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Progress and perspectives of resource use in intercropping system in agro-pastoral ecotone.

ZHANG Yue1,2, DI Wan-tong1,2,5, WANG Jing-jing1,2, DONG Wan-lin1,2,3, YU Yang1,2,4, GOU Fang1,2,4, WANG Qi1, ZHANG Dong-sheng1, GU Sheng-hao1, ZHANG Li-zhen1,2*#br#   

  1. (1Agricultural Meteorology Department, College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; 2Scientific and Observing Experimental Station of AgriEnvironment, Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing 100193, China; 3Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resource Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; 4Centre for Crop Systems Analysis, Wageningen University, Wageningen 6807PB, the Netherlands; 5 Wangdu Meteorological Administration, Hebei Province, Baoding 072450, Hebei, China).
  • Online:2017-09-10 Published:2017-09-10

Abstract: Soil erosion and low use efficiency of natural resources in the agro-pastoral ecotone in northern China have become severe problems especially under climate change, which threatens local food security. Concerning the problems existing in rainfed agriculture in the agro-pastoral ecotone in northern China, we discussed how intercropping improves vegetation cover and roughness to reduce soil wind erosion and nutrient leaching; to accelerate the decomposition of organic matter to improve soil fertility; and to increase resource use efficiencies and yields by temporal and spatial distribution of canopy and root structure and the interaction of different crop combinations. The limiting factors of the intercropping on crop productivity and the mechanisms of interspecific interactions were analyzed. Future researches should focus on the effect of climate change on potential yield and soil fertility of intercropping systems. The combination of field experiments and crop models, i.e. processbased crop simulation models and functionalstructural plant models, would be helpful to explore the mechanism of efficient resource use at organ level and to illuminate how intercropping could mitigate climate risk at regional level.

Key words: spatial analysis, relative importance., building volume, land surface temperature, point of interest