湖南地处我国东部季风湿润区中亚热带,境内自然条件优越,农业自然资源丰富。全省土地面积占全国国土总面积的2.1％,耕地占全国耕地面积的3.3％,森林面积占全国森林总面积5.6％,森林蓄积量居全国的第14位,河川径流量占全国总径流量的7.9％。本省农业自然资源开发利用历史悠久,资源开发利用水平较高,全省已有粮食、生猪、油料等资源产品在国内占有一定地位。但是,同全省资源量及潜力相比,仍不相称。为了充分合理发挥资源优势,发展农业生产,必须认识和了解全省农业自然资源的特点,分析研究其结构、利用状况及存在问题,从而提出合理开发利用的正确方向与途径。

Hunan Province is in the middle part of the subtropical zone in China and in the transition region of the eastern and western parts of the mid-subtropics. The natural environment and re- sources are imbued with a distinct transition characteristic. Within the Hunan Province the natural condition is advantageous, the structure of natural resources of agriculture is fine, as well as the utilization ratio of land and energy of sunlight is high. But the resources are affected by regional distinctions of the natural and social economy, and present a distinct regional transition. This paper makes a primary investigation mainly on the reginal distinctions, the present condition of exploitation and utilization, and the orientation of rational exploitation anduilization of resources.The forests, the cultivated land and grassland resources are the three major sectors of agricultural natural resources. Hunan is one of the important forestry regions on the south of Changjiang River. Its amount of forest reserves occupies the fourteen position in China. But it is still not reasonably utilized at present and has the tendency to come down. We should strengthen the forestry construction of mountain areas and build Hunan into a large-scale base of timber forests and economic forest in the region on the south of Changjiang River. Hunan is one of the provinces with more people and less cultivated land in China. Although the total output of grain occupies the fourth position in the country, but the exploitation of resources does not balance. It has not yet fully to bring out the productive potentiality of resources. Only in the Basin of Lake Dongting it is possible to be built into one of the largest bases of commodity grain. The fragment, pieces and intersecting distribution of plough and forest are the distinctions of grassland resources of Hunan, which is classified as two types: (1) fragmentary grassland of the low-mountain and hill, (2) the continous grassland of the middle-mountain. In the light of its distinct of the suitability, We should adopt a thousand and one families or the main orientation of utilization of resources. The middle-mountain grassland is the outcome of the unstable stage of abverse succession in ecosyston of evergreen broad-leaf forests. If it is to be used as great grazing land, a prudent altitude should be adopted.