drought-related impacts on agriculture, environment, and society. Most residents see drought as cyclical and driven by natural causes, rather than human causes. We recommend adaptive drought communication engage more fully with identity, place, and history. Climate information should be presented in a relevant manner to diverse agricultural stakeholders with differing attitudes about climate change, management, and climate information.     

Modeling of agricultural drought risk pattern using Markov chain and GIS in the western part of Bangladesh

The aim of the study is to assess the agricultural drought risk condition in the context of global climate change in the western part of Bangladesh that covers about 45% area of the country for the period of 1960–2011. Drought Index (DI) and Drought Hazard Index (DHI) have been calculated by Markov Chain analysis and that of Drought Vulnerability Index (DVI) from socioeconomic and physical indicators. The DI values show that the northern part in general is more drought-prone, having less crops prospect, whereas the southern part is less drought-prone with high crop potentiality. The probability of extreme drought occurrence increases in recent decades in some parts as a result the drought events become more frequent in the areas. The DHI ranges from 15 to 32, and northern part suffers from more extreme drought hazards than that of southern part. DVI also indicates that northern part is exposed to high to very high drought vulnerability as higher percentage of illiterate people are involved in agricultural practices and high percentage of irrigation to cultivable land, but southern part exposed to moderate to low vulnerability because of low values of vulnerability indicators. Finally, agricultural drought exists at high risk condition in northern part and low in southern parts and 21.63, 26.54 and 29.68% of the area poses very high, high and moderate risk, respectively. So, immediate adaptation measures are needed keeping in mind climate features like rainfall and temperature variability, drought risk and risk ranking to make viable adaptation measures.     

近60多年来滇池流域干旱特性及重现期分析

根据滇池流域3个气象站、3个水文站、2个水位站、14个水库站建站(1950 s)至2014年的逐月(日)气象、水文观测系列,采用标准化降水指数(SPI)、标准化径流指数(SRI)以及干湿指数(Ia)三类干旱指标,按游程理论识别干旱事件、确定干旱历时和干旱烈度两个特征变量;通过小波分析揭示干旱历时和烈度的周期性规律;运用Gumbel Copula函数构建干旱历时和烈度的联合分布,计算干旱联合、同现重现期,及前一场干旱影响下的后一场干旱发生的条件重现期。结果表明,滇池流域干旱趋于严重;气象、水文、农业3类干旱的干旱历时或烈度,均具有100年以上变化周期;近期的干旱(2012-02~2013-04)为1950 s以来最严重干旱,联合、同现重现期分别达120.48和224.41 a,受上一场特大干旱(2009-05~2010-03)的影响,条件重现期高达271.82 a,持续干旱的叠加效应加剧了旱情和灾害程度。从滇池水位变化、区域大气环流异常、三类干旱规律、干旱史料文献及湖泊沉积物等多方面对比分析,印证了成果的科学合理性。     

基于GEV干旱指数和DFA方法的苏北地区季节性干旱研究

为分析近年来江苏省苏北地区季节性干旱灾害特征,利用苏北五市1989~2013年的逐月降水量资料,建立月降水量的广义极值分布函数,通过分析广义极值干旱指数(GEVI),研究苏北五市近25a的季节性干旱分布和干旱等级的时空变化特点。在此基础上,利用去趋势波动分析方法(DFA)对苏北五市月平均降水量的周期性规律进行研究。结果表明,苏北五市的月降水量均服从广义极值Fréchet概率分布,且具有从西北(徐州)地区向东南沿海(盐城)地区递增的空间分布特征,整体上属于干旱灾害频发的地区,且以轻旱为主且季节性特征明显。苏北五市的月降水量存在幂律相关性,即降水量具有较强的正长程相关性,因此,未来苏北地区干旱的总体趋势将与过去特征正相关。     

近45 a来我国农业气象灾害变化特征及其对粮食产量的影响

利用农业部种植业管理司发布的数据,针对近45 a(1970~2014年)来我国农业气象灾害变化特征及其对粮食产量影响的问题,采用数理统计和偏相关分析方法进行了研究。结果表明:黑龙江、山东和河南是受灾和成灾面积最大的省份;山西和内蒙古是受灾率和成灾率最高的两个省份;旱灾是我国主要的气象灾害,洪涝灾害波动明显,沿海地区台风灾害持续上升;东北地区旱灾比重增加,低温灾害有所减轻;华东地区洪涝、低温和台风灾害比重增加;华北地区低温和风雹呈现上升趋势;华南地区台风灾害增长显著;西北地区风雹和低温增加;西南地区旱灾和洪涝走势相反;中南地区旱灾减轻,洪涝加重;气象灾害直接影响到粮食总产量,干旱和洪涝灾害影响尤为明显;气象灾害与粮食产量的关系呈现出先上升后下降趋势。     

