Comprehensive Evaluation Of Land Resource Security In Northwest Arid Area

Land resource is one of the main agricultural means of production, as well as the foundation of development for human survival, its security is connected with economic sustainable development, social stability, and ecological environment construction, land resource security research has become the frontiers of resources sustainable utilization. Research on evaluation of land resource security may provide a reference to solve the contradiction of land-use in this study area. In this thesis, the northwest arid area is selected as study area, the data are derived from yearbook of statistics, land-use changes and information of social and economic. With the help of the methodologies and theories of cultivated land stress, ecosystem service value and improved ecological footprint, the land resource security is analyzed comprehensively from these three perspectives in order to provide certain reference for planning and protection of land resource in northwest arid area. The main conclusions are as follows:1) The overall cultivated land pressure in northwest arid area presents a rule of "small(0.86)- warning(0.93)- obviously(1.03)" under three conditions which contain achieve the well-off, well-off and rich level. This shows that the northwest arid area can keep the local population’s demand for food, but this phenomenon should also be noticed by related government that the future trend may become serious. In addition to Gansu and Inner Mongolia, other provinces’ cultivated land pressure all under alert level. As the increasing demand for food, the problem of how to coordinate with the cultivated land, food and population will be more difficult.2) Compared with 2004, the ecosystem service value in northwest arid area in 2012 increases 166.1 billion yuan, while the per capita ecosystem service value reduces 8 yuan, these changes indicate that growth rate of population is greater than ecological service value, and population growth should be controlled in an appropriate level. The ecological service value of each province in northwest arid area is Gansu > Shaanxi > Xinjiang > Inner Mongolia > Ningxia > Qinghai, only Ningxia and Qinghai keep decreasing.The degree of harmony between ecosystem and economy is 0.33 which shows they are in a state of mild harmony.3) Using the improved ecological footprint model, we know the ecological footprint of northwest arid area in 2012 is 6.94 × 108 hm2 and the ecological deficit is 1.11 x 108 hm2, this suggests that natural resources are consumed excessively, and beyond the scope of its maximum bearing capacity, so as to the health of the ecological environment sustainable development becomes a cause for concern. Each province in northwest arid area has different performance of ecological environment situation, only Qinghai and Xinjiang do not exceed its ecological carrying capacity, other provinces all in a state of ecology insecurity. Growth of population and low ecological efficiency also hinder the ecological environment sustainable development in northwest arid area. The northwest arid area should dependent less on fossil fuels, thereby improve the fragile ecological environment.