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Land
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Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development
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Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Socio-Economic and Political Issues".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (22 February 2023) | Viewed by 29300

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Dingde Xu

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Guest Editor
Sichuan Center for Rural Development Research, College of Management, Sichuan Agricultural University, 211 Huimin Road, Wenjiang District, Chengdu 611130, China
Interests: land use policy; sustainable livelihoods and poverty; emergency management; rural sustainable development; climate change and behavioral response; resources and environment policy; policy evaluation; rural revitalization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Shili Guo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Economics, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 610074, China
Interests: farmers’ livelihood; ecological protection; green and low carbon; disaster economy; sustainable development; resource and environmental carrying capacity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Shaoquan Liu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
Interests: land use policy; sustainable development of mountain areas; sustainable livelihoods for farmers; resources and environment policy; rural sustainable development; land use transformation; rural revitalization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Since the reform and opening up, China's urban and rural areas have been undergoing rapid development and transformation driven by various social and economic policies. The interaction of urban and rural factors leads to the drastic transformation of land use in both depth and breadth. In the process of rapid transformation, rural regional development faces many negative effects, such as non-agricultural factors of production, old and weak social subject of farmers, increasingly empty and abandoned rural construction land, and polluted rural water and soil. How to realize sustainable agricultural development through the rational utilization of land resources is an urgent problem that deserves attention and needs to be solved. This Special Issue is dedicated to building a theoretical and practical research platform for studies exploring rural land use transformation and agricultural sustainable development. Original research and review articles in this research field are welcome. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Rural land use transformation, farmland protection and food security;
  • Rural land use transformation and sustainable livelihood of farmers;
  • Rural land use transformation and rural industrial development;
  • Spatial-temporal processes and dynamic mechanisms of rural land use transition.

Dr. Dingde Xu
Dr. Shili Guo
Dr. Shaoquan Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • land use transformation
  • land use policy
  • food security
  • sustainable rural development
  • agricultural systems
  • climate change
  • rural revitalization

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Published Papers (17 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 1032 KiB  
Article
Land Transfer or Trusteeship: Can Agricultural Production Socialization Services Promote Grain Scale Management?
by Ziming Zhou, Kaihua Zhang, Haitao Wu, Chen Liu and Zhiming Yu
Land 2023, 12(4), 797; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12040797 - 31 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1116
Abstract
Grain Scale Management (GSM) is a crucial factor in ensuring national food security. However, in countries facing rigid resource constraints and complex land tenure relationships, the strategy of promoting large-scale grain management through land management rights transfer may not be sustainable. Therefore, based [...] Read more.
Grain Scale Management (GSM) is a crucial factor in ensuring national food security. However, in countries facing rigid resource constraints and complex land tenure relationships, the strategy of promoting large-scale grain management through land management rights transfer may not be sustainable. Therefore, based on the traditional agricultural division of labor theory, we analyze the mechanism and rationality of Agricultural Production Socialization Services (APSS) with scale characteristics to promote GSM and propose a new approach to GSM with empirical evidence from China. Using county-level panel data from Hubei province spanning from 2010 to 2021, we construct a multi-period double difference model based on the difference in the time of the establishment of pilot agricultural production socialization service counties in Hubei province. Our empirical results demonstrate the role of APSS in promoting GSM at the macro level. Specifically, the establishment of pilot counties for APSS significantly improves the level of local GSM. Furthermore, our study reveals that the degree of local financial intervention, regional industrial structure, and regional topography have heterogeneous effects on the implementation of the policy. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development)
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21 pages, 1590 KiB  
Article
Homesteads, Identity, and Urbanization of Migrant Workers
by Weite Cheng, Shuiyuan Cheng, Haitao Wu and Qian Wu
Land 2023, 12(3), 666; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12030666 - 12 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1578
Abstract
The key to advancing urbanization is to promote the urban integration of numerous migrant workers. Two stages of decision making are involved for migrant workers, including residence (staying in cities) and settlement (transferring hukou into cities). The homestead is a necessity for migrant [...] Read more.
