Ren Ji-zhou

A GIS‐based expert system for pastoral agricultural development in Gansu Province, PR China

Abstract This paper describes the research methods, basic design, contents and structure of database, model base, knowledge base and major functions of an expert system for Gansu Pastoral Agricultural Development (GPAD). The system, created at Lanzhou University, can show users the knowledge, experience, and techniques accumulated by pastoral agriculture specialists, both in theory and practice over many years. This is achieved using multimedia information (e.g., text, graphics, pictures, and video), as well as expert system, network, Geographic Information System (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) technologies. The system includes 19 spatial databases related to agricultural resources and ecological environments, and 540 images of grassland species and grassland landscapes. It is composed of five major modules including cultivation of productive or ecologically important grasses and legumes, adaptability of cultivated species, vegetation classification, diagnosis of the disease, and management strategy. The eight assistant modules include: spatial database query, knowledge base query, model base query, turf establishment advice, Global Positioning System (GPS) based information, Chinas pastoral agriculture database (used for consultation on suitability of cultivated grasses, legumes, and herbs for the whole of China), literature search, and system maintenance. The system provides the answers to users’ questions related to grassland management and pastoral agriculture development in the following main areas: (i) location of a particular area of interest, (ii) natural conditions and resource base of different areas, (iii) suitability of introduced and local grassland species for different geographic areas, and (iv) suitable management strategies for pastoral agriculture development. The expert system software is a useful tool for land managers, agricultural technicians, environmental specialists, teachers, students, policy makers, land administrators and for practical advice to land users. It has an important role in improving environmental conditions and pastoral agriculture in Gansu Province and western China.

Trajectory and prospect of China’sprataculture

Pratacultural science refers to the study of grassland agriculture, which is a branch of agricultural science. It was not until 1980s that the modern prataculture took shape in China although the country has a long history of grassland agriculture. China has developed its own discipline system of pratacultural science in assimilating the academic tradition of Europe, North America and Russia. The pratacultural science of China consists of the studies of three major parts, namely the three factor groups (the biotic, abiotic and social factor groups), three interfaces (the plant-land interface, the pasture-livestock interface and the pasture/animal-market interface), and four production subsystems (the pre-plant production, the plant production, the animal production and the post-biotic production subsystems). The functioning of pratacultural science is maintained by its multidimensional structure. In the past three decades, the consumption of cereals as food by Chinese people has been declining while that of food of animal origin has been increasing rapidly, leading to a sharp increase in the demand for feed and forage crops. Grassland agriculture, with its main outputs based on vegetative growth rather than reproductive growth of plants, is more efficient as well as more ecological than the arable agriculture only relying on grain production. Grassland agriculture is bound to gradually replace the traditional arable agriculture in China, becoming the main stream of the agriculture of China, and thus to mitigate the problems in Chinas agricultural development. With the demand by the society and the unprecedented support from the national government, Chinas modern pratacultural science has a never-had opportunity for its develop. Currently China is at a leading position in some research areas of pratacultural science in the world.