Land Use Change and Its Driving Forces and Land Sustainable Utilization in Semi-Arid Areas

Desertification is primarily controlled by natural factors. Population pressure on land and unsuitable land use make desertification accelerating over semiarid areas. Because the demand for food of people exceeded the bearing capacity of grazing products,people had to cultivate the land and grow crops for survival. After cultivation,desertification will be aggravated over areas without vegetation coverage. Also,overgrazing caused grasslands to be degraded. Before the mid-1970s,desertification was rapidly developed in Ejinhollo,one of counties in Inner Mongolia located in a semiarid area of China. Since 1976,the government and people have been conducting a variety of measures to combat desertification,including reforestation,railing animal husbandry,and increasing agricultural inputs. With the eco-restoration,the land use structure was being changed. The desertification was consequently controlled and the land use tended to be sustainable. The land use structure consisting primarily of grass,shrub,and forest was found to be a reasonable. Coal mining was found to be the driver of industrialization and urbanization in Ejinhollo. With rapid industrialization and urbanization,farmers can get more job opportunities except from agriculture. Population pressure on land was decreasing. Eco-restoration and reforestation were implemented. Therefore,the land use structure was converted into a suitable pattern. With increasing fiscal revenue,the local government has increased input for eco-restoration,converting farmlands into grasslands or forestlands and changing grazing to railing animal husbandry. Because of the suitable land use structure and land use patterns,the desertification was controlled. Only industrialization and urbanization can sustain people and keep a suitable land structure that can prevent land from desertification.