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Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States (2001)

Chapter: 8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province

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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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8

Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province

Zhao Shidong, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Lu Jiehua, Peking University; Zhang Hongqi, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Zeng Yi, Peking University; Qi Wenhu, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Liang Zhiwu, Peking University; Zhang Taolin, Chinese Academy of Sciences; Liu Guiping, Peking University; Qin Mingzhou, Henan University; Jiang Leiwen, Peking University

This chapter examines the relationship among population change, consumption patterns, and land use in the Jitai Basin region of China from the early 1950s to the mid-1990s. It begins by describing the physical, economic, and social conditions of the region. Then, based on a sequence of four research findings, it looks more closely at how population, consumption, and land use are related.

THE JITAI BASIN: A DESCRIPTION

Physical Conditions

The Jitai Basin is located in the midwestern part of Jiangxi Province in southeastern China. The basin covers 12,468 square kilometers. Its two major urban centers are Ji'an City, located in the plains area of Ji'an County, and Jinggangshan City, which is in the mountains ( Figure 8-1).

The basin region is made up largely of mountains, undulating hills, and a small proportion of plains. The altitude in the area ranges from 1,779 meters in the mountains that surround it to less than 30 meters in the valleys of the Ganjiang (Gan) River, which runs through the basin. Many sub-basins dot the larger Jitai Basin.

The mountainous region, mainly distributed along the edges of the basin, occupies 29 percent of the region's total area. The high mountains rising above 1,000 meters are characterized by deep valleys and steep slopes. The low mountains, which range in altitude from 500 to 1,000

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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FIGURE 8-1 Jitai Basin, Jiangxi Province.




meters, have soils that are deep, fertile, and suitable for many kinds of forests.

The hills, characterized by an undulating landscape and a branch-like water system, dominate the topography of the region; they account for 52 percent of the total area. The severest soil erosion, caused by human activity and strong weathering, is found in the hills with steep slopes (Xi Chengfan et al., 1989). Grasses such as Setose arundinella dominate the vegetation; sparse areas of Masson pine are evident as well. Some areas with gentle slopes, water sources, and fertile soil have been planted with fruit trees or other crops.

The plains that cover 20 percent of the region's total area are located in the alluvial fans derived from the Ganjiang River and its major tributaries. Characterized by ideal water and heat conditions, fertile soil, and a high multiple crop index, the plains are the main agricultural region of the Jitai Basin.

The Jitai Basin region lies in a typical subtropical climate zone with its rich sunlight, heat, and monsoon rains. From 1949 to 1987 the annual

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Page 181

general solar radiation was 425–452 joules per square centimeter, which decreases from south to north and from the alluvial plains along the Ganjiang River to the surrounding hills and mountains. The annual total period of sunlight is 1,720–1,815 hours. Daily temperatures vary between −7°C and 40°C throughout the year, with a mean annual daily temperature of about 17.8°C. Average annual rainfall is 1,500 millimeters, and the number of rainy days is about 165. Sixty percent of the total rainfall occurs between March and June. Jinggangshan City is in a special situation because of its mountain location. Its average daily temperature is 14.2°C, and its average annual rainfall is 1,856 millimeters. The dry season in the Jitai Basin is from July to September when crops need a lot of water. This situation easily gives rise to reduced cereal yields.

The native undisturbed vegetation of the Jitai Basin is a mix of sub-tropical evergreen broadleaf forest and needle forest. A large proportion of the original forest cover was destroyed by human activities. It has been replaced by secondary wood and shrub over the past 50 years. The Jitai Basin has a relatively high diversity of species (Ji'an Planning Council and Ji'an Agricultural Division Council, 1993).

The vegetation of the Jitai Basin varies according to elevation. The mixed broadleaf and needle forest is found mainly in the mountainous regions more than 800 meters above sea level. Broadleaf forests are dominated by Lauraceae, Fagaceae, Theaceae, Aquifoliaceae, Rosaceae, Caprifoliaceae, and Ericaceae; needle forests are dominated by Huanshan mountain pine and Masson pine. The evergreen broadleaf forests (less than 800 meters above sea level) are dominated by Lauraceae, Magnoliaceae, Fagaceae, Theacea, Aquifoliaceae, and Elaeocarpaceae. The shrubs under the forest are mainly Loropetalum, Daphniphyllum oldhamii, Styrax japonica, and Maesa japonica. The evergreen broadleaf forest in the Jitai Basin traditionally has served as an important catchment reserve that regulates surface runoff, prevents soil erosion, and ensures an adequate and consistent supply of clean water for human consumption. But much of this forest has been destroyed and converted to other land uses, with serious environmental consequences.

Soils in the Jitai Basin region can be divided into 15 types according to location and texture (Land Administrative Bureau and Soil Survey Office of Jiangxi Province, 1991).1 Just over half of the area is covered by red soil (udic ferralisols), a third by paddy soil (stagnic anthrosols), and less than 10 percent by other types ( Table 8-1). Paddy soil accounts for 90 percent of all cropland. Seventy percent of all the cropland (anthrosols) has medium

1Soils are classified according to the Chinese soil survey of 1981, a kind of genetic classification system. In parentheses are the suborders from the Chinese Soil Taxonomy (revised proposal) of 1995, which utilizes names homologous to the international common names. The suborders are included here because this new system is not used widely.

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Page 182

TABLE 8-1 Soil Types, Jitai Basin

Group Name

Percent

Red soil (udic ferralisols)

56.63

Submergenic paddy soil (stagnic anthrosols)

17.29

Hydragic paddy soil (stagnic anthrosols)

16.70

Others

9.38

SOURCE: Soil Survey Office of Ji'an Prefecture. 1983. Soil in Ji'an; Soil Survey Office of Xingguo County. 1983. Soil in Xingguo County.

or low productivity because of the medium and low soil fertility. The forest soils (udic ferralisols) are not as nutrient-deficient as the cropland soils, but the deficiency of phosphorus and potassium is still a serious problem (Qin Mingzhou, 1997).

