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Non-grain production of cultivated land (NGPCL) is an essential factor that affects food security and sustainable agricultural development. Due to the large population and limited land area present in China, cultivated land resources are more extensive and valuable in hilly and mountainous areas, though the expansion of NGPCL threatens food security and is detrimental to the sustainable use of cultivated land resources. To better understand the problem of NGPCL in hilly and mountainous areas, this paper initially classifies NGPCL into four distinct types, namely unplanted cultivated land (UCL), planted non-grain crops (PNGC), engineering recoverable (ENR), and immediately recoverable (IMR), based on their planting types and attributes. Subsequently, we analyzed the spatial patterns and differentiation characteristics of these NGPCL types in Le'an County at the village scale through exploratory spatial data analysis and studied their driving factors using the geographical detector model. The findings show that the NGPCL rate in Le'an County was 18.53%, with ENR occupying the largest area, followed by PNGC and UCL, while IMR had the smallest area. The spatial distribution of NGPCL in Le'an County suggests that there are correlations with all four types of NGPCL, which exhibit spatial clustering, except for IMR, which displays spatial heterogeneity. We attribute the phenomenon of NGPCL in Le'an County to natural, social, and economic factors, with the driving forces having varying degrees of influence. Specifically, slope, altitude, and cultivated land protection intensity play significant roles in the overall NGPCL. This paper is of crucial significance to the local agricultural management department's efforts to prevent and control the non-grain production of cultivated land and the Chinese Government's efforts to ensure food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Desertification is one of the main obstacles to global sustainable development. Monitoring, evaluating and mastering its driving factors are very important for the prevention and control of desertification. As one of the largest deserts in China, the development of desertification in Otindag Sandy Land (OSL) resulted in the reduction in land productivity and serious ecological/environmental consequences. Although many ecological restoration projects have been carried out, the vegetation restoration of OSL and the impact mechanism of climate and human activities on desertification remain unclear. Methods: Taking OSL as the research area, this paper constructs the desertification index by using the remote sensing images and meteorological and socio-economic data, between 1986 and 2016, and analyzes the spatio-temporal evolution process and driving factors of desertification by using trend analysis and spearman rank correlation. Results: The results showed that: (1) Desertification in the OSL has fluctuated greatly during the past 30 years. Desertification recovered between 1986 and 1990, expanded and increased between 1990 and 2000, reduced between 2000 and 2004, developed rapidly between 2004 and 2007, and recovered again between 2007 and 2016; (2) The desertification of OSL is dominated by a non-significant change trend, accounting for 73.27%. In the significant change trend, the area of desertification rising trend is 20.32%, which is mainly located in the north and east, and the area of declining trend is 6.41%, which is mainly located in the southwest; (3) Desertification is the result of the superposition of climate and human activities. Climate change is the main influencing factor, followed by human activities, and the superposition effects of the two are spatio-temporal differences. Conclusions: These results shed light on the development of desertification in OSL and the relative importance and complex interrelationship between human activities and climate in regulating the process of desertification. Based on this, we suggest continuing to implement the ecological restoration policy and avoid the destruction of vegetation by large-scale animal husbandry in order to improve the situation of desertification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Digitalization is the key to sustainable village development, posing a new challenge for village planning, construction, and governance in all countries. The construction of digital villages is currently in the stage of experimentation and exploration; China is the largest developing country and a pioneer in the digitization of villages. (2) Methods: Based on a combination of the Boston Consulting Group Matrix and GeoDetector, we conducted an empirical study on 70 counties in Guangxi, aiming to analyze the construction level, evolution model, and driving mechanism of digital villages and to provide a basis for decisions on government investment and social participation. (3) Results: First, Conspicuous disequilibrium in rural digitalization has manifested in Guangxi, and counties at different levels (leader, follower, and straggler) show significant clustering and correlation effects in their geographical distribution. Second, digital village construction in Guangxi has evolves in diversified modes (divided into four types: star, gazelle, cow, and dog), with hot and cold areas forming a center–periphery structure. Third, rural digitalization has a very complex driving mechanism, with high heterogeneity in the direct influencing factors, significant synergistic enhancement of factors, and nonlinear enhancement dominating the interaction's relationship. (4) Conclusions: According to the results of analysis, we suggest highlighting the government-driven mechanism and regional linkage in the construction of digital villages, formulating differentiated management policies and development plans based on the combination of top-level design and grassroots innovation, establishing joint meetings or development associations and service alliances, and stimulating the enthusiasm of the whole of society, especially farmers and enterprises, in order to achieve rapid and sustainable rural digitalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific understanding of the evolution law of territorial space patterns and the ability to reveal the formation mechanism hold great significance for the sustainable utilization of territorial resources and the high-quality green development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB). In this study, we used the spatial chord diagram, landscape pattern index, and geographical probe to explore the evolution characteristics and formation mechanism of the territorial space pattern of the YREB from 2000 to 2020. The results showed the following: (1) The territorial space showed obvious geographical hierarchical distribution characteristics in the topographic gradient. Production and living space was dominant throughout the low and middle terrain region. Ecological space was dominant throughout the high-terrain regions. With the increase of altitude and slope, production and living space contracted, whereas ecological space areas expanded. (2) Since 2000, the territorial space has changed more dramatically. Over time, living space tended to increase, and production and ecological space tended to decrease, but ecological space was always dominant. In space, the geographical differentiation of territorial space was more obvious, and the pattern was relatively stable, with production space distributed primarily in the middle and lower reaches, living space distributed primarily in the lower reaches, and ecological space distributed primarily in the middle and upper reaches. The inter-transformation between territorial spaces was more frequent, and the transformation trajectory was diversified. (3) The fragmentation, heterogeneity, and dispersion of territorial space landscape patches throughout the whole region increased, and the balance and diversity of territorial space utilization improved. (4) Natural factors have continued to weaken the intensity of their effect on territorial space. Human factors gradually increased the extent of their interference in the territorial space. There are significant differences in the extent of the role of these different factors on the territorial space of the whole region and each basin. Natural and human factors jointly promoted the formation and development of the territorial space pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]