The key to advancing urbanization is to promote the urban integration of numerous migrant workers. Two stages of decision making are involved for migrant workers, including residence (staying in cities) and settlement (transferring hukou into cities). The homestead is a necessity for migrant workers to keep their “peasant” status, which will further affect migrant workers’ identification with cities and influence their decision making towards urbanization. This paper uses data from the 2017 China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS), through the coarsened exact matching (CEM) method and the analysis of mediation effects, to estimate how homesteads influence migrant workers’ urbanization intention and how the sense of identity serves as a mediator variable in this mechanism. Empirical results show that the ownership of homesteads is negatively correlated with migrant workers’ urbanization intention. Migrant workers with homesteads are 1.2% less likely to stay and 4.4% less likely to settle down in cities compared with their counterparts who do not have a homestead. In addition, identity plays a mediating role in the influence mechanism of homesteads on migrant workers’ urbanization intention. That is, the homestead has an indirect effect on migrant workers’ willingness to stay and settle down in cites through the sense of identity, aside from its direct effects. The mediation effect accounts for 20.87% of the total effect for willingness to stay and 25.63% of the total effect for willingness to settle down. This paper also represents how these coefficients vary by different regions and migration distances. Therefore, policymakers should provide institutional support for correctly guiding migrant workers to “abandon their land and enter the city” and strengthen their sense of identity to the city. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development)
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13 pages, 1064 KiB  
Article
Effects of Land Transfer on Farmer Households’ Straw Resource Utilization in Rural Western China
by Fengwan Zhang, Wenfeng Zhou, Jia He, Chen Qing and Dingde Xu
Land 2023, 12(2), 373; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020373 - 30 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1395
Abstract
With the continuous emphasis of the country on the construction of ecological civilization, promoting the utilization of straw resources has become an important measure to achieve green agricultural development. Based on the survey data of 540 households in Sichuan Province and under the [...] Read more.
With the continuous emphasis of the country on the construction of ecological civilization, promoting the utilization of straw resources has become an important measure to achieve green agricultural development. Based on the survey data of 540 households in Sichuan Province and under the guidance of the theory of planned behavior, this paper constructed the IV-Probit model to explore the impact of land transfer on the straw resource utilization of households. The results show that: (1) land transfer in and land transfer out can significantly promote the utilization of straw resources by farmers. (2) Heterogeneity analysis showed that land transfer in had a positive effect on crop straw utilization of the new generation and large-scale farmers. (3) Land transfer in can promote the utilization of straw resources by improving farmers’ economic cognition and efficacy cognition; land transfer out can promote the utilization of straw resources by improving farmers’ efficacy cognition. Accordingly, the government should improve the land transfer market, increase technology propaganda, and create an excellent policy environment to promote farmers’ participation in straw resource utilization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development)
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15 pages, 892 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Peasants Differentiation on Peasants’ Willingness and Behavior Transformation of Land Transfer: Evidence from Sichuan Province, China
by Zhixing Ma, Ruiping Ran and Dingde Xu
Land 2023, 12(2), 338; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020338 - 26 Jan 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1357
Abstract
Based on the survey data of 540 peasants in Sichuan Province, the probit and unordered multi-classification logistic model regression models were used to explore peasants’ differentiation on the transformation of willingness and behavior of land transfer and to provide a theoretical and empirical [...] Read more.
