Quantifying and Zoning Ecological Compensation for Cultivated Land in Intensive Agricultural Areas: A Case Study in Henan Province, China

Ling Li (), Xingming Li, Hanghang Fan, Jie Lu, Xiuli Wang and Tianlin Zhai
Additional contact information
Ling Li: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Xingming Li: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Hanghang Fan: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Jie Lu: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Xiuli Wang: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China
Tianlin Zhai: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, China

Land, 2024, vol. 13, issue 10, 1-21

Abstract: Cultivated land ecological compensation (CLEC) is an important way to solve regional development imbalance and cultivated land problems, and the scientific quantification of the ecological value of cultivated land is the key to CLEC. This study quantified the total amount and urgency of CLEC in China’s main grain-producing region using the cropland ecological footprint (EF) and ecosystem service value (ESV) methods. Furthermore, this study analyzed the comprehensive zoning of CLEC considering natural and economic development. The results showed that the spatial distribution of EFs and the ecological carrying capacity of cultivated land in Henan Province are similar, presenting the spatial characteristics of being high in the southeast and low in the northwest; the cultivated land in most of the counties and districts is in a state of ecological surplus, and the cultivated land resources are sufficient to support their own consumption needs. Henan Province as a whole is an ecologically compensated region, with a compensation amount of CNY 1.39 billion, and the total amount of compensation is in a positive value of 94.94%. The Southwest Yu and North Yu economic zone of Henan are the areas of high and low values of cultivated land compensation. The priority compensation region is the most extensive and widely distributed type in the five regions of Henan Province, accounting for 55% of the counties and districts. The degree of compensation is most urgent in the Huanghuai, Southwest Yu, and North Yu economic zones. This study’s findings provide new ideas for the development of differentiated ecological compensation policies, and provide references for the participation of multiple market participants and the diversification of compensation forms.

Keywords: cultivated land; ecological compensation; ecological footprint; ecosystem service value; comprehensive ecological compensation zones (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/10/1720/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/10/1720/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:10:p:1720-:d:1502694

Access Statistics for this article

Land is currently edited by Ms. Carol Ma

More articles in Land from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().