Population and Demographics

The Jitai Basin had a population of 2.47 million in 1995, with a density of 198 persons per square kilometer. From 1951 to 1995 the population increased by 1.455 million, or 143 percent. Over the last 45 years the population has increased continually, except for very brief and small downturns in the early 1950s and 1960s ( Figure 8-2). From 1951 to 1990 the net increase in population was 1.38 million, or an average 35,000 persons a year. From 1990 to 1995 the population grew more slowly, with a net increase of 55,000, or an average of only 9,000 persons a year.

Land Use Change

From 1950 to 1994 the Jitai Basin experienced relatively complicated land use changes, including deforestation and reforestation ( Figure 8-3). The area devoted to grassland and wasteland decreased after 1981. Meanwhile, built-up areas (including industrial districts, residential areas, and traffic zones) were on the rise.


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FIGURE 8-2 Total population, Jitai Basin, 1951–1995. SOURCE: Population statistics, Statistical Bureau of Jiangxi Province, 1951–1995.


Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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FIGURE 8-3 Land use, Jitai Basin, 1950–1994. SOURCES: Collection of agricultural statistics, 1949–1987, Bureau for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fishery Production in Ji'an Prefecture, Ji'an, Jiangxi Province, pp. 107, 122, 138, 963–964; investigations of the forest situation in the Ji'an Basin, 1965, 1981, 1986, 1994, Forest Bureau of Ji'an Prefecture; Economic Statistical Yearbooks of Ji'an City, Jinggangshan City, and Ji'an, Jishui, Taihe, Xingguo Counties. 1994. Statistical Bureaus of Ji'an City, Jinggangshan City, and Ji'an, Jishui, Taihe, Xingguo Counties.


Farmland in the Jitai Basin increased significantly between 1950 and 1957—from 174,000 hectares to 227,000 hectares, a historic peak ( Figure 8-4). During that period, population pressure, together with the government's land reform policy aimed at distributing land from the landlords to individual households, led to large-scale land reclamation in the region.

In 1958, however, the central government initiated the Great Leap Forward, a policy aimed at matching China's steel output with that of the United Kingdom and the United States in a short time. When large numbers of rural laborers were shifted to setting up furnaces and smelting steel, the result was a serious labor shortage in agricultural production. Farmland located in marginal areas with lower yields or lying greater distances from villages was abandoned, leading to a decline in total farm-land—from 227,000 hectares in 1958 to 212,000 hectares in 1959. In 1966 the Cultural Revolution led to another decline in farmland—from 214,000

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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FIGURE 8-4 Farmland, Jitai Basin, 1949–1993. SOURCES: Collection of agricultural statistics, 1949–1987, Bureau for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fishery Production in Ji'an Prefecture, Ji'an, Jiangxi Province, pp. 107, 122, 138, 963–964; Economic Statistical Yearbooks of Ji'an City, Jinggangshan City, and Ji'an, Jishui, Taihe, Xingguo counties. 1994. Statistical Bureaus of Ji'an City, Jinggangshan City, and Ji'an, Jishui, Taihe, Xingguo counties.




hectares in 1966 to 199,000 hectares in 1969—largely the result of people's abandonment of farming for a deep involvement in politics.

From the 1970s onward, farmland in the Jitai Basin decreased slowly. Further reclamation was impossible because the land available for cultivation had become more difficult to access or was very marginal. Meanwhile, the population had been increasing since 1950. The result was a significant reduction in the amount of farmland per capita.

Some central government policies, such as those calling for steel production (1958), “putting grain first” (1966–1976), and the “household responsibility system for forest production” (1982), have resulted in periods of deforestation in the Jitai Basin. In 1958 wide swaths of forest were cut down for fuel to support government-mandated steel smelting. From 1966 to 1976 some forestland was converted to farmland in response to government calls for increased grain production. In 1982 control of forestland shifted from the government level to the individual (family) level but for tenures as short as three years, and farmers, suddenly aware of the short-term profits to be made and the little hope for long-term benefits, cut down vast areas of forest. Logging for house construction and fuelwood

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Page 185

only intensified the loss of forestland. It decreased from 523,000 hectares in 1965 to 420,000 hectares in 1981 ( Figure 8-3).

Since the 1980s the central government has actively promoted reforestation and passed a series of laws and regulations to prohibit excessive logging and to encourage local farmers to plant trees. The conversion of farmland with low yield into forestland also has helped to increase total forest area. The total forestland in the Jitai Basin increased from 420,000 hectares in 1981 to 559,000 hectares in 1986 and to 645,000 hectares in 1994 ( Figure 8-3).

Patterns of deforestation and reforestation in the Jitai Basin have been documented in forest surveys conducted by the Taihe County Forest Bureau ( Table 8-2 and Figure 8-5). In Taihe County, forestland decreased 25 percent from 1957 to 1975 and then increased 1 percent from 1975 to 1989 and 54 percent from 1989 to 1994 ( Table 8-2). The total forest stock, however, declined from 5.11 million cubic meters in 1961 to 3.15 million cubic meters in 1994 (see Figure 8-5), indicating that forests were significantly harvested. Indeed, from just 1982 to 1989 the total forest stock decreased 28 percent. Thus implementation of the household responsibility system for forest production in 1982 led to a large decline in forest stock over a short period. In this instance, a switch to private management did little to correct earlier excesses.

Yet a 10-year effort and the implementation of a reforestation policy showed results in Taihe County between 1989 and 1994. Both forestland and total forest stock increased, 54 percent and 19 percent, respectively ( Table 8-2 and Figure 8-5). The middle forest stock climbed from 1.48 million cubic meters in 1989 to 1.71 million cubic meters in 1994, which suggests that restoration of the forest ecosystem had begun.