Based on the survey data of 540 peasants in Sichuan Province, the probit and unordered multi-classification logistic model regression models were used to explore peasants’ differentiation on the transformation of willingness and behavior of land transfer and to provide a theoretical and empirical basis for promoting land intensification and large-scale management. The results show the following: (1) There is a significant negative correlation between the intention and behavior of part-time peasants, multiple occupations peasants, and non-agricultural peasants. (2) Part-time peasants and non-agricultural peasants promoted the change in willingness and behavior of land transfer out; part-time peasants, multiple occupations peasants, and non-agricultural peasants all promoted the willingness and behavior transformation of land transfer in. (3) The heterogeneity analysis results show that different household heads ages, the proportion of labor force in the total population of the household, and the terrain of cultivated land significantly impact peasants’ willingness and behavior of land transfer. Peasants’ non-agricultural differentiation is an important way to promote the rapid development of land transfer. The government should strengthen skills training and guidance services, broaden the channels for peasants to increase income, optimize the market environment of land transfer, and improve the social security system related to land transfer in order to promote the industrialization and large-scale development of agriculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development)
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21 pages, 19280 KiB  
Article
Rural Development under Poverty Governance: The Relationship between Rural Income and Land Use Transformation in Yunnan Province
by Xinyu Shi, Xiaoqing Zhao, Pei Huang, Zexian Gu, Junwei Pu, Shijie Zhou, Guoxun Qu, Qiaoqiao Zhao, Yan Feng, Yanjun Chen and Aimeng Xiang
Land 2023, 12(2), 290; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020290 - 19 Jan 2023
Viewed by 1424
Abstract
The process of eliminating absolute poverty is inevitable for China’s social and economic transformation. However, there are currently few studies on the relationship between land use transformation (LUT) and rural income under different stages of poverty governance. This study, therefore, uses spatial autocorrelation [...] Read more.
The process of eliminating absolute poverty is inevitable for China’s social and economic transformation. However, there are currently few studies on the relationship between land use transformation (LUT) and rural income under different stages of poverty governance. This study, therefore, uses spatial autocorrelation analysis and a multiscale geographic weighted regression (MGWR) model to explore the mechanisms of LUT on rural income and its spatiotemporal heterogeneity in Yunnan Province during the comprehensive poverty alleviation (CPA) period and the targeted poverty alleviation (TPA) period at the county scale. The results demonstrate that: (1) the numbers of both low-income and high-income counties continued to decrease, while the number of middle-high-income counties increased, and rural income demonstrated a positive spatial correlation. (2) Most of the variables in the dominant recessive increased in the CPA and decreased in the TPA period. As for recessive morphology, the ecological function variables decreased first and then increased. (3) The driving force of dominant morphology is strong and sustained, and the driving force of recessive morphology is gradually enhanced. The results are vital for consolidating the results of poverty eradication and bridging rural revitalization. They may also provide useful references for sustainable land use and effective poverty alleviation in other developing countries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development)
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14 pages, 925 KiB  
Article
Impact of Land Property Rights Security Cognition on Farmland Quality Protection: Evidence from Chinese Farmers
by Laiyou Zhou, Hua Lu and Jinlang Zou
Land 2023, 12(1), 188; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12010188 - 06 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1409
Abstract
The stability or security of property rights plays an important role in stimulating the investment of economic entities, which can prevent or alleviate the degradation of land resources and improve the efficiency of agricultural management. This paper focuses on the perspective of land [...] Read more.
The stability or security of property rights plays an important role in stimulating the investment of economic entities, which can prevent or alleviate the degradation of land resources and improve the efficiency of agricultural management. This paper focuses on the perspective of land property rights security awareness, analyzes its impact on farmers’ cultivated land quality protection behavior, and, on the basis of a theoretical analysis framework linking the two, uses farmer survey data from southern Jiangxi Province and the probit model to empirically analyze the impact of farmers’ land property rights security awareness on their cultivated land quality protection behavior. The results show that the improvement in farmers’ awareness of land property rights security could significantly improve their probability of applying farmyard manure. This conclusion is proven to be robust by means of a replacement model and adjustment variables. Moreover, it is found that the influence of land property rights security cognition on farmyard manure application differs among farmers by age, degree of part-time work and land scale. Finally, we can draw inspiration for improving the effective implementation of public policies and increasing the publicity of legal knowledge of land property rights to improve farmers’ awareness and consideration of land property rights security. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development)
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18 pages, 2220 KiB  
Article
Does Rural Operation System Reform Enhance Agricultural Output? Evidence from Sichuan Province
by Ai Rui, Xiao Shishun and Martinson Ankrah Twumasi
Land 2022, 11(12), 2285; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11122285 - 13 Dec 2022
Viewed by 1102
Abstract
Rural operation system reform is vital in promoting rural revitalisation and agricultural and rural modernisation in China. Based on the sample data of 153 counties in Sichuan Province from 2012 to 2020, this paper constructs a PSM-DID evaluation model to analyse the effectiveness [...] Read more.
