Research On Soil And Water Conservation In Gaoxigou,Mizhi County(1949-1981)

Gaoxigou is located in Mizhi County,Yulin City,Shaanxi Province,and is a typical representative of the Loess Hills and Gullies area in northern Shaanxi.Under the joint action of natural factors and man-made destruction for a long time,the serious soil erosion in Gaoxigou not only restricts the development of agricultural production,but also causes great harm,it can be said that "the mountain is bare,the ditch is chaotic rocks,yearly disaster,ten years nine harvests.Coupled with the long-term unreasonable socioeconomic activities of the masses,Gaoxigou is caught in a vicious circle of "the poorer the reclamation,the poorer the reclamation".On the other hand,the Yellow River flooding for a long time,to reduce the silt,the eradication of the Yellow River is a major concern of the rulers of successive dynasties.The establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 laid a solid political foundation for managing soil erosion on the Loess Plateau,and it can be said that the management of the Yellow River ushered in spring.Soil and water conservation is an important initiative to transform nature and an important measure to increase agricultural production.After the founding of New China,the importance of soil and water conservation has become more and more prominent with the need to build mountainous areas and eradicate the Yellow River.At the end of 1952,the State Council put forward the policy of soil and water conservation in China for the first time in a more comprehensive manner,and Shaanxi Province also started the prelude of soil and water conservation according to the policy of "general understanding,focus on trial",while Gaoxigou,where soil erosion was serious,was still managed by traditional means.From 1955 to 1957,two national conferences on soil and water conservation were held one after another,which gradually established the policy of "treating both ditches and slopes and treating slopes mainly",which played a positive role in unifying the understanding and guiding the work of soil and water conservation.During this period,the work of soil and water conservation in Gaoxigou began to take off,and the masses accumulated experience in management by damming and stopping mud,planting trees and making sloping terraces.With the "Great Leap Forward" and the rapid development of people’s communes in rural areas,the country has set off a climax of soil and water conservation.In order to mobilize the masses to join the cause of soil and water conservation,the Party Branch of Gaoxigou has taken many mobilization measures for the different situations of cadres and masses,which to a certain extent ensures the normal implementation of soil and water conservation work.During the period of collectivization,the Gaoxigou brigade took a series of measures to control soil erosion according to the policies of "food as the outline,multiple management" and "soil as the first,comprehensive management of water,soil and forest".Gaoxigou brigade not only builds high-yielding stable level terraces,but also gradually improves the degree of agricultural water conservatization and mechanization.In addition,the Gaoxigou brigade to take engineering measures and biological measures combined,"agriculture to promote herding,herding to promote agriculture," the way of management,so that agriculture,forestry,herding has been developed,creating a forest,grass,field each covers one third of the-The "three-three system".On the other hand,in order to ensure that soil and water conservation work is carried out in an orderly manner,the Gaoxigou brigade has taken corresponding management measures.Gaoxigou brigade set up a farmland infrastructure team and other professional organizations,accepting the unified mobilization of the production brigade,and strengthen the leadership building,to ensure the stability of the leadership team.At the same time,the party branch of Gaoxigou cultivated model workers mainly from the poor peasants,and did ideological and political work in production to further mobilize the enthusiasm of the community members.When the Gaoxigou brigade initially carried out the distribution of earnings,it was able to resist the "communist wind" and insist on the principle of distribution according to labor,and gradually improved the system of distributing work points and rations as well as organizing collective welfare undertakings to ensure the orderly implementation of soil and water conservation work.By taking comprehensive management measures such as building terraces on the mountain,planting forests on the slope and planting grasses on the barge,Gaoxigou has achieved remarkable management results and played a positive role in controlling soil erosion,improving labor productivity,increasing food production and promoting farmers’ income.By 1978,most of the mountains and ditches in Gaoxigou had been comprehensively managed,and soil erosion was basically controlled,so that "water did not go down the mountains and mud did not come out of the ditches".The labour productivity of the Gaoxigou brigade was also improved,so that the land was fully utilized and the people were put to good use.In addition,Gaoxigou’s food production trend has increased significantly,ensuring that the community members have enough food to eat and breaking the dilemma of agricultural "monopoly".On the basis of ensuring agricultural production,Gaoxigou insists on the unified management of mountains,water,fields,forests and roads,and carries out various operations in agriculture,forestry,animal husbandry,vice and fishery,so that the per capita income of farmers has increased significantly,and is much higher than the per capita net income of farmers in Mili County,realizing the beautiful vision of "beautiful village,beautiful scenery and rich people".Soil and water conservation is a long-term,comprehensive and arduous task.As a typical example of soil erosion control in northern Shaanxi,Gaoxigou is a microcosm of the development of soil and water conservation in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River.By exploring the development of soil and water conservation in Gaoxigou and summarizing its management effectiveness,we can provide certain historical experience for soil and water conservation and ecological management today.