Although forestland has increased in recent years, problems remain, caused by large-scale logging to meet policy demands and population pressure. The stock of mature forest declined from 1.48 million cubic meters in 1975 to 530,000 cubic meters in 1994, indicating that mature forest was seriously harvested and could not be easily restored in a short time—see Figure 8-5. The figure also reveals that the young and middle forest stock were disproportionately large. With the shortage of mature forest, more

TABLE 8-2 Natural Land Areas, Taihe County, 1957–1994 (thousand hectares)

1957

1975

1989

1994

Forestland

109.98

82.37

83.40

128.69

Shrubland

21.55

20.78

1.49

Waste mountainous land

51.99

42.12

4.15

NOTE: Waste mountainous land is land suitable for forest growth.

SOURCE: Taihe County Forest Bureau.

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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FIGURE 8-5 Forest stock change, Taihe County, 1961–1994. SOURCE: Taihe County Forest Bureau.




and more middle forest was harvested; in fact, the stock of middle forest decreased 29 percent in only seven years (1982–1989), a sign of a crisis in forest resources ( Figure 8-5). Although the government adopted measures in 1989 to control the situation, it is certain that the demand for forest production will increase with further population growth and economic development.

Horticultural land is planted with cash trees such as tea, mulberry, and fruits. In the Jitai Basin the two dominant cash trees are tea and citrus. Before the central government launched a reform policy and opened China to the world in 1978, horticultural land increased slowly because of the government policy of putting grain first. In the Jitai Basin only 108 hectares were devoted to tea in 1965; 314 hectares were planted in citrus ( Figure 8-6). After 1978 some farmers undertook major efforts to develop cash trees such as citrus and tea by reclaiming available wasteland on hills with gentle slopes (that is, with a gradient of less than 10°) or by converting marginal farmland to orchard. They achieved remarkable economic benefits. By 1987 the total areas planted in tea and citrus had increased to 1,362 hectares and 4,012 hectares, respectively. By 1994 the citrus areas in the Jitai Basin had reached nearly 10,000 hectares ( Figure 8-6).

The grassland left in the Jitai Basin after deforestation consisted of degraded sparse shrub vegetation with a high diversity of herb plants. Most grassland is located in mountainous and hilly regions. This grassland is used mainly as pasture for draft animals and as a source of fuel for farmers' cooking and heating. Because of the poor quality of herbage, the carrying capacity for animals is low, which easily results in overgrazing. The total grassland area decreased from 251,000 hectares in 1981 to 192,000 in 1986, and then to 135,000 hectares in 1994. Most overgrazed areas are communal lands. Farmers overgraze these areas believing that the cost of

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Page 187

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FIGURE 8-6 Areas planted in tea and citrus, Jitai Basin, 1965–1994. SOURCES: Collection of agricultural statistics, 1949–1987, Bureau for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fishery Production in Ji'an Prefecture, Ji'an, Jiangxi Province, pp. 107, 122, 138, 963–964; Economic Statistical Yearbooks of Ji'an City, Jinggangshan City, and Ji'an, Jishui, Taihe, Xingguo counties. 1994. Statistical Bureaus of Ji'an City, Jinggangshan City, and Ji'an, Jishui, Taihe, Xingguo counties.




land degradation is borne by the entire community or village. Thus this grassland has become marginal; its production potential is very low, and frequently its steeper slopes are heavily eroded.

Given its isolated location and undeveloped economy, the Jitai Basin had a slow rate of urbanization until 1978, when development of the economy and the construction of industrial zones, highways, and other infrastructure began to accelerate the transition from rural area to urban area. The highway system expanded from 1,800 kilometers in 1986 to 2,800 kilometers in 1993, and the urban area increased from 5 percent to 6 percent during the same period. In addition, new township enterprises sprang up. Currently, about 6 percent of land in the Jitai Basin is urban or built-up, compared with 16 percent of the Pearl River Delta (see Chapter 9). Accordingly, the proportion of the population that can be classified as urban is lower in the Jitai Basin than in the Pearl River Delta and even lower than the average for China as a whole ( Figure 8-7).

Land Quality

Land quality refers to the condition or health of land. The major indicators of land quality are types of land use, inputs of material and energy, landform, climate, soil properties (such as soil organic matter content and total nitrogen), and soil pollution.

From the 1950s to the 1980s land quality in the Jitai Basin worsened, reaching high levels of degradation by the end of the 1980s. In 1988, 28 percent of the land area of the Jitai Basin was suffering from soil erosion, up 256,000 hectares from the 1984 level. But efforts to restore land quality are under way as a result of the reforestation and other policies launched in the 1990s.

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
×

Page 188

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FIGURE 8-7 Urban population as a percentage of total population, Jitai Basin, Pearl River Delta, and China, 1950–1990. SOURCES: Statistical Yearbooks of Guangdong Province. 1950–1990. Beijing: Chinese Statistical Press; Economic Statistical Yearbooks of Ji'an City, Jinggangshan City, and Ji'an, Jishui, Taihe, Xingguo counties. 1994. Statistical Bureaus of Ji'an City, Jinggangshan City, and Ji'an, Jishui, Taihe, Xingguo counties; China Statistical Yearbook, 1991. Beijing: Chinese Statistical Press.


Economic Development

The economic development of Jiangxi Province is below the national average. In 1995 the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of Jiangxi Province was 3,124 yuan, compared with 3,755 yuan for China as whole. In both 1990 and 1996 the Jitai Basin had a much lower GDP per capita than Guangdong Province, which includes the Pearl River Delta (see Table 8-3). In 1978 the GDP per capita for Guangdong Province was 1.34 times that of Jiangxi Province; by 1996 it was 2.56 times as much. Thus the gap between the two provinces was growing. Because the Jitai Basin is a less-developed region within Jiangxi Province, even in 1996 the GDP per capita for the Jitai Basin was more than 1,000 yuan lower than the average for Jiangxi Province as a whole.