Rural operation system reform is vital in promoting rural revitalisation and agricultural and rural modernisation in China. Based on the sample data of 153 counties in Sichuan Province from 2012 to 2020, this paper constructs a PSM-DID evaluation model to analyse the effectiveness of rural operation system reform on agricultural development from the perspective of policy action mechanism, variable differentiation and other aspects. The results show that: (1) rural operation system reform has significantly boosted the economic development of the counties implementing the pilot reform of the rural operation system; (2) rural operation system reform mainly has two components: rural land system reform and agriculture organisation innovation; both have an impact on county economic and social development, but the degrees of impact are different; (3) the effectiveness of the rural operation system reform policy has a specific time lag. The results of this paper enrich the effectiveness evaluation of the reform policy on economic development and have policy implications for further promotion of agricultural and rural reform in China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development)
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15 pages, 1184 KiB  
Article
Employment Transfer of Rural Female Labor and Family Welfare Effect in Mountainous Areas: An Empirical Analysis Based on Panel Data
by Yue Shui, Jia Zhong, Yingjie Yang, Yajie Zeng and Shaoquan Liu
Land 2022, 11(12), 2134; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11122134 - 26 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1179
Abstract
Improving the understanding of rural female labor employment transfer and its impact on family welfare is of great significance to the improvement of rural family welfare and the rational transfer of labor forces. However, there are few studies on the effect of rural [...] Read more.
Improving the understanding of rural female labor employment transfer and its impact on family welfare is of great significance to the improvement of rural family welfare and the rational transfer of labor forces. However, there are few studies on the effect of rural female transfer and there is a lack of comprehensive quantitative measurement and mechanism analysis of influences of female employment transfer on themselves and their families. Based on the peasant household survey in the mountainous rural areas of Sichuan Province, China, in 2013, 2016, and 2019, results were organized as panel data and divided the employment features into three aspects: employment industry, employment locations and whether the migrant was working or not. The family welfare effects (impact on children and impact on the elderly) of rural female labor transfer for employment were investigated by using the fixed effect and random effect regression models. Some major conclusions could be drawn: (1) age, education degree, employment industry and locations of rural females all had a significant impact on their children’s education degree; (2) age, urbanization rate and industry of rural females had a significant impact on their number of children; (3) age, education degree of females, employment location and urbanization rate had a significant positive influence on the number of elderly in the family: only the age of rural females had a significant negative influence on the health condition of the elderly. This study can enhance our understanding of the relationship between rural women’s employment and family welfare effects, the results can provide a reference for rural women’s rational employment mobility and maximizing of family welfare. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development)
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21 pages, 642 KiB  
Article
Measurement of Supply-and Demand-Side Endowment Effects and Analysis of Their Influencing Factors in Agricultural Land Transfer
by Hanying Zhang, Jiafen Li, Jinlong Shen and Jianfeng Song
Land 2022, 11(11), 2053; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11112053 - 16 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1619
Abstract
For a long time, the transference of land-contracting management rights was hindered by the unwillingness of farmers and inefficient use of farmland. The endowment effect is prevalent for farmers and is the main reason for the inhibited flow of farmland. However, recent studies [...] Read more.
