Exploring the Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Winter Rape on the Middle Reaches of Yangtze River Valley Using Time-Series MODIS Data

Jianbin Tao, Wenbin Wu, Wenbin Liu and Meng Xu
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Jianbin Tao: Key Laboratory for Geographical Process Analysis & Simulation of Hubei province, School of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Wenbin Wu: Key Laboratory of Agricultural Remote Sensing, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Ministry of Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China
Wenbin Liu: State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430070, China
Meng Xu: Key Laboratory for Geographical Process Analysis & Simulation of Hubei province, School of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 2, 1-12

Abstract: Rapeseed is an important oil product in China. China’s current soybean trade issues with major soybean producing countries have caused a large decline in soybean import since 2017. This may bring the increasing needs of rapeseed import, which would have an impact on domestic production. However, our knowledge on the effects of international rapeseed trade on domestic production remains unknown. It is thus important to understand the pattern of rapeseed in China under this scenario, as it may provide necessary information for all relevant stakeholders. With this goal, this study aims to investigate the spatial and temporal patterns of winter rape in China’s major winter rape production region, the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River Valley (MYR), during 2003–2015 using time-series Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. A decision tree according to the difference in enhanced vegetation index (EVI) profiles of land-cover types was built to extract winter rape. The results show that there is an essential decrease in both the number and density of winter rape patches under the opening global rapeseed market. There are significant hotspots of winter rape gain and loss, within which the loss dominated the trend. The significant cost advantage of rapeseed in the international market may largely reduce the domestic cultivation in China through telecoupling effects. Understanding the spatio-temporal dynamics of winter rape on the MYR has significant economic and policy implications and can provide great supports for the agricultural production, policy-making, and oil products trade in the international market.

Keywords: international rapeseed trade; winter rape; spatio-temporal patterns; MYR; time-series MODIS data (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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