Consumption Levels

Consumption is defined here as personal spending to meet one's daily life needs and wants, such as for food, clothing, housing, recreation, education, health, transportation, and communication. Consumption pattern refers to the array of expenditures made on different items. From 1978 to

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
×

Page 189

TABLE 8-3 Gross Domestic Product per Capita, Guangdong Province, Jiangxi Province, and Jitai Basin, 1978–1996 (yuan)

Year

Guangdong Province

Jiangxi Province

Jitai Basin

1978

367

273.3

1980

477.6

341.0

1990

2,496

1,125

887

1996

9,452

3,696

2,668

NOTE: Figures for the Jitai Basin are weighted averages of the corresponding jurisdictions. Data are not adjusted for inflation. The most rapid increases may well be related to inflation.

SOURCES: Statistical Yearbook of Jiangxi Province. 1997. Beijing: Chinese Statistical Press; Statistical Yearbook of Guangdong Province. 1997. Beijing: Chinese Statistical Press.

1984 the consumption level in Jiangxi Province was similar to that of Guangdong Province. After 1984, however, the gap grew to the point that the annual average living expense in Guangdong was 4,200 yuan, while in Jiangxi it was only 1,900 yuan. Yet per capita consumption levels in Jiangxi Province are increasing ( Figure 8-8). The price index for retail goods indicates that the gap in consumption levels between Jiangxi and Guangdong Provinces is in fact a real gap and not a reflection of a disparity in retail prices (see Figure 8-9).

DATA AND METHODOLOGY

Several findings of this study are based on an investigation of the historic records of land use change in the Jitai Basin and an analysis of the

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FIGURE 8-8 Average annual per capita expenditure, Jiangxi Province and Guangdong Province, 1978–1995. SOURCES: Statistical Yearbook of Jiangxi Province. 1994. Beijing: Chinese Statistical Press, p. 162; Statistical Yearbook of Guangdong Province. 1997. Beijing: Chinese Statistical Press, p. 102.


Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Page 190

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FIGURE 8-9 Retail price index, Guangdong Province and Jiangxi Province, 1978–1996. SOURCES: Statistical Yearbook of Jiangxi Province. 1997. Beijing: Chinese Statistical Press, p. 143; Statistical Yearbook of Guangdong Province. 1997. Beijing: Chinese Statistical Press, p. 203.




factors driving these changes. Data were drawn from: a geographic information system (GIS) and additional statistics to evaluate land use change; multiple time-series data for the years 1950–1995; and official data collected from the statistical bureaus of provincial and local governments. Major land use categories were: farmland, water, forestland, grassland, garden, built-up, roads and railways, and unused land at the county and regional levels. Demographic data were collected on total population, literacy (by sex), and social and economic factors such as per capita GDP, farmer income, and total consumption expenses. Data were collected at the county level on common biophysical variables such as latitude, longitude, annual temperature, and rainfall.

Some types of data on land use and population have not been recorded periodically. For example, the national population census was conducted in 1982 and again in 1990. Detailed demographic data for each county and for some townships were extracted from censuses carried out at these levels. These censuses reported on urban and rural population, family size, fertility rate, infant mortality, life expectancy, rural-to-urban migration, and literacy. Data on land use were drawn from land use investigations at the county level where two detailed surveys of the Jitai Basin were conducted in 1986 and 1992. These data are more detailed than the statistics collected regularly on a larger scale.

Some special field surveys on land quality have been conducted since the 1960s. From 1960 to 1980, 18 major soil types in the Jitai Basin were

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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monitored continuously. The National Soil Survey of China, carried out from 1981 to 1983, and the latest field survey, conducted in 1996 by the authors of this chapter, provide detailed information on land quality at scales of 1:10,000 and 1:400,000.

Topographic maps drawn to a scale of 1:1000,000 were available for the whole study region, within the administrative boundaries of six counties. Roads, railways, and urban areas were digitized to construct base maps for a spatial database. Also incorporated into this database were 1:50,000 scale maps of land use types at the township level for some counties. Various statistical methods were then applied to examine the interactions among the forces driving land use change.

AN INTEGRATED ANALYSIS OF LAND USE CHANGE

Land use change is a complex and dynamic phenomenon. Its causes are often referred to as “drivers,” which are described as either proximate or underlying (Adger and Brown, 1994). Proximate drivers are associated with activities that directly interact with and modify the physical environment (Turner and Meyer, 1994). Underlying drivers, or root causes, influence how individuals or groups interact with and change the land.

Of the main forces driving land use change in the Jitai Basin, the proximate driving forces are easier to identify and recognize. They consist of a direct causal agent, action, or process such as deforestation, reforestation, subsistence agriculture, or cash crop/tree agriculture ( Table 8-4). The underlying driving forces, which are far more complex and difficult to identify, arise from sources both external and internal to the region. External sources are mainly responses to the policies of the central government, population pressure, rapid economic development in coastal areas, and an increasing emphasis in some regions on environmental protection. Internal drivers of change are a growing local population, local government policy, and changes in local economic development and consumption patterns, which have been themselves influenced by myriad factors arising from the interactions among society, environment, and development.

Since 1950 the Jitai Basin has experienced a variety of land use changes such as deforestation, reforestation, agriculture expansion, and urbanization (although at a slow rate). These changes are in various ways associated with central government policies, as well as population growth and economic development. Because of China's centralized administrative structure, the policies of the central government play a crucial role in influencing land use change, population growth, and economic development. In the area of land use, for example, both the Great Leap Forward in 1958 and the “household responsibility system for forest production” policy in 1982 triggered deforestation. Since 1982, however, a reforesta

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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TABLE 8-4 Summary of Forces Driving Land Use Change in the Jitai Basin, 1950–1995

Land Use Changes

Proximate Driving Forces

Underlying Driving Forces

Deforestation

Overexploitation of forest to seek fuel for steel production, timber, and fuelwood

Conversion of forestland to grain agriculture

Policy failures

Expansion of forestland

Regulation of forests

Effective policies

Increasing environmental awareness at all levels of government

Changes in farmland area

Subsistence agriculture

Encroachment by urbanization and expansion of industrial districts, traffic roads, and rural settlements

Conversion of farmland to horticulture land and forestland

Population increase

Government policies

Economic development inside or outside of the Jitai Basin

Changes in consumption patterns

Environmental protection

Increase in cash crop and horticulture land

Cash tree/crop agriculture

Policy

High financial benefits

Changes in consumption patterns



tion campaign has successfully increased forestland. In the area of population growth, the national pronatalist policy that sustained a high birth rate from 1955 through the late sixties was followed by a one-child policy, launched in the early 1980s, that led to a decline in birth rates nationwide.