For a long time, the transference of land-contracting management rights was hindered by the unwillingness of farmers and inefficient use of farmland. The endowment effect is prevalent for farmers and is the main reason for the inhibited flow of farmland. However, recent studies have evaluated the endowment effect by treating buyers and sellers as one subject, which cannot be applied to individual land transfer transactions. Therefore, this paper redefines the endowment effect of farmland management rights by introducing market price as a reference point to evaluate the level of the supply- and demand-side endowment effects. The supply-side endowment effect is the gap between sellers’ willingness to accept and the market rent; the demand-side endowment effect is the gap between the market rent and buyers’ willingness to pay. In the empirical study, two multiple regression models are designed to measure the respective factors affecting the supply and demand sides, employing farm household survey data in Shaanxi Province. The obtained results reveal that the agricultural land transfer in Shaanxi Province is at a normal proportional level, and the supply- and demand-side endowment effects in agricultural land transfer are prevalent. The dependence of people on goods and the substitutability of the goods significantly affect the endowment effect of supply-side farmers, while the perception of expected income, cost and risk impact the endowment effect of demand-side farmers. Based on this, some policy recommendations are proposed to offset the influence of the endowment effect, thus promoting the development of the farmland transfer market. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development)
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16 pages, 1757 KiB  
Article
Securing the Harvest for the Smallholder Farmer in Rwanda: Fragmented or Consolidated Farmland Use?
by Uwacu Alban Singirankabo, Maurits Willem Ertsen and Nick van de Giesen
Land 2022, 11(11), 2023; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11112023 - 11 Nov 2022
Viewed by 1335
Abstract
The year 2007 marked the beginning of a journey to secure food in Rwanda. The country introduced the Crop Intensification Program (CIP), which promotes the farmland use consolidation (LUC). This study assesses the effect of farmland use changes on the agriculture production. We [...] Read more.
The year 2007 marked the beginning of a journey to secure food in Rwanda. The country introduced the Crop Intensification Program (CIP), which promotes the farmland use consolidation (LUC). This study assesses the effect of farmland use changes on the agriculture production. We collected data at four research sites and considered three agriculture years to assess the effect of the fragmented or consolidated farmland use on the harvest. The study confirms that the CIP/LUC program converted perennial crops, mainly banana plantations, into seasonal crops, which were prioritized by the program. Overall, we conclude that the shift in farmland use has created an increase in both the harvest and monetary yields of the prioritized crops. However, within that general trend, we observe differences: farmers with smaller and/or fewer farm plots did not realize as great a yield increase as those who joined the CIP/LUC program with larger and/or multiple farm plots. While contributing to an understanding of the ongoing agriculture transformation program in Rwanda, this study followed a statistical approach that could be used by new studies assessing the benefits and outcomes of development policies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development)
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24 pages, 4884 KiB  
Article
Assessment and Comparison of Agricultural Technology Development under Different Farmland Management Modes: A Case Study of Grain Production, China
by Hui Luo, Zhaomin Hu, Xiuping Hao, Nawab Khan and Xiaojie Liu
Land 2022, 11(11), 1895; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11111895 - 25 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1643
Abstract
Agricultural technological change plays a crucial role in food security and agricultural development. In the case of considering economic risks and technical risk tolerance, farmers will use different technologies to match production factors to achieve the optimal production state. Therefore, under different farmland [...] Read more.
Agricultural technological change plays a crucial role in food security and agricultural development. In the case of considering economic risks and technical risk tolerance, farmers will use different technologies to match production factors to achieve the optimal production state. Therefore, under different farmland management modes, farms show different characteristics of technological progress. This paper attempts to compare and analyze agricultural technology development under different farmland management modes: the unified management mode of collective organizations (UMCO) and the decentralized management mode of contracted families (DMCF). The Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) of the translog average production function was applied to the 24 farms of the Hulunbuir Agricultural Reclamation Group, of which 11 farms in the western part of the Greater Khingan Mountains (Western Farms) were managed by the DMCF, and the other 13 farms in the eastern part of the Greater Khingan Mountains (Eastern Farms) were managed by the UMCO. The results are as follows: (1) without considering the resource allocation efficiency, from 2000 to 2019, the generalized technological progress rate (TFPG) of the 13 Eastern Farms (7.65%) was higher than that of the Western Farms (2.25%). (2) The returns to scale (SRC) of the Western Farms was higher than that of the Eastern Farms. (3) The technological efficiency change rate (TEC) and the technical progress (TP) of the Eastern Farms is higher than that of the Western Farms. It is recommended that farms strengthen the construction of their infrastructure and service systems, resist natural disasters, reduce the disaster’s impact on technological progress, give full play to the overall planning advantages of the collective organizations, improve the product allocation efficiency factors, and create connotative profit points. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development)
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14 pages, 607 KiB  
Article
Rural Land Transfer in the Information Age: Can Internet Use Affect Farmers’ Land Transfer-In?
