EFFECTS OF THE CONTROL OF ECOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT IN LINXI COUNTY,INNER MONGOLIA

Wei Qi,Wang Daolong,Tang Huajun,Yang Qiang (Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning,Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences,Beijing 100081)

agro-grazing ecotone;return cultivated land to pastures; control project of eco-environment; Linxi County of Inner Mongolia

Linxi County of Inner Mongolia is an important part of the agro-grazing ecotone in North China. Ecological vulnerability is a common characteristic of the ecotone. This paper intends to discuss the forces driving the vulnerability of ecosystem in Linxi County of the ecotone and the effective techniques required for the control of eco-environment. In recent years several eco-engineering campaigns have been launched to maintain the sustainable development of social-economic system in the ecotone. Our study in Linxi County demonstrates that the measure of shifting cropland into the grassland may represent the direction of the control of eco-environment in the ecotone,where arid and semid arid environment dominates the landscape so that pastoral grazing is the main economic activity for many herds. The grassland reconstruction campaign can bring benefits not only to the ecosystem but also to the social economic development because it can cause the change of cropping structure and land use pattern in the ecotone. Therefore,it is very necessary to monitor the ecological vulnerability for future control of eco-environment in the ecotone.