Population growth is an important driving force in land use change in the Jitai Basin. During 1950–1957, population pressure, combined with the land reform policies of the central government, led to agricultural expansion. In contrast, the encroachment of farmland was in part a response to increased demands for living space for the additional population.

Under its policy of “reform and open to the world” (1978), China has been gradually converting its central planning economy to a market economy system. This system has brought about dramatic changes, particularly in consumption patterns. Changes in economic development and consumption influence both migration and land use. In the 1990s economic development fostered the migration of surplus rural labor from the Jitai Basin to more developed areas. At the same time, changes in consumption patterns

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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led to a conversion of grain crops to cash crops/trees. The next section examines in detail several research findings about changes in land use.

RESEARCH FINDINGS

Finding 1: Under certain circumstances, particularly in a planned economy, the policies of the central government have a great influence on land use change, population growth, and economic development.

Although population is often cited as the major underlying force driving land use changes in developing countries, that is not always the case. Population growth is, of course, likely to be an important factor driving land use change, but it has not been the determining one in the Jitai Basin, especially during 1950–1982, the period the planned economy system was in effect in China.

Since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the administrative structure of the country, based on the principle of centralization, has consisted of a national central government that sits atop descending provincial, district, county, township, and village governments. The relationship between the center and the periphery can be described as patron–client, whereby the patron, in return for obedience and loyalty, provides the client with the necessary economic conditions and services. Under this top–down approach, regional development activities have been strongly associated with national development policies and programs. The major policies of the central government that have had the most profound effect on the Jitai Basin are listed in Table 8-5.

After 1949 the Chinese government announced a series of policies to stimulate agricultural development. Under the land reform policy, large areas of land were redistributed from a small number of landlords to numerous small farmers. From 1949 to 1957, this policy played an important role in encouraging farmers to reclaim wasteland. In the Jitai Basin, cultivated land increased from 174,000 hectares in 1950 to 227,000 hectares in 1957.

In 1957 the central government established agricultural producers' cooperatives in rural areas of the Jitai Basin. Land ownership shifted from the individual farmer to the collective, and land use decisions became a key element of national policy. The next year the government implemented its Great Leap Forward policy by setting up furnaces for steel smelting throughout the cities and rural areas of the Jitai Basin. Workers then proceeded to cut down large areas of nearby forest to supply the fuelwood needed to make steel. The resulting deforestation led to serious soil erosion.

From 1955 through the late sixties the Chinese government encouraged farmers to have more children, especially boys, in order to provide the farmers and soldiers needed to develop the agriculture and military

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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TABLE 8-5 Main Government Policies Affecting the Jitai Basin, 1950–1993

Period

Policy

Description

Results

1950–1957

Land reform

Ownership of land distributed to the individual farmers, thereby stimulating land reclamation

Increase in cultivated land

1958

Great Leap Forward

Policy promoting steel production

Sharply decreased forestland, causing soil erosion

1955–1976

Pronatalist policy

Policy encouraging child-bearing aimed at providing enough people for production activities and to serve as soldiers

Collection of fuelwood results in deforestation. Need for living space for additional population leads to loss of farmland.

1966–1976

Grain production first Cultural Revolution

Dedication of farmland to grain production and the upheavals of the Cultural Revolution

Agriculture limited to one-crop farming

1978–present

Economic reform and opening to the world

Rapid economic growth External investment

Turning point of planned economy to market economy

Acceleration of economic development

Speeding up of urbanization

1982

Household responsibility system for agricultural production

Established a system of contracts between the farmers and local government in which the farmer could use the land for a certain period

Diversification of agriculture

Increase in cash crops/trees

Deforestation, a result of the government giving rights to a long-term asset for short-term gain

1980–1993

Family planning

Policy in urban and some rural areas calling for one child per couple

Lower birth rate, which reduced the population pressure on the land

SOURCES: Statistical Bureau of Shenzhen City. 1991, 1993, 1994. Economic Statistical Yearbook of Shenzhen City; Statistical Bureau of Xingguo County. 1991, 1993, 1994. Economic Statistical Yearbook of Xingguo County.

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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sectors. But larger families require more living space. In the Jitai Basin villages expanded into the surrounding farmland. Forestland was then cleared to provide more timber for both house construction and fuelwood and to make room for the new farmland needed to meet the subsistence needs of the additional population. But then, in a turnabout, the Chinese government began in the early 1980s to discourage population growth by adhering to a policy calling for one child per couple. In the Jitai Basin this policy has led to a decline in the rate of population increase and reduced some pressures caused by population growth.

From 1966 to 1976 the central government implemented a policy of “putting grain first” in order to meet increased demands for food. In the Jitai Basin large portions of forest and grassland were converted to cultivated grain.

Since 1978 China has followed a basic policy of economic reform. This policy is a turning point in the conversion of a planned economy to a market economy. At the beginning of the 1980s the policy of a “household responsibility system for agricultural production” was implemented in rural areas, making farmers once again landholders and the decision-makers on land use. In recent years, market factors have become more important in influencing decisions on land use, with the result that cash crop and fruit trees with higher economic value are now being planted in the Jitai Basin. The agricultural system has changed from one based on subsistence farming to one based on multiculture.

