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Urbanization and cultivated land use have presented a complex and dynamic relationship. This study aims to reveal the coupling and coordination relationship between urbanization and cultivated land use ecological efficiency, together with the driving factors behind it. The statistical data was collected from the 88 prefecture-level cities (states and leagues) in the Yellow River Basin from 2005 to 2020. The comprehensive evaluation was then adopted to measure the urbanization development level using the SBM-Undesirable model, and the coupling coordination degree model. The cultivated land use ecological efficiency and the coupling coordination degree were achieved after evaluation. The results show that: (1) The development level of urbanization increased steadily, but there was a much more outstanding feature of spatial differentiation. The first echelon of urbanization was gradually distributed in the downstream coast of the Yellow River, the middle and upper reaches of the northern part of the Yellow River; The ecological efficiency of cultivated land use was significantly improved with the imbalance of "high in the middle and low in the surroundings" in the local areas. (2) It continued to rise the coupling coordination degree between urbanization and cultivated land use ecological efficiency. But there was no reach in the advanced level of coordination. The extreme situation of "high in the east and low in the west" in the spatial distribution gradually evolved into the polycentric "high in the middle and low in the surroundings" pattern of differences. The overall spatial differences were gradually narrowing to evolve into the "high in the middle and low in the surroundings" pattern. Two types of coupling coordination were the "high-high" and "low-low" agglomeration. Among them, the "high-high" agglomeration was concentrated mainly in the downstream areas, such as Shandong and Henan Provinces. While the "low-low" agglomeration was mainly concentrated in the upstream areas of Gansu Province. (3) There were the influencing factors on the coupling coordination degree between urbanization and cultivated land use ecological efficiency, such as the scale of cultivated land operation, the income level of farmers, the government's agricultural support, the elevation, the average annual precipitation, and the average annual temperature. There was a non-linear and two-factor enhancement of the interaction among the driving factors. Therefore, much effort should be continued to narrow the gap between the development level of urbanization and the cultivated land use ecological efficiency among regions. In addition, breakthroughs and upgrades should be promoted in the level of coordination between urbanization and the cultivated land use ecological efficiency. The demonstration and leadership were found in the "high-high" agglomeration areas. Finally, it is necessary to take the regional background as the primary determinant of urbanization development and arable land use. While the interaction and complementary enhancement of each factor can be fully considered to synergistically improve the coordinated development of regional urbanization and arable land use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACTCultivated land system confronts with a series of problems hindering its socioeconomic and ecological sustainability. Sustainable intensification of cultivated land use (SICLU) is considered as an efficient method to achieve three aspects of sustainable goals in society, economy and ecology simultaneously. Farmers, the main executor of all agricultural strategies, are the core of SICLU research. However, there is a small quantity of researches on SICLU from the perspective of farmers’ social psychology. Therefore, this article measured the level of SICLU at the farmer scale using super-efficiency SBM model, and relying on structural equation modeling and an innovative research framework, explored the association mechanism among farmers’ cognition, intention and behavior of SICLU. Finally, the results showed that (1) most of samples are at a medium or higher level of SICLU. (2) all samples’ cognition are significantly positively related to their behavior and their behavior significantly negatively affect their intention. (3) correlation characteristics among them are slightly different under each level. The proposed research outline not only expand the scope of SI research to the perspective of social psychology in breadth, but in depth take targeted actions to protect agricultural environment, make cultivated land system sustainable and alleviate food crisis.

[Objective] The aim of this study is to explore the spatiotemporal differentiation and spatial effects of ecological efficiency in cultivated land use in major grain producing areas based on the constraints of agricultural green transformation can provide theoretical support for formulating ecological farming policies. [Methods] The SBM-Undesirable model was applied to evaluate the cultivated land use ecological efficiency in the middle reaches of Yangtze River from 2005 to 2019, and its spatiotemporal characteristics and influencing factors were analyzed by combining the Dagum Gini coefficient and geotemporal weighted regression model. [Results](1) The overall ecological efficiency of cultivated land use in the main grain producing regions in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River increased from 0.425 to 0.674 from 2005 to 2019, with a large spatial difference in efficiency values but a decrease in the degree of difference.(2) The spatial non-equilibrium of the ecological efficiency of cultivated land use was significant and gradually decreasing, with the Gini coefficient decreasing from 0.265 to 0.185 and the degree of regional spatial disequilibrium was shown as Hunan＞Hubei＞Jiangxi.(3) Per capita GDP, effective irrigation rate and financial support for agriculture had a positive impact on the ecological efficiency of cultivated land use in the study area, while the multiple cropping index and urban-rural income gap had a negative impact. [Conclusion] The ecological efficiency of cultivated land use in the main grain producing areas in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River was on the rise, but the spatial imbalance was significant, and influenced by multiple factors such as nature, economy, society, technology, and policies. In the future, farmers should be motivated to produce green cultivated land and reduce pollution emissions, as well as to promote balanced green cultivated land use technologies to improve the overall resource allocation efficiency of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sustainable intensification (SI) of cultivated land use (CLU) is important for achieving global sustainable development goals (SDGs). However, in the rapid advancement of agglomeration economies, it remains unclear whether economic agglomeration (EA) affects SI. Combined with emergy theory, this study utilized socioeconomic and natural environment data from 31 provincial administrative regions from 1990 to 2017 to evaluate the SI level in China. It further analyzed the impact of EA on SI using a spatial econometric model that includes mediating effects. The results showed that the EA level in China continued to rise, whereas the SI level continued to decline from 1990 to 2017. The mediating effect analysis showed that fiscal support for agriculture and agricultural labor productivity have a suppression effect of |−4.186|% and |−2.002|% in the local region, while cultivated land-use intensity has partial mediation of 6.350% in the local region; and agricultural labor productivity has a suppression effect of |−4.680|% on the surrounding region, while cultivated land-use intensity has stronger partial mediation relative to the local region, even up to 10.402% on surrounding regions. This implies that the impact of EA on SI involves complex paths and spatial differences. This study provides a better understanding of the reasons for the continuous decline in the SI in agglomeration-type economic development and feasible policy proposals.

