Jianjun Qiu

Combining remote sensing and ground census data to develop new maps of the distribution of rice agriculture in China

[1] Large-scale assessments of the potential for food production and its impact on biogeochemical cycling require the best possible information on the distribution of cropland. This information can come from ground-based agricultural census data sets and/ or spaceborne remote sensing products, both with strengths and weaknesses. Official cropland statistics for China contain much information on the distribution of crop types, but are known to significantly underestimate total cropland areas and are generally at coarse spatial resolution. Remote sensing products can provide moderate to fine spatial resolution estimates of cropland location and extent, but supply little information on crop type or management. We combined county-scale agricultural census statistics on total cropland area and sown area of 17 major crops in 1990 with a fine-resolution land-cover map derived from 1995–1996 optical remote sensing (Landsat) data to generate 0.5� resolution maps of the distribution of rice agriculture in mainland China. Agricultural census data were used to determine the fraction of crop area in each 0.5� grid cell that was in single rice and each of 10 different multicrop paddy rice rotations (e.g., winter wheat/ rice), while the remote sensing land-cover product was used to determine the spatial distribution and extent of total cropland in China. We estimate that there were 0.30 million km 2 of paddy rice cropland; 75% of this paddy land was multicropped, and 56% had two rice plantings per year. Total sown area for paddy rice was 0.47 million km 2 . Paddy rice agriculture occurred on 23% of all cultivated land in China. INDEX TERMS: 0315 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Biosphere/atmosphere interactions; 1615 Global Change: Biogeochemical processes (4805); KEYWORDS: paddy rice, maps, China, multicropping rotation, Landsat

Mapping Single‐, Double‐, and Triple‐crop Agriculture in China at 0.5° × 0.5° by Combining County‐scale Census Data with a Remote Sensing‐derived Land Cover Map

Abstract Assessments of agriculture at the national scale require the best possible information on the distribution of cropland and the management of that cropland. Official cropland statistics for China contain much information on the distribution of crop types, but are known to underestimate total cropland area and are generally at coarse spatial resolution. Remote sensing products can provide moderate to fine spatial resolution estimates of cropland location and extent, but usually supply little information on crop type or management. We combined 1990 county‐scale agricultural census statistics on total cropland area and sown area of 17 major crops with a fine‐resolution land‐cover map derived from 1995‐96 optical remote sensing (Landsat Thematic Mapper) data to generate 0.5° resolution maps of the distribution of 47 different single‐ and multi‐crop rotations in mainland China. We estimated that, of 1.3‐million km2 of cropland, approximately 60% was single‐cropped, 30% was double‐cropped, and 10% was triple‐cropped. Total sown or planted area was 2.0‐million km2.

Modeling the Impacts of Soil Organic Carbon Content of Croplands on Crop Yields in China

Abstract This study quantified the impacts of soil organic carbon (SOC) content on the grain yield of crops using a biogeochemical model (DNDC, denitrification-decomposition). Data on climate, soil properties, and farming management regimes of cropping systems were collected from six typical agricultural zones (northeast, north, northwest, mid-south, east and southwest regions of China, respectively) and integrated into a GIS database to support the model runs. According to the model, if the initial SOC content in the cropland was increased by 1 g C kg−1, the crop yield may be increased by 176 kg ha−1 for maize in the northeast region, 454 kg ha−1 for a maize-wheat rotation in the north region, 328 kg ha−1 for maize in the northwest region, 185 kg ha−1 for single-rice in the mid-south region, 266 kg ha−1 for double-rice in east region, and 229 kg ha−1 for rice and wheat rotation in southwest region. There is a great potential for enhancing the crop yield by improving the SOC content in each region of China.

Temperature and Precipitation Suitability Evaluation for the Winter Wheat and Summer Maize Cropping System in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of China

The Huang-Huai-Hai Plain is the most important winter wheat and maize production region in China. In response to the increasing population pressure, the Chinese authorities strongly invested in improving the irrigation systems and increasing ground and surface water exploitation within the plain to increase the crop productivity. This resulted in a reduction of water resource availability and in turn indirectly affected the suitability of various agricultural ecosystems in the plain. The main purpose of this study was to review the suitability of temperature and precipitation for the winter wheat and summer maize cropping system in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, in order to provide a preliminary irrigation scheme. This analysis provides a first attempt to enhance the water resource management as well as to increase the water use efficiency. For this aim, a GIS-based multicriteria analysis procedure has been developed consisting of (1) definition of objectives (evaluated entities) and database building; (2) definition of evaluation criteria; (3) standardization of the criteria; (4) combination of the criteria; (5) classification of the objectives; and (6) integration of the objectives. The land suitability classification maps were transformed into maps of required irrigation amounts for each growing stage of the winter wheat and summer maize cropping system. The study also exemplified the limitations and proposed future research activities that will improve the detail and accuracy of the evaluation results.

Modeling Soil Organic Carbon Storage and Its Dynamics in Croplands of China

Abstract Soil organic carbon (SOC) is one of the centre issues related to not only soil fertility but also environmental safety. Assessing SOC dynamics in croplands has been a challenge in China for long due to the lack of appropriate methodologies and data sources. As an alternative approach for studying SOC dynamics, process-based models are adopted to meet the needs. In this paper, a process-based model, DeNitrification-DeComposition (DNDC), was applied to quantify the SOC storage and the spatial distribution in croplands of China in 2003, with the support of a newly compiled county-level soil/climate/land use database. The simulated results showed that the total SOC storage in the top layer (0-30 cm) of the 1.18 × 108 ha croplands of China is 4.7-5.2 Pg C in 2003 with an average value of 4.95 Pg C. The SOC storage in the northeastern provinces (1.3 Pg C) accounts for about 1/4 of the whole national totals due to their dominantly fertile soils with high organic matter content. SOC density ranges from 3.9 to 4.4 kg C m−2, with an average of 4.2 kg C m−2, a level is much lower than the world average level. The model results also indicated that high rates of SOC losses occurred in the croplands with the most common cropping patterns in China as like single soybean > maize > paddy > cotton > winter wheat and corn rotation. The results reported in this paper showed that there was still a great potential for improving SOC status in most croplands of China by adopting proper farming practices and land-use pattern. Therefore, long-term policy to protect SOC is urgently needed.