The policy of a “household responsibility system for agricultural production” has been declared a great success by many observers. But the “household responsibility system for forest production” (1982) has brought about a disaster in the forests. Originally, policymakers had expected farmers to enthusiastically develop and protect forests, just as they had embraced agricultural production. However, farmers' eagerness for short-term benefits and their lack of understanding of sustainable forestry practices and of the need for environmental protection resulted in another round of large-scale deforestation. The government eventually discontinued implementation of this system.

In essence, then, national policies, from land reform, to the Great Leap Forward, to “reform and open to the world,” to the “household responsibility system,” to family planning, have been the central factors driving land use change in the Jitai Basin. In other words, land use change in the Jitai Basin can be explained more by policies issued by the central government than by the oft-cited factor of population pressure.

Finding 2: Population growth in the Jitai Basin correlates only marginally with farmland development.

From 1950 to 1990 the population of the Jitai Basin grew rapidly ( Figure 8-2). Because economic development in the region was limited, tradi

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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tional agriculture occupied a very important position in the local economy. For farmers, larger families (and more workers) translated into larger incomes. But after 1979 and implementation of the national economic reform policy, the economy developed more rapidly. More jobs were available, and family size was no longer the main determinant of income. The government's family planning policy was implemented more strictly in the 1970s, and contraceptives were provided to persons of childbearing age. By 1993 the annual rate of population increase in the Jitai Basin was only 0.036 percent.

Like many other parts of China, the Jitai Basin experienced several peaks and valleys in its rate of population change from 1950 to 1994 ( Figure 8-10). In 1952 the government relocated large groups of citizens (cadres) in the border districts in south and west China, many from the Jitai Basin, accounting for a trough in the population growth rate. In 1960, after the initiation of the Great Leap Forward, the government began to



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FIGURE 8-10 Population growth rate, Jitai Basin, 1950–1994. SOURCE: Population statistics, Statistical Bureau of Ji'an Prefecture, 1950–1994. NOTE: Peak in 1987 is due to the “open a small hole” temporary relaxation of the one-child policy.


Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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FIGURE 8-11 Population growth rate and net migration rate, Jitai Basin, 1980–1992. SOURCE: Population statistics, Statistical Bureau of Ji'an Prefecture, 1980–1992.




officially encourage childbearing. At the same time the death rate fell with the establishment of a national public health services system. The Great Leap Forward was followed in 1961, however, by famine and a massive death toll. Because Jiangxi Province is one of the grain bases of China, the government shipped grain from the Jitai Basin to meet demand elsewhere and left very little for the local population. Population growth spiked again in 1969. In the Cultural Revolution period many school graduates moved to the countryside, including Jiangxi Province, in response to a government appeal. This political movement climaxed in 1969. In 1986, when the government relaxed the family planning policy, another major population increase occurred. Finally, in the early 1990s the population born in the 1970s became of childbearing age. Because this was a small population cohort arising from the strict family planning policy of the 1970s, the population growth rate again declined.

Net migration has contributed relatively little to population growth in the Jitai Basin ( Figure 8-11). In 1987 the rate of increase of the population was 4.19 percent, but the net migration rate was only about 0.5 percent. Most of the increase in population came from natural population growth.

Population pressure, external demand, and government policy encouraging farmers to plant grain resulted in expansion of farmland in the Jitai Basin prior to 1958. After 1958 changes in farmland were driven mainly by government policies mandating other activities for the rural population. In 1958–1959, during the Great Leap Forward, most peasants

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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FIGURE 8-12 Rates of change in farmland and population, Jitai Basin, 1951–1993. SOURCES: Population statistics, Statistical Bureau of Ji'an Prefecture, 1950–1993; Collection of agricultural statistics, 1949–1987, Bureau for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fishery Production in Ji'an Prefecture, Ji'an, Jiangxi Province; Economic Statistical Yearbooks of Ji'an City, Jinggangshan City, and Ji'an, Jishui, Taihe, Xingguo counties. 1988–1993. Statistical Bureaus of Ji'an City, Jinggangshan City, and Ji'an, Jishui, Taihe, Xingguo counties.




participated in government-mandated steel making, and much of the farmland was abandoned (see Figure 8-12). It decreased from 227,000 hectares in 1956 to 212,000 hectares in 1958, a drop of 15,000 hectares in only two years. Farmland decreased again in 1967—by −4.9 percent; farmers were now busy with the Cultural Revolution.

Finding 3: Consumption patterns in the Jitai Basin have changed. This change may be associated with decreased grain production and increased cash crop production in the region.

Consumption patterns are closely related to the social and economic development of a society. In a less-developed economy, basic existence is the primary concern, and food is the main consumption item.

Because of the lack of complete data sets on the Jitai Basin, subsites were selected for analysis. Ji'an Prefecture, containing five of the six study sites in the Jitai Basin, is examined here in more detail. One county also was selected, because a complete data series exists for it.

The rest of this section discusses the evolution of consumption patterns in terms of stages in the economic development of the region. These stages are based on changes in natural conditions and government politi

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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cal and economic policies and demonstrate graphically the effects of these conditions and policies on the Jitai Basin region.

  • Stage One: Struggle for Existence. Before the mid–1970s the struggle for existence was the primary concern of residents of the Jitai Basin. During three years of natural disasters (1959–1961) and again during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), the supply of food fell well short of demand and many people died of starvation. For example, according to the records of Xingguo County, on June 10, 1959, heavy rains led to flooding of more than 28,700 hectares of arable land. Then from June 18 to June 21, 203.2 millimeters of rain fell, flooding 57,000 hectares. That year, 15,000 hectares did not produce any grain. Several years later, in 1961, 281.3 millimeters of rain fell from June 10 to June 12, covering 51,000 hectares of cultivated land.