by Fengwan Zhang, Xueling Bao, Xin Deng and Dingde Xu
Land 2022, 11(10), 1761; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11101761 - 11 Oct 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 1772
Abstract
Land transfer is an essential prerequisite for moderate-scale operation. Using the internet realizes the rational allocation of resources and promotes the development of agriculture and rural areas. Based on the data of 8198 farmers surveyed in the 2016 China Labor Dynamics Survey, the [...] Read more.
Land transfer is an essential prerequisite for moderate-scale operation. Using the internet realizes the rational allocation of resources and promotes the development of agriculture and rural areas. Based on the data of 8198 farmers surveyed in the 2016 China Labor Dynamics Survey, the conditional mixed estimation method (CMP) was used to analyze how the internet use of rural households affects their land transfer-in. The results showed that: (1) There was a significant negative correlation between internet use and land transfer-in, and the marginal effect was 0.206. (2) Internet use can affect land transfer-in through social networks and the stability of off-farm employment. Among them, social networks have a positive mediating effect, which is 0.026%. The non-agricultural employment stability of the labor force has a negative mediating effect, which is 0.51%. (3) Internet use has no significant heterogeneity in land management scale, income, or suburb status, but there is heterogeneity in the way of surfing the internet. This research can deepen our understanding of the relationship between internet use and land transfer-in, and provide a reference for rural digital construction and land transfer-related policy formulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development)
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17 pages, 3858 KiB  
Article
Spatial Differentiation and Driving Mechanism of Agricultural Multifunctions in Economically Developed Areas: A Case Study of Jiangsu Province, China
by Rongtian Zhang and Ming Chen
Land 2022, 11(10), 1728; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11101728 - 05 Oct 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1471
Abstract
Revealing the spatial patterns of differentiation and the driving mechanism of agricultural multifunctional patterns is an important aspect of coordinating the functional optimisation and coordinated development of different agricultural regions. On the basis of understanding the connotation of agricultural multiple functions, this paper [...] Read more.
Revealing the spatial patterns of differentiation and the driving mechanism of agricultural multifunctional patterns is an important aspect of coordinating the functional optimisation and coordinated development of different agricultural regions. On the basis of understanding the connotation of agricultural multiple functions, this paper constructed an evaluation index system of agricultural multiple functions. Taking Jiangsu Province as a typical case, the spatial patterns of agricultural multifunctions in Jiangsu since 1978 were analysed by using the entropy weight TOPSIS (technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution) method and ESDA (exploratory spatial data analysis) model, and the influencing mechanism of agricultural multifunction spatial differentiation was revealed by a geographic detector model. The results showed that (1) the cities with higher agricultural grain production functions were mainly concentrated in Yancheng and Huai’an; cities with higher agricultural economic development functions were mainly distributed in the coastal areas of Jiangsu; cities with higher agricultural social security functions were mainly concentrated in the Suzhou–Wuxi–Changzhou metropolitan area; and cities with higher agricultural ecotourism functions evolved from Nanjing–Zhenjiang to Suzhou–Wuxi–Changzhou. (2) The H–H (high–high) cluster pattern of the agricultural grain production function shifted from southern Jiangsu to northern Jiangsu. The H–H clusters of the agricultural economic development function and social security function were mainly distributed in Suzhou–Wuxi–Changzhou, while the L–L (low–low) cluster was mainly distributed in northern Jiangsu. The H–H cluster of agricultural ecotourism functions was mainly distributed in the areas with rich mountain and hill resources or dense water networks in Jiangsu. (3) The agricultural multifunction pattern differentiation was affected by the natural environment and economic and social comprehensive factors; the level of economic development and population employment structure were the leading factors of agricultural multifunction spatial differentiation; industry structure and people’s living conditions were the important driving forces of agricultural multifunction spatial differentiation; and the natural environment and population density were the basic factors underlying agricultural multifunction spatial differentiation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development)
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18 pages, 15167 KiB  
Article
How Can We Promote Sustainable Regional Development and Biodiversity Conservation in Regions with Demographic Decline? The Case of UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Elbe River Landscape Brandenburg, Germany
by Erik Aschenbrand
Land 2022, 11(10), 1623; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11101623 - 22 Sep 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2084
Abstract
This paper analyzes the relationship between out-migration from rural areas, sustainable regional development and the conservation of biodiversity. Urbanization is a key challenge for sustainable development. Will the move to cities reduce land use pressures on rural areas, and thus provide opportunities for [...] Read more.
