Impact Of Climate Disaster On Livelihood Vulnerability Of Farmers In The Loess Plateau

The special landform,natural environment conditions and human-induced disturbances have caused the serious imbalance of natural ecosystem in the Loess Plateau,and the problems have become increasingly prominent with climate change.Vulnerable communities are sensitive to climate-driven disasters.Climate disasters cause the capital of rural households in these areas to be damaged,which in turn affects the livelihood,health,and food safety of farmers.It is of great significance to clarify the causes and main influencing factors of the vulnerability of different specific units,and to prevent climate disasters,regulate ecosystems and man-land interactions,test the effectiveness of policies,formulate target policies,and cultivate the adaptability of fragile farmers.Based on the 2015 apple grower survey data in Shaanxi,the IPCC definition and sustainable livelihood framework were used to calculate the livelihood vulnerability index(LVI and IPCC-LVI),and the concept of human-environment coupled system was included to analyze the changes in the regional agricultural environment and Impact on the livelihood of rural households caused by climate disasters.In order to compare the main reasons for the formation of differences in livelihood vulnerability in the region,an independent sample T-test was conducted using SPSS.The results of the study show that:(1)The most severe natural disasters suffered by apple farmers in northern Shaanxi are drought,followed by hailstorms,frost disasters,continuous rains,and wind disasters.The most widespread natural disasters in the Guanzhong region are hailstorms,followed by hailstones,droughts,continuous rain,and windstorms.Among them,the lack of irrigation water caused by drought is a common problem faced by farmers in both regions.(2)Excluding migrant workers,the three most commonly used countermeasures in northern Shaanxi are to dig drains,use wells,and use reservoirs for irrigation.Corresponding Guangzhou area participates in insurance,adopts wells,and uses drainage ditch irrigation.(3)There is little difference in the exposure index between the two regions;Adaptability vulnerability index is 0.414 in northern Shaanxi and 0.368 in Guanzhong,and the adaptability of the farmers in Guanzhong region is better,while the vulnerability is lower;the sensitivity value is 0.374 in Shanbei and 0.413 in Guanzhong,Guanzhong farmers Sensitivity is more vulnerable.The most influential variables in livelihood vulnerability in the two regions are social network,living,diet,and climate variability.(4)Livelihood Vulnerability Index(LVI)values,Northern Shaanxi(0.413)was higher than Guanzhong(0.402).The livelihood of rural households in northern Shaanxi is even more fragile.The differences between IPCC-LVI in the two regions were relatively small(Northern Shaanxi: 0.010,Guanzhong: 0.033).(5)The results of the independent sample T test showed:The indicators with significant differences are as follows: the livelihood vulnerability index(LVI);Vulnerability component adaptability index;primary indicator of livelihood strategy,living index;sub-indicators of householder education years,non-agricultural labor force,apple income,availability of irrigation,distance to agricultural markets,precipitation,electricity use,etc.The indicator of significant differences is the main cause of the differences in vulnerability between northern Shaanxi and Guanzhong regions.