The effects of these disasters and other events were worsened by the rapid natural growth of population. But by the 1980s an upward trend was evident in food production (see Figure 8-13, which shows grain, pork, egg, and fish production for the Ji'an Prefecture—Ji'an City, Ji'an County,



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FIGURE 8-13 Production of grain, pork, eggs, and fish, Ji'an Prefecture, 1949–1988. SOURCE: The Progress in Forty Years—The Social and Economic Statistical Materials of Ji'an Prefecture, 1949–1988. 1994. Statistical Bureau of Ji'an Prefecture, Ji'an, Jiangxi Province. NOTE: Ji'an Prefecture comprises Ji'an City, Ji'an County, Jishui County, Taihe County, and Jinggangshan City.

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Jishui County, Taihe County, and Jinggangshan City—from 1949 to 1988). Per capita production increased slowly prior to the early 1980s because of rapid population growth, even though total production showed an overall rise.


  • Stage Two: Diversification of Agricultural Production. With implementation of the national economic reform policy and the “household responsibility system,” the production of grain, pork, eggs, and fish increased in the 1980s ( Figure 8-13). Three factors led to these increases. First, an increase in grain production provided a basis for production of other forms of food. Second, with the market economy developing rapidly, agricultural products could be sold on the free market, and farmers sought additional sources of income from, for example, selling eggs or pork. Third, people's standard of living increased, and the demand for food became more diversified. From 1989 to 1996 the production of grain increased by 6.7 percent, eggs by 30 percent, meat by 95 percent, and fish by 127 percent. It was significant that the increase in the production of fish and meat products and eggs is much higher than that of grain.

The value of food exports from the region rose from 1978 to 1988. For example, in the late 1980s the value of cereal and food oil exports abroad was nearly five times what it had been in 1978; the value of exports of particular local goods and livestock increased at the same rate. Value fell in both categories in 1984 largely because of fluctuations in the international market. After 1984 the export values of cereal and food oil rose at a higher rate.

  • Stage Three: Changing Patterns of Expenditure and Diversification of Food. In the Jitai Basin consumption patterns in both urban and rural areas have changed in recent years. Consumption of housing, clothing, and fuel has increased in urban areas, while relative spending on food has decreased. By contrast, in the rural areas of Jiangxi Province relative consumption of food has remained stable, while the proportion of purchases of clothing, housing, and fuels has decreased.

According to the per capita purchasing patterns in the urban and rural areas of Jiangxi Province in 1989 and 1996, both grain and vegetable consumption decreased, while the consumption of food oil, meat (pork, beef, mutton, and poultry), eggs, fish, and wine increased. As for fuel consumption, coal is being replaced by natural gas in urban areas.

In rural areas consumption patterns show some similar trends, but with a smaller change from 1989 to 1996. In 1996 people consumed more food oil, meat, eggs, fish, and wine than in 1989. Also significant, residents consumed 4.8 times more fruit in 1996 than in 1989.

Changes in consumption were paralleled by changes in crop production. In Taihe County, where data were available, the land devoted to

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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FIGURE 8-14 Land devoted to grain production, Taihe County, 1979–1996. SOURCES: The Progress in Forty Years—The Social and Economic Statistical Materials of Ji'an Prefecture, 1949–1988. 1994. Statistical Bureau of Ji'an Prefecture, Ji'an, Jiangxi Province; Statistical Yearbook of Jiangxi Province. 1997. Beijing: Chinese Statistical Press.




grain production decreased from 1979 to 1996 ( Figure 8-14); grain crops accounted for 73 percent of the total area sown in 1989 and 66 percent in 1996. By contrast, the land planted in cash crops increased throughout the 1980s, except in 1988 when the government launched the campaign to restore grain production ( Figure 8-15). Cash crops accounted for 27 percent of total area sown in 1989 and 34 percent in 1996.

Finding 4: An increase in the floating population is promoting local private economic development.

Recent reform policy has brought major changes to the Jitai Basin. One of these changes is the growth of the “floating population.”

Everyone in China has a registered permanent residence that is assigned at birth; usually it is the permanent residence of one of a citizen's parents. A person may live in that location legally. Citizens who move to a location where they do not have a local registered permanent residence may not remain in that place unless they obtain a license from the police every half-year. This is known as the household registry system. Migrants,

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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FIGURE 8-15 Land devoted to cash crop production, Taihe County, 1979–1988. SOURCE: The Progress in Forty Years—The Social and Economic Statistical Materials of Ji'an Prefecture, 1949–1988. 1994. Statistical Bureau of Ji'an Prefecture, Ji'an, Jiangxi Province.


in the Chinese context, are people who have changed domiciles by registering with the local police station in a new location. Floating population refers to people who move from one place to another, usually staying less than a half-year with no official change in their registered permanent residence. Members of the floating population are required to get a license from the local government every half-year; otherwise, they are considered illegal residents. In the Jitai Basin the floating population mainly refers to the labor force that leaves the region temporarily to find work.

Before 1978, laborers were forbidden to “float” by the strict household registry system, and there was almost no floating population during the Cultural Revolution. Even in 1984 the floating population in the Jitai Basin consisted of fewer than a thousand persons. After 1984, however, the government invested in massive urban construction projects outside the area that required labor. Thus the surplus of rural labor moved to the big cities to seek the new jobs. Many of these rural laborers found construction jobs either in the big cities or in the coastal areas in east or south China. The Jitai Basin at that time was isolated and relatively undeveloped and among the poorest regions in China. Jobs in the cities offered much higher income potential.

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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As noted, at the beginning of the economic reform period only a few laborers left the region to seek work. After 1990, however, the floating population became a larger group; population growth and the decrease in arable land had created a larger surplus rural labor force. Nevertheless, both the high population density of the big cities and coastal areas in east and south China and the household registry residence system served to limit the formal migration of the population. The result has been a very special phenomenon: a large movement of the floating population twice a year, before and after the Spring Festival in China. Because the floating labor force cannot officially migrate to the place where they work, floaters have to move between their working place and their household registry residence twice a year.

