Spatial-temporal variations of food provision in China

Abstract

In this study, Cropland Food production data of China in recent 25 years were collected and spatialized with ArcGIS tools. Then all food productions were converted to food nutrition index, showing how much food nutrition China can supply. The spatial structure of food provision in China was shown in the result maps. Food provision related mean centers and population mean centers were calculated with ArcGIS tools. The dynamic evolvement of each kind of food provision mean centers was analyzed contrastively; aiming to find out the situation and change trends of food provision and the relationship between food and population. Results show that, in 2000, the cropland in China produced 1.469×1015 kcal of food calorie, 4.315×107t of food protein and 1.314×107t of food fat, which can supply for 1754, 1751 and 444 million persons under primary well-to-do life. Food calorie and food protein were far more than self-sufficient but food fat faced with great deficiency. Food-provision-related mean centers all distributed in the North China Plain, while population mean center was located in Central China, south to the centers of food provision. From 1980 to 2005, food mean centers showed a generally northwards moving trend: mean centers of cropland, grain production, food calorie, food protein and food fat moved 199 km north-westwards, 270 km northwards, 230 km northwards, 360 km northwards, and 290 km northwards, respectively. From 1990 to 2005, mean centers of crops, meat and population showed the following moving trends: rice 118 km north-eastwards, wheat 59.6 km south-eastwards, maize 311 km south-westwards, soybean 267.1 km north-eastwards, oilseeds 33.7 km south-eastwards, meat 433.2 km north-eastwards and population 12.1 km south-eastwards.