| The middle reaches of the Yellow River are an important agricultural production area in China.Crop diversity has a positive impact on the production function and ecological function of cropland ecosystems.Therefore,it is important to carry out research on crop diversification cultivation in the middle reaches of the Yellow River cropland ecosystem to determine the trend of adjustment in the cultivation structure of farmers in the region and to guide the rational regional layout of agricultural production.In this study,official data were obtained and descriptive statistics and analyses were conducted through the local governments,agricultural bureaus,grain bureaus and other relevant departments.The following conclusions were reached after Spearman’s correlation analysis,stepwise regression analysis and independent sample t-tests were conducted on the 317 valid questionnaires collected from the field research:1.The degree of crop diversification in the cropland ecosystem in the middle reaches of the Yellow River is generally high.In Xi’an,Baoji,Xianyang,Weinan,Tongchuan and Yan’an,crop diversity was generally high,with crop diversity indices ranging from 0.61 to0.70.In Yulin,crop diversity was generally high,with crop diversity indices ranging from0.51 to 0.60.In the middle reaches of the Yellow River,the number of cash crop species was higher than that of food crops.The number of cash crop species accounted for 81% of the total number of species,while the number of food crop species accounted for19%.Vegetables have the highest number of species,with 31%.This is followed by fruit,which accounts for 22%.The number of species of herbs is 12 per cent.Oilseeds and other cash crops have the lowest number of species,both at 8%.Currently,the species of wheat,maize,oilseed rape,apple and other major food crops and cash crops have been seeded and good varieties have been generally promoted.2.The main service functions of the Middle Yellow River cropland ecosystem are food production,soil conservation and gas regulation.The value of regulating services is the highest at RMB 1,061.30/ha,followed by supporting services at RMB 970.33/ha,provisioning services at RMB 962.75/ha and cultural services are the lowest at RMB45.48/ha.Food crops provide the main food production service function and make a significant contribution to ensuring food security.Food crops are mainly concentrated in the Guanzhong region,which accounts for 73% of the study area’s food crop production.In addition,the level of grain production in northern Shaanxi,especially in Yulin,has increased significantly,by 27.24% and 45.24% respectively.The service level of oilseed crops in the Middle Yellow River cropland ecosystem decreased,by 16.01%.The level of service for fruits increased significantly,by 21.87%.3.Farmers in the sample area mainly grow food crops.Farmers in the northern Shaanxi sample area grew mostly corn,potatoes and small grains as food crops,and mostly oil crops,herbs and fruits as cash crops.In the Guanzhong sample area,most of the food crops grown by farmers were wheat,maize and sorghum,and most of the cash crops were oil crops,fruits and other cash crops.The sample area in northern Shaanxi had the highest number of farmers using continuous cropping,accounting for 28.03%.In the Guanzhong sample area,29.38% of the households used crop rotation.The model formula was obtained through correlation analysis and stepwise regression analysis: number of crop species = 0.234 + 0.651×knowledge of agricultural policies + 0.047 × profitability of agriculture + 0.068 ×environment of agricultural production.Agricultural policy awareness,agricultural profitability and agricultural production environment have a significant positive effect on the number of crop species grown.The mean value of 2.89 for the Guanzhong sample area was significantly higher than the mean value of 2.38 for the northern Shaanxi sample area. |
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