This paper analyzes the relationship between out-migration from rural areas, sustainable regional development and the conservation of biodiversity. Urbanization is a key challenge for sustainable development. Will the move to cities reduce land use pressures on rural areas, and thus provide opportunities for biodiversity conservation? This paper reviews the literature on the relationship between rural out-migration and biodiversity. Generalizing statements or even predictions are rarely possible, as regional contexts differ greatly and a multitude of factors are at work. It is apparent, however, that traditional land use practices, in particular, are in decline as a result of out-migration. In some cases, this can lead to intensification, in others to abandonment, while some studies do not show any link at all. The paper then considers the case study of a peripheral biosphere reserve in Germany that is characterized by strong out-migration. Here, the urbanization tendency is evident on a smaller scale; the regional urban center consolidates, and the small communities face great challenges. At the same time, new innovative actors are emerging. It is essential for new and established actors to collaborate and jointly develop new narratives for “shrinking” regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development)
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20 pages, 2252 KiB  
Article
The Impact of High-Standard Farmland Construction Policy on Rural Poverty in China
by Jiquan Peng, Zihao Zhao and Lili Chen
Land 2022, 11(9), 1578; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11091578 - 15 Sep 2022
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 2761
Abstract
As the core component of agricultural development projects, high-standard farmland construction is a reliable measure of agricultural production, and can be used to improve the economy in rural areas. Based on provincial panel data, this paper adopts the continuous difference-in-differences (DID) method to [...] Read more.
As the core component of agricultural development projects, high-standard farmland construction is a reliable measure of agricultural production, and can be used to improve the economy in rural areas. Based on provincial panel data, this paper adopts the continuous difference-in-differences (DID) method to analyze the impact of China’s high-standard basic farmland construction policy on the incidence of rural poverty and its mechanisms. The results show that this policy can significantly reduce the incidence of rural poverty by 7.4%, and if, after using robust standard error and bootstrap sampling 1000 times for a robustness test, the regression results are still robust, this also shows that this inhibitory effect is stable and persistent. It can be seen from a heterogeneity analysis that the implementation of the policy has a more significant effect on poverty reduction in areas with a higher incidence of rural poverty and a larger scale of land remediation, as well as areas in the eastern and western regions. A mechanism analysis shows that natural disasters, output value and technological progress play a partial intermediary role in the poverty reduction effects of high-standard basic farmland construction policy, and the intermediary effects are 5.79%, 44.03%, and 14.13%, respectively. This paper suggests that we should continue to promote the construction of high-standard basic farmland, explore suitable construction modes of high-standard basic farmland for different regions, continuously promote the process of agricultural modernization, and broaden the ways through which rural residents are able to accumulate capital to promote rural poverty reduction and revitalization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development)
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17 pages, 4267 KiB  
Article
Spatio-Temporal Pattern and Driving Force Evolution of Cultivated Land Occupied by Urban Expansion in the Chengdu Metropolitan Area
by Bao Meng, Xuxi Wang, Zhifeng Zhang and Pei Huang
Land 2022, 11(9), 1458; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11091458 - 02 Sep 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 1823
Abstract
Cultivated land is the principal land source for urban expansion. Recent large-scale urban expansion through the occupation of cultivated land has influenced regional food security and the realization of sustainable development goals. Based on data regarding the cultivated land occupied for urban construction [...] Read more.
