Rural Transformation Driven by Households’ Adaptation to Climate, Policy, Market, and Urbanization: Perspectives from Livelihoods–Land Use on Chinese Loess Plateau

Qingqing Yang, Yanhui Gao, Xinjun Yang and Jian Zhang
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Qingqing Yang: Northwest Land and Resource Research Center, Global Regional and Urban Research Institute, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China
Yanhui Gao: School of Tourism & Research Institute of Human Geography, Xi’an International Studies University, Xi’an 710128, China
Xinjun Yang: College of Urban and Environmental Science, Northwest University, Xi’an 710127, China
Jian Zhang: School of Geography and Tourism, Shaanxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 8, 1-23

Abstract: Regional rural systems respond to global environmental change with multi-dimensional transformation. However, in the widespread traditional agricultural areas, rural transformation is often seen as invisible and sometimes remains hidden by official statistics of urbanization and industrialization at a regional level. The study implemented field survey and ethnography methods, exploring the trajectory and driving paths of rural transformation in traditional agricultural areas. The findings indicate that the dominant livelihood experienced a transitional trajectory from traditional farming to jujube-oriented and then to a non-farming livelihood. Furthermore, the land use showed an eco-transformation from farmland to forest land, and from cultivated land gradually to uncultivated land. We also find that the household behaviors actively or passively adapted to environmental effects, such as climate change, market change, urbanization impact, and policy regulation, and then drove non-agricultural transformation and eco-transformation in traditional agricultural areas. Based on these findings, the study confirms that there is a clear rural transformation in traditional agricultural areas, and reveals that the Loess Plateau turned green from bottom to top. Finally, the study calls to take the road of green transformation, and proposals are presented in terms of ecology, livelihood, and industry.

Keywords: household survey; environmental change; household behavior; non-agricultural transformation; eco-transformation; traditional agricultural areas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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