Chinese alfalfa habitat suitability regionalization

Alfalfa is one of the most widely planted perennial forage plants in China and is known as the “king of grass”. With the rapid development of our animal husbandry, the area under alfalfa plantation is increasing every year; as such, the criteria of choosing the suitable species of alfalfa is particularly important to us. According to the existing research foundation, alfalfa suitability regionalization has been done, our study are based on the natural elements ecological suitability model, forage biological characteristics, the actual production of pasture and system analyzed various factors. The results clearly indicated the ecologically suitable distributional areas of alfalfa in the nation, and determined the suitable areas, secondarily suitable areas, and unsuitable areas. The suitable areas for alfalfa cultivation in China are as follows: the Northeastern region, mainly including Jilin, Midwest Liaoning, and some districts in eastern Heilongjiang; Inner Mongolia, including the eastern part of Chifeng, Tongliao, and Xin’an, and the western part of Wulanchabu, Hohhot, and Erdos; the Northwestern region, Gansu, mainly along the Hexi Corridor; as well as Xinjiang, mainly Yili, Changji Hui Autonomous Region, and the peripheral areas of the Tarim Basin. Less suitable alfalfa planting areas were found in the Tibetan plateau, in Qinghai, centered around Xi’ning, Haidong district, Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and parts of Hainan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture; in North China, which consists of Zhangjiakou and the area south of Bashang, Chengde. The Loess Plateau, where most areas are proper. Anhui, northern Jiangsu and northwest Hubei in Central of China are suitable areas. The suitable areas in the southwest include northern Yunnan, Bijie, Guizhou, and Chengdu, and Deyang, Suining, and the southern part of Mianyang in the Sichuan province.