近40年来中国农作物与耕地受灾时空特征及影响因素分析

中国作为农业大国和自然灾害最严重的国家之一,自然灾害会对农作物和耕地造成严重影响。基于1978～2017年中国31个省(自治区、直辖市)农作物受灾面积与灾毁耕地面积等灾情数据,结合气温、降水等气象数据和地形数据,采用计量分析、Morlet小波分析和空间分析等方法,分析我国农作物和耕地受灾的时空分布特征,并探究农作物受灾面积的周期性以及农作物受灾面积、灾毁耕地面积与气温、降水和地形之间的关系。结果表明:1978～2017年农作物受灾主要以旱灾和水灾为主,农作物受灾面积和灾毁耕地面积均呈下降趋势,且农作物受灾面积有30年左右的显著变化周期;不同灾种的空间分布存在差异,其中农作物受灾较大的区域主要是华北平原、东北平原和长江中下游平原等农业较为发达区域,灾毁耕地面积主要分布在毗邻胡焕庸线两侧的省份(直辖市、自治区),且以西南地区为最,洪涝、滑坡、泥石流是造成灾毁耕地的主要原因;农作物水、旱灾害与降水,农作物冷冻灾害与气温,灾毁耕地与平均坡度、坡度大于15度面积比在置信区间呈现正、负、负、正、正的相关关系。在政策设计上掌握农作物和耕地受灾的时空特征和发生规律,将对减少农业自然灾害损失和提高防灾减灾能力具有重要的意义。     

Drought frequency in the Volta Basin of West Africa

According to various reports, climate change is responsible for the change in rainfall amount and pattern accompanied by the various degrees of extreme events in Sahelian West Africa in recent years. Other reports also suggest that there has been a “recovery” of the rainy season (Nicholson 2005). In this study, temporal characteristics of meteorological droughts in the Volta basin, a semi-arid region in West Africa, are investigated in order to provide a guide for sustainable water resource management. For this purpose, drought intensity, areal extent and recurrence frequency is analysed using the standardised precipitation index (SPI) for a time series between 1961 and 2005 from 52 meteorology stations across the Volta basin. Using this analysis the severity of the historical droughts of 1961, 1970, 1983, 1992 and 2001 that occurred in the region are assessed and their intensity, areal extent and return periods are obtained. The drought intensity is lower than −2.0 over nearly 75% of the region, meaning that a major part of the region was under extreme drought conditions during this year. The drought of 1983/1984 has a probability of occurrence of up to 0.1 from records spanning 44 years. The areal extent of extreme drought conditions is about 90% during this drought period.     

湖南鼎城农业旱灾脆弱性的变化及原因分析

农业旱灾的形成是降水不足或不均与农业生产系统脆弱性共同作用的结果,承灾体脆弱性的高低会起到“放大”或“缩小”灾情的作用,降低承灾体的脆弱性是抗灾减灾的主要和有效途径。选择湖南省鼎城区为研究区,发现在降水量及其季节分配相似,即致灾强度相似的两个年份（1988年和2001年）,粮食因灾损失量前高后低。通过建立包括作物需水亏缺指数、耕地的灌溉便捷指数、耕地平坦指数、耕地生产投入指数等7个指标的评价指标体系,分别对1988年和2001年该区的农业旱灾承灾体脆弱性进行评价。结果显示该区的承灾体脆弱性明显降低,分析其原因,发现作物结构调整（中稻播种面积比例的适当增加）、耕地条件和生产力的改善、利用灌溉条件能力的提高有效地降低了该区农业旱灾承灾体脆弱性,减小了粮食生产的因灾损失。为致灾因子相似、承灾体脆弱性不同会“放大”或“缩小”灾情提供了实证案例。     

Tobacco smoke increases the risk of otitis media among Greenlandic Inuit children while exposure to organochlorines remain insignificant

BackgroundPrenatal exposure to environmental levels of organochlorines (OCs) has been demonstrated to have immunotoxic effects in humans. We investigated the relationship between prenatal exposure to OCs and the occurrence of otitis media (OM) among Inuit children in Greenland.MethodsWe estimated the concentration of 14 PCB congeners and 11 pesticides in maternal and cord blood samples and in breast milk in a population-based cohort of 400 mother–child pairs. At follow-up, we examined the children's ears and used their medical records to assess the OM occurrence and severity. Multivariate regression analyses were used with adjustments for passive smoking, crowding, dietary habits, parent's educational level, breast feeding and the use of child-care.ResultsThe children were 4–10 years of age at follow-up and 223 (85%) participated. We found no association between prenatal OC exposure and the development of OM. Factors associated with the child's hazard of OM during the first 4 years of life were: mother's history of OM (HR 1.70, 95% CI 1.11–2.59, p = 0.01); mother's smoking habits: current (HR 2.47, 95% CI 1.45–4.21, p < 0.01) and previous (HR 2.00, 95% CI 1.19–3.36, p < 0.01); number of smokers in the home (HR 1.17, 95% CI 1.05–1.31, p < 0.01). After adjustment mothers' smoking habits remained significant.ConclusionWe found no relationship between high levels of prenatal exposure of OCs and occurrence of OM. Passive smoking was found as the strongest environmental risk factor for the development of OM.Interventions to reduce passive smoke in children's environment are needed.     

