Coupling Relationship Of Ecological Agro-system With Commodity In Ansai County

As ecological agriculture with commodity (EAC) has developed for years, environment and agro-practices have been restored and advanced steadily in Ansai County. However, the inconsistency between economic system and ecological system still exists, which definitely constrains the further development of regional agricultural eco-economic system. Therefore, probing into the coupling relationship of ecological agro-system with commodity (EASC) plays a pragmatic role in optimizing eco-economic coupling and accelerating regional balanced eco-economic development in Ansai County. In this dissertation, using polygon synthesis indicators (PSI), grey relational analysis (GRA) and other methods, the impact of constructing EAC was analyzed identifying characteristics of system evolution and essential coupling factors. Besides, the coupling relationship of EASC was discussed on the county-scale and household-scale by utilizing a coupling degree model (CDM) and a structural equation model (SEM), and then some strategies were proposed accordingly.(1) For the Grain for Green Project, there are significant impacts of constructing EAC in Ansai County as follows: a) compared to 1998, the vegetation coverage rate and the soil-water erosion rehabilitation rate increased by 16% and 14% respectively in 2008. b) Efficient facility farming became the main mode of agricultural production near the arterial roads in Ansai County taken up 75.62% of the Gross Agricultural Product in 2008. c) Compared to 1998, the net income per peasant increased by 159.57% in 2008, with the income of sideline, crop farming and fruit accounting for 77.28% of total revenue. d) The stability index of agricultural production and food production increased by 14.73% and 16.32% respectively.(2) Using the PSI and the GRA, the evolution of EAC was analyzed quantitatively. Results showed that: with the ecological niche of environment, agro-resources and economic benefits soaring as well as agro-practices plunging, there was a significant rise in the complex ecological niche of EASC from 1998 to 2008. Although the change of system evolution and its influencing factors pushed system into advance, the constraint on utilizing and exploiting vegetation resources blocked the further development of EASC by reducing agro-resources utilization efficiency and the consistency between agro-practices and resources.(3) Utilizing the CDM, the coupling evolution of EASC could be compartmentalized into 4 phases: Coordinated Development, Worn Development, Stressed Degeneration, and Reconversion. In terms of Ansai County, it successively passed the Stressed Degeneration Phase, the Reconversion Phase and the Coordinated Development Phase from 1998 to 2008. Although it is currently at the Coordinated Development Phase, a potential crisis lies in the EASC for the inconsistency between agro-practices and resources as well as vegetation resources lying idle in parts of Ansai County.(4) Exercising the SEM, the current coupling relationship of EASC was analyzed on the household-scale. Results showed that: as agro-resources are utilized in low efficiency, agro-practices do not advance with environmental amelioration and agro-resources accumulation, which hampers system coupling from optimizing. That is to say, the environmental amelioration is not yet accelerating the system coupling as well as there is not a decent consistency between agro-practices and resources despite that they are the core of system coupling, which hinders the optimization of system coupling and the further advance of regional economic benefits. Moreover, the difference in the chain network structure of EASC, induced by location difference, makes coupling characteristics distinct in south, north and central Ansai County.(5) According to the above analyses, consolidating the consistency between agro-practices and resources should be the essence of future development. Referring to the location characteristics, agro-practices should be restructured as well as the chain network structure of EASC should be perfect for the efficient development of EAC.