Resource and Environmental Pressures on the Transformation of Planting Industry in Arid Oasis

Abstract

Controlling environmental pollutant discharge and water resource demand is crucial for the sustainable development of agriculture and rural areas in arid oases. Taking Ganzhou, an arid oasis in Northwest China, as an example, we established an analysis framework for the relationship between the planting industry transformation and the resource and environmental pressures, from 2011 to 2020, through the methods of inventory, coefficient and quota accounting. The results showed that the planting scale of crops in oases has continuously expanded, with a structural dominance of corn seed production. Pollutant discharge showed a “Z”-type evolution trend, and the demand for water consumption continued to increase. The transformation of the planting industry and pollutant discharge showed coupled trade-offs and a synergetic alternating fluctuations coupling relationship, which was highly co-evolutionary with the demand for water resources. Crop planting exhibited four spatial patterns, namely the mixed planting area of grain and cash crops grown in mountain areas (GCPA), suburban scale vegetable planting (SVPA), planting of seed production corn (MSPA), and the compound planting area of grain crops, oil crops, vegetables, and other characteristic crops (CMPA). MSPA and SVPA had the highest total and average volume per unit area, respectively. The planting industry transformation and evolution of resource and environment pressures are closely related to changes in national strategies, regional agricultural policies, and environmental regulations. Therefore, studying their relationships provides a scientific basis for the formulation of suitable countermeasures, according to the development stage of a region.