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The lower Yangtze, eastern China, was colonized by several Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures giving rise to possibly the highest concentration of prehistoric sites in the world. Early Neolithic cultures in the delta region cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) and agricultural developments appear to have occurred throughout the Neolithic with abrupt socio-economic changes possibly associated with the terminal Neolithic. Given the extensive history of environmental exploitation and well-preserved archaeological sites, the Yangtze delta is an ideal setting to explore the complex interactions between humans and their environment. Multiproxies of environmental changes, namely pollen, charcoal and phytoliths, in a 14C AMS-dated sequence of sediments from an exposed profile at Qingpu, Yangtze delta, were investigated. 14C AMS dating indicates that the age range of the sedimentary sequence analysed is from c. 1800 to 6000 BP, and therefore encompasses the terminal Neolithic and subsequent Bronze Age in the region. This paper reviews this sediment-based evidence in the light of current understanding of human-environment interactions during a critical phase of the development of the Yangtze delta and associated human cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a traditional agricultural country, China has a long history of agricultural ecological development in the Yangtze River Basin. The Chengdu Plain, the Hanjiang Plain and the Dongting Lake Plain in the Yangtze Economic Belt are all important commodity grain bases in China. The concept of the Yangtze River Economic Belt was proposed in 2016, establishing a new pattern of development of "one axis, two wings, three levels and more" in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. This article combines the advantages of agricultural ecological construction in the Yangtze River Economic Belt with the development data in recent years and analyzes them. Pointed out the advantages and disadvantages of agricultural ecological development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and it is hoped that these advantages and disadvantages will promote the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the modernization of agriculture. The proposal of the concept of the economic belt in the Yangtze River plays an important role in driving the economic and agricultural development in the Yangtze River valley and in exploring the level of agricultural ecological development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and in realizing the modernization of agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]