From Xingguo County in Jiangxi Province, most of the floating-out labor force goes to Shenzhen City on the South China Sea or Shanghai on the East China Sea to work temporarily (see Table 8-6, which compares the average income of the labor forces in Xingguo County with that of the floating labor forces in Shenzhen City from 1991 to 1994). The income of the floating labor force in Shenzhen is representative of the income of the floating labor force from Xingguo. In 1991 the proportion of the floating labor forces to total labor forces in Xingguo was 1.2 percent. That proportion rose to 9 percent in 1993 and 15 percent in 1994. The large differences in income levels between the local labor force and floating labor force have fostered this movement of people.

The growth of the floating labor force has spurred the growth of the local economy. Most members of that labor force are young and educated. When they return home, which they must do under the household registry system, they bring with them money, technology, and knowledge. Some workers attempt to start their own careers in their hometown. Some invest in agriculture, but most invest in industry, establishing private enterprises. In 1991 the GDP from private enterprises was 83.5 million yuan, increasing to 615 million in 1994. Most private enterprises are supported financially by members of the floating labor force and by technical

TABLE 8-6 Average per Capita Income of Floating Labor Force in Shenzhen City and Local Labor Force in Xingguo County, 1991–1994 (yuan)

Year

Shenzhen City

Xingguo County

1991

5,146

768

1993

9,530

1,079

1994

12,972

1,533

SOURCES: Statistical Bureau of Shenzhen City. 1991, 1993, 1994. Economic Statistical Year-book of Shenzhen City; Statistical Bureau of Xingguo County. 1991, 1993, 1994. Economic Statistical Yearbook of Xingguo County.

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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workers who once were floaters. Former floating workers also have set up several industrial and agricultural technology schools to train the local population, thereby improving the technical level of the local labor force.

CONCLUSION

Land use changes in the Jitai Basin have essentially stemmed from a combination of government policy, population growth, and economic development. This finding implies that relevant, acceptable policies aimed at achieving sustainable development in the Jitai Basin will rest on an understanding of the dynamics of population, land use, and socioeconomics.

One factor that has influenced the impact of government land use policy on the Jitai Basin has been its isolation. The Jitai Basin is a remote, somewhat inaccessible region of China. The north–south railway that connects Ji'an with the larger city of Nanchang and the south was only recently constructed, and Jinggangshan still has no rail connection. The same isolation that was the reason for the region's success as a remote communist base area later caused it to develop only slowly, and the reform policies pursued by the central government after 1978 resulted in its relative stagnation when compared with the vibrant development of coastal areas, like the Pearl River Delta, where foreign capital flowed in and fueled the rapid construction of new factories, transport lines, and residential areas.

The forces driving land use change vary. While some forces act slowly over decades, others trigger events quickly and visibly. In the Jitai Basin, government policies not only affected land use gradually over the long term, but also dramatically over the short term. For example, the policy of “putting grain first” caused between 1966 and 1976 the gradual conversion of forestland to grain crops and an overall lack of change in the land devoted to cash crops. But the implementation of policies such as the Great Leap Forward calling for increased steel production (1958) and the “household responsibility system for forest production” (1982) triggered dramatic deforestation in only one or two years. The success of some policies such as reforestation suggests that environmental degradation can be brought under control, at least to some degree, in spite of the tremendous population pressure and the limitations of low economic development in rural areas. In a country with a centralized administrative structure, government policy has more of an effect on land use change than does population growth, particularly during periods of a directly planned economy.

The total population of the Jitai Basin increased from 1951 to 1995, mainly through natural growth. The family planning policy in effect since the early 1980s has played an important role in controlling further popu-

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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lation growth, and the average growth rate of the population is declining. The floating population did not emerge in large numbers until 1990.

Because the Jitai Basin is a relatively undeveloped region, its consumption patterns have changed slowly. The market economy stimulated farmers to produce more profitable products and so more land was converted from grain crops to cash crops. Urbanization, however, can lead to increased encroachment into agricultural areas, especially farmland adjacent to cities. Currently, about 5.9 percent of land in the region is urban or developed. In the long run, urban-based pressures may exacerbate the deterioration of natural resources if these resources are not managed appropriately.

REFERENCES

Adger, N., and K. Brown. 1994 . Land Use and the Causes of Global Warming. Chichester: John Wiley .

Ji'an Planning Council and Ji'an Agricultural Division Council. 1993 . Agriculture Nature Resources Development and Division of District in Ji'an District. Nanchang: Science and Technology Press of Jiangxi Province .

Land Administrative Bureau and Soil Survey Office of Jiangxi Province. 1991 . Soil in Jiangxi. Beijing: Agriculture Science and Technology Press of China .

Qin Mingzhou. 1997 . Amount and quality changes in the process of red soil resource development in South China. Postdoctoral report, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, pp. 5–30 .

Turner, B. L., and W. B. Meyer. 1994 . Global land use and land-cover change: An overview. In: Changes in Land Use and Land Cover: A Global Perspective, W. B. Meyer and B. L. Turner, eds. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press .

Xi Chengfan, et al. 1989 . The Development and Management of the Red Soil Hilly Area, An Experimental Study of the Qianyanzhou Station. Beijing : Science Press .

Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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Suggested Citation:"8. Population, Consumption, and Land Use in the Jitai Basin Region, Jiangxi Province." National Academy of Sciences. 2001. Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes: Studies from India, China, and the United States. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10144.
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As the world’s population exceeds an incredible 6 billion people, governments—and scientists—everywhere are concerned about the prospects for sustainable development.

The science academies of the three most populous countries have joined forces in an unprecedented effort to understand the linkage between population growth and land-use change, and its implications for the future. By examining six sites ranging from agricultural to intensely urban to areas in transition, the multinational study panel asks how population growth and consumption directly cause land-use change, and explore the general nature of the forces driving the transformations.

Growing Populations, Changing Landscapes explains how disparate government policies with unintended consequences and globalization effects that link local land-use changes to consumption patterns and labor policies in distant countries can be far more influential than simple numerical population increases. Recognizing the importance of these linkages can be a significant step toward more effective environmental management.

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