Farmland Use Transition in a Typical Farming Area: The Case of Sihong County in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of China

Ligang Lyu, Zhoubing Gao, Hualou Long, Xiaorui Wang and Yeting Fan
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Ligang Lyu: Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Zhoubing Gao: School of Public Administration, Nanjing University of Finance & Economics, Nanjing 210023, China
Hualou Long: Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Xiaorui Wang: Jiangsu Institute for Land Development and Consolidation, Nanjing 210017, China
Yeting Fan: School of Public Administration, Nanjing University of Finance & Economics, Nanjing 210023, China

Land, 2021, vol. 10, issue 4, 1-16

Abstract: An in-depth exploration of the dynamics and existing problems in farmland morphology is crucial to formulate targeted protection policies. In this study, we constructed a morphological evaluation index system to identify the characteristics of farmland use transition in Sihong County of the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, China. The dominant morphology in terms of area and landscape pattern and the recessive morphology focusing on function were considered in this work. Based on this information, the driving factors of farmland use transition were quantitatively analyzed via the mixed regression model. The following major findings were determined: (1) The area showed a U-shaped change trend during 2009–2018. The patch density (PD) showed an upward trend, and the mean patch size (MPS) showed a downward trend, indicating that the degree of farmland fragmentation increased. The implementation of land consolidation projects increased the area and aggregation of farmland, while urbanization and road construction occupied and divided the farmland, leading to a reduction in area and increase in the degree of fragmentation. (2) The crop production, living security, and eco-environmental function of farmland showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing. Urbanization increased the demand for agricultural products and the degree of large-scale agricultural production and had a positive impact on the crop production and eco-environmental function of farmland. Our research highlights that increasing farmland fragmentation should be addressed in the farming area. Therefore, the government should formulate efficient policies to curb farmland occupation for urban and traffic utilization.

Keywords: land use transition; farmland function; driving factors; Jiangsu Province; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (14)

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