Excerpt
While the problem of soil erosion in China's semi-arid northwestern provinces receives the lion's share of national and international attention, farmers here are generally more concerned about the availability of water. Since groundwater resources are often unavailable, farmers of the region must rely on rainfall to supply their crops and household needs. Precipitation is low (250-550 mm) and droughts are a common occurrence. Before the revolution of 1 943, drought often brought famine in itf wake. During severe dry spells in recent years, the Chinese government has hati to ship in water and grain to villagers by truck.
In terms of agricultural production, the problem is more the intensity and timing than the scarcity of rainfall. Rainfall tends to be concentrated in the form of intense thunderstorms which cause tremendous amounts of erosion. Moreover, approximately 60% of the annual precipitation occurs in the three months between July and September, which is not when crops need rainfall the most (Yang 1990). In the prevailing rain-fed farming system, the limiting period is from May until the beginning of rhe rainy season in July (Li et al 1996). Crops which are planted in late March …
Footnotes
Seth Cook is n doctoral stuldent at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Li Fengrui is professor at the State Key Laboratory for Arid Agro ecology, Lanzhou University. Wei Huilan is professor at the Institute for Economic Management, Lanzhou University.
- Copyright 2000 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
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