Dangerous levels of climate change for agricultural production in China

There are increasing attempts to define the measures of ‘dangerous anthropogenic inference with the climate system’ in context of Article 2 of the Framework Convention on Climate Change, due to its linkage to goals for stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations. The criteria for identifying dangerous anthropogenic interference may be characterized in terms of the consequences of climate change. In this study, we use the water stress index (WSI) and agricultural net primary production (NPP) as indictors to assess where and when there might be dangerous effects arising from the projected climate changes for Chinese agricultural production. The results showed that based on HadCM3-based climate change scenarios, the region between the North China Plain and Northeast China Plain (34.25–47.75°N, 110.25–126.25°E) would be vulnerable to the projected climate change. The analyses on inter-annual variability showed that the agricultural water resources conditions would fluctuate through the period of 2001–2080 in the region under IPCC SRES A2 scenario, with the period of 2021–2040 as critical drought period. Agricultural NPP is projected to have a general increasing trend through the period of 2001–2080; however, it could decrease during the period of 2005–2035 in the region under the IPCC SRES A2 scenario, and during the period of 2025–2035 under IPCC SRES B2 scenario. Generally, while projected climate change could bring some potentially improved conditions for Chinese agriculture, it could also bring some critical adverse changes in water resources, which would affect the overall outcome. At this stage, while we have identified certain risks and established the general shape of the damage curve expressed as a function of global mean temperature increase, more works are needed to identify specific changes which could be dangerous for food security in China. Therefore, there is a need for the development of more integrated assessment models, which include social-economic, agricultural production and food trade modules, to help identify thresholds for impacts in further studies.     

Radioecological consequences of radioactive discharges into the Techa River on the Southern Urals

The sources and levels of radioactive contamination of the Techa River are analyzed. Dose assessments are made for humams and biota. The highest radionuclide concentrations in the river water were observed in the period 1950–1951. In 1951, at a distance of 78 km from the site of radioactive discharges, the content of ⁹⁰Sr in the water was 2.7 × 10⁴ Bq l⁻¹ and that of ¹³⁷Cs was 7.5 × 10³ Bq l⁻¹. Subsequently, the radionuclide activity in the river water decreased considerably. In the period 1991–1994, the average annual content of ⁹⁰Sr in the water varied between 6 and 20 Bq l⁻¹. The average annual content of ¹³⁷Cs in the river water varied from 0.06 to 0.23 Bq l⁻¹, i.e. was lower than that of ⁹⁰Sr approximately by two orders of magnitude. The concentration of ^239,240Pu in the water varied between 0.004 and 0.019 Bq l⁻¹. The radioactive contamination of the Techa floodplain is highly nonuniform. With increasing distance from the river sources, the contamination density of the floodplain decreases, remaining, however, considerably higher than the background values.At present, the average annual dose rates in contaminated areas are (0.1–2) × 10⁻³ Sv year⁻¹, which is considerably lower than in the periods of ‘acute’ exposure (1950–1951). The doses to aquatic biota were much higher than those to humans.     

安徽省主要气象灾害趋势演变及其对粮食总产的影响

为了揭示安徽省主要气象灾害的现状和变化规律，保障粮食作物稳产高产。该文利用1986~2017年安徽省78个市、县的干旱、洪涝、风雹、低温冷冻害和雪灾等4类主要气象灾害的受灾、成灾率数据，采用气候倾向率、灰色关联度和R/S分析方法，分析了全省4类主要气象灾害的时空变化特征和未来发展趋势及其与粮食总产的关联度。结果表明：（1）全省4类气象灾害的受灾、成灾率均随年代呈下降趋势，近10年受灾、成灾率明显偏少；高值区多出现在淮北地区、皖南山区和大别山区，低值区大多出现在沿淮、江淮和沿江地区。（2）未来安徽省干旱受灾、成灾率将继续下降，洪涝将持续不明显的下降趋势，风雹、低温冷冻害和雪灾将由下降趋势转为平稳或略有上升的趋势。（3）4类气象灾害的受灾、成灾率与粮食总产量的关联度由高到低的排序均为: 洪涝、低温冷冻害和雪灾、干旱、风雹。由此说明洪涝是影响安徽省粮食生产最主要的气象灾害。     

Structural Adjustment of Oasis Agriculture in Xinjiang

Abstract

Xinjiang's oasis agriculture has made enormous strides over past decades. Structural adjustment of oasis agriculture sector has promoted production diversification. Xinjiang's oasis agriculture sector is entering a new era. The era means more adjustments in oasis agricultural and rural economic structure so as to realize the sustainable development of agriculture. By summing and analyzing the main problems in Xinjinag's oasis agricultural structure, such as raising farmer's income, industry structure within agriculture, rural urbanization, pressure coming from market, agricultural environment degradation, puts forward the thinking, director and countermeasures to adjust oasis agricultural structure.