Grain gain or loss (IMAGE)
Caption
Impact of cropland redistribution on grain production in China during 1990 to 2015. (A) spatial change in grain production, (B) Change in total grain production. Cropland redistribution contributed to a 4.5% reduction in grain production (equivalent to feeding 57×106 people), although the total cropland area remained steady. On average, one ton of grain production needs only 0.10 ha, 0.19 ha, or 0.18 ha of croplands in SE, SW, or N China, which have relatively high yield (on average 8.53 t ha-1 yr-1) and two or three crop rotations. Whereas 0.35 ha in NW China or 0.22 ha in NE China is needed to produce the same amount of grain, which has relatively low yields (on average 2.89 t ha-1 yr-1 and 4.50 t ha-1 yr-1, respectively) and one crop rotation. NE and NW China are two hot regions for increasing grain production and contribute a total grain of 2011 ×104 t yr-1 and 1042 ×104 t yr-1, respectively.
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