| In order to evaluate the dynamic evolution of cultivated land productivity in Northwest China and assess the overall level of grain production in the country, productivity data in cultivated land of Northwest China during 1982—2012 were analyzed using GIS software. The results showed that cultivated land productivity in northwest area displayed a fluctuating but constantly increasing tendency in a small scale, resulting a three times increase from 2078.28 kg·hm-2 in 1982 to 5643.75 kg·hm-2 in 2012. However, the average annual growth rate was not stable and the inter-annual variation remained large, reaching a historically high value of 23% in 1996. The cultivated land capacity in northwest area became increased significantly (from 0.455in 1982 to 0.749 in 2012), which, however, had always been lower than the national average level (relative index of cultivated land productivity was always less than 1). With time going, grain production centers in the area moved mainly to Xinjiang and Shaanxi that have higher grain production capacity. The pressure index of cultivated land in northwest region showed periodical fluctuations with a slightly decreasing trend, relieving cultivated land pressure to a mild level. The pressure level of cultivated land had always been at warning level II in a certain range(0.91～1.10). |