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Arid Land Geography ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (9): 1815-1825.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2025.685

• Ecology and Environment • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and disaster-inducing factors of crop disasters in the Yellow River Basin

LI Xiaopeng(), JIA Fugui, LEI Shuang, LI Kang   

  1. School of Agricultural and Forestry Economics and Management, Lanzhou University of Finance and Economics, Lanzhou 730020, Gansu, China
  • Received:2025-10-27 Revised:2025-12-20 Online:2026-09-25 Published:2026-09-07

Abstract:

The Yellow River Basin, a region in China acutely vulnerable to ecological damage and prone to agricultural disasters, faces significant challenges from crop failures that threaten both food security and economic development. This study analyzes crop disaster rate data from nine provinces (autonomous regions) in the Yellow River Basin from 2003 to 2023. The study utilizes a comprehensive methodology, including a center-of-gravity migration-standard deviational ellipse, kernel density estimation, the Dagum Gini coefficient, and the geographically and temporally weighted regression model to investigate the spatiotemporal evolution and underlying causes of these disasters. The results revealed the following: (1) The Yellow River Basin experienced an overall decline in its crop disaster rate. (2) The crop disaster rate consistently remained highest in the upper and middle reaches, indicating that these areas bear the brunt of crop disasters. Kernel density estimation further revealed intensifying disparities within the upper reaches, significant internal disparities in the middle reaches, and a polarization phenomenon in the lower reaches. The Dagum Gini coefficient indicated significant overall disparities in the crop disaster rate, primarily driven by differences between regions. (3) The main factors influencing the crop disaster rate in the Yellow River Basin are annual average precipitation, forest coverage, and slope. Slope generally has a positive effect, whereas annual average precipitation and forest coverage have negative effects. These findings offer a scientific basis for developing precise disaster prevention and mitigation strategies, optimizing agricultural planning, and ensuring food security in the Yellow River Basin. This will contribute to achieving ecological protection and high-quality development goals in the region.

Key words: crop disaster rate, spatiotemporal evolution, disaster-inducing factors, GTWR model, Yellow River Basin