Land Reclamation Process in Northeast China since 1900

Abstract

Northeast China is an important agricultural region in China. The Northeast Plain is the largest plain inthe country and one of the three famous black soil zones in the world. Despite of fertility of the soil, however, large-scaleagricultural development mainly took place since 1900. The land exploitation and utilization has been fast and intensivein this region since then and change in the land-cover process has been remarkable. Both national and international re-searchers on land use and land cover are paying more attention to these processes in this region and their implication forlocal ecological environment. This article discusses the land reclamation processes and their main driving forces in North-east China since 1900. According to the research, the 20th century was the most important period for land reclamationin Northeast China. In these years the rate, intensity and quantity of land reclamation have been staggering, and morethan 100 000km2 of land was converted into farmland. This magnitude of land reclamation inland is unique in the world.Research on the land reclamation of Northeast China can provide some data on the effect of human activity on environ-ment. As in many other places in the world, the primary driving force of reclamation in Northeast China was the increas-ing pressure of population. In the 20th century the population increased from 10 × 106 to 110 × 106 in Northeast Chinaand from 400 × 106 to 1.3 × 109 in China. Population pressure is thus the most important driving force for land reclama-tion.