Cultivated land is the principal land source for urban expansion. Recent large-scale urban expansion through the occupation of cultivated land has influenced regional food security and the realization of sustainable development goals. Based on data regarding the cultivated land occupied for urban construction in the Chengdu metropolitan area from 2000 to 2018, the spatio-temporal evolution of cultivated land occupied by urban expansion was analysed using the contribution index. Based on a model comparison, the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model was used to explore the spatio-temporal pattern and evolution path of significant driving factors. The results demonstrate that (1) the total area of cultivated land occupied by urban expansion from 2000 to 2018 was 470.528 km2 and mainly concentrated in the main urban area of Chengdu City and its surrounding districts and counties. The K value continued to decline from 93.23 to 37.48, indicating that the contribution of cultivated land in urban expansion is decreasing. (2) The GWR model, with a better fitting effect, demonstrates that the significant factors that influence the cultivated land occupied by urban expansion in the study area gradually shift from population aggregation factors to food safety and the proportion of non-farming population. (3) The evolution type of the driving force is mainly dominated by continuous change, and there is significant spatial heterogeneity in the evolution path. The population density → proportion of non-farm population → grain yield → comprehensive and proportion of cultivated land → per capita fixed asset investment → comprehensive → proportion of non-farm population were typical pathways. (4) Realizing the coordination between urban system structural optimization and cultivated land protection policies in the Chengdu metropolitan area is an important way to guarantee regional food and ecological security and promote the green and high-quality development of the metropolitan area. This study can promote coordination between urban expansion and cultivated land protection in metropolitan areas and provide a reference basis for sustainable economic and social development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development)
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17 pages, 1032 KiB  
Article
Effect of Policy Cognition on the Intention of Villagers’ Withdrawal from Rural Homesteads
by Ranran Shi, Ling Hou, Binghui Jia, Yaya Jin, Weiwei Zheng, Xiangdong Wang and Xianhui Hou
Land 2022, 11(8), 1356; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11081356 - 19 Aug 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 1668
Abstract
The Chinese government encourages villagers to withdraw from rural homesteads and puts these homesteads into the land market to revitalize rural homestead resources and make up for the lack of new construction land. Unfortunately, the implementation of the withdrawal from rural homesteads (WRH) [...] Read more.
The Chinese government encourages villagers to withdraw from rural homesteads and puts these homesteads into the land market to revitalize rural homestead resources and make up for the lack of new construction land. Unfortunately, the implementation of the withdrawal from rural homesteads (WRH) policy remains slow. To realize the effective promotion of WRH policy, exploring the impact of policy cognition (PC) on villagers’ WRH intentions has become the key to solving the above problems. Thus, field survey data on 280 villagers in 13 administrative villages in the Yangling Demonstration district of Shaanxi province were collected through a face-to-face household survey. In addition, combined with the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study used the structural equation model (SEM) to empirically analyze the influence of PC on the intentions of villagers’ WRH. Our empirical results indicated that benefit cognition and difficulty cognition were the focus of the villagers and had positive and negative effects on the intention of WRH, respectively. Government behavior also played a positive role in villagers’ WRH intentions. Villagers would consider compensation standards, pay closer attention to improving the living environment and employment opportunities, and express individual intentions. We believe policymakers should systematically consider the various impacts of WRH policy on villagers and build the villagers’ participation system of WRH and cross-regional transaction system for WRH indicators. This paper further enriches the conceptual framework of PC, which may help us better understand villagers’ responses to relevant policy reforms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rural Land Use Transformation and Agricultural Sustainable Development)
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