[Objective] The objective of this research was to reveal the driving force of the growth of ecological total factor productivity of cultivated land use, explore the pathway of improvement of ecological total factor productivity of cultivated land use, and provide policy references for promoting the green transformation of cultivated land use. [Methods] By combining the Meta-frontier analytical framework with the Non-radial Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index, the Meta-frontier Non-radial Malmquist-Luenberger (MNML) productivity index model was constructed, thus effectively solving the problem of how to evaluate the ecological efficiency and ecological total factor productivity of cultivated land use that can take into account undesirable outputs in the framework of technological heterogeneity. [Results] The MNML productivity index was used to evaluate the ecological efficiency and total factor productivity of cultivated land use in China from 1997 to 2019. The study results showed that: (1) Under the meta-frontier, the mean value of cultivated land use ecological efficiency in China was 0.350, and there was still 65.0% room for improvement; Except for the eastern region, the ecological efficiency values of cultivated land use under the group-frontier in the central and western regions were much higher than that under the meta-frontier. (2) The annual average growth rate of ecological total factor productivity of cultivated land use in China was 4.0%, which was mainly driven by technological progress of cultivated land use, while technical efficiency of cultivated land use hindered the growth of ecological total factor productivity of cultivated land use. (3) The distribution of ecological total factor productivity of cultivated land use in China was characterized by high levels in the eastern and western regions and low levels in the central region, and the growth patterns of ecological total factor productivity of cultivated land use in the eastern, central, and western China were different. [Conclusion] When measuring the ecological efficiency or total factor productivity of cultivated land use, it was necessary to divide the decision-making units with the characteristics of technological heterogeneity into groups with the same or similar technological level according to a certain standard, so as to meet the requirements of the data envelopment analysis (DEA) model for the technological homogeneity of decision-making units within the same group. The production technology in the eastern region represented the national potential optimal production technology, while there was still a big gap between the production technology in the central and western regions and the national potential optimal production technology. There was a clear spatial heterogeneity in both the ecological total factor productivity of cultivated land use and its decomposition index in China. So differentiated pathways to improve the ecological total factor productivity of cultivated land use should be constructed, and policies related to high quality cultivated land use should be formulated based on regional technological heterogeneity.

Heavy metal-contaminated cultivated land treatment (HMCLT) plays an essential role in the realization of sustainable utilization of cultivated land resources and sustainable agricultural development. Evaluating this policy's impact on agricultural development resilience (ADR) has great practical significance. This paper reveals the impact HMCLT has on ADR from the perspectives of time and space, utilizing data from Hunan province between 2007 and 2019. The synthetic control method (SCM) and spatial Durbin model (SDM) are employed for investigating the temporal and spatial effects HMCLT has on ADR. The results demonstrate that the HMCLT policy has effectively improved the pilot cities' ADR and can enhance ADR in adjacent areas from a spatial perspective. In addition to HMCLT policy, financial support for agriculture, farmers' per capita disposable income, and rural population density are key factors affecting ADR. However, they all have a crowding-out effect on the ADR in neighboring areas. Due to these circumstances, while the governments make efforts in promoting the policy design and improvement of HMCLT, increasing the disposable income of farmers, narrowing regional differences in government financial support and human capital, and promoting regional interactions are essential to enhance ADR. This study formulates valuable insights for policymakers and researchers in the field of sustainable agricultural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because the relationship between cultivated land and the surrounding land types is not taken into account, there existed a deviation in the assessment of cultivated landscape ecological security. A novel methodology assessing the cultivated landscape ecological security is presented in this study, in the grid scale adjusted cultivated landscape ecological security index by the cultivated land disturbance index and the surrounding environment index. This method was applied in Xintai City, Shandong Province. The results demonstrate that (1) between 1985 and 2015, there was a constant loss of 173.2 km2 cultivated land, the bulk of which was converted to building land, primarily on the outskirts of cities. (2) The landscape ecological security of cultivated land has decreased; the bulk of high-risk grids are located in central metropolitan areas and mining districts, and have a tendency to spread out over time. (3) We applied a three–dimensional model to generate a spatial combination of cultivated land and presented zoning suggestions for regional cultivated land use and management. This assessment technique reduces errors that may occur when relying solely on landscape features for cultivated ecological security evaluation. The evaluation's results more accurately reflect the impact of human activity and urban growth, are more consistent with local features, and have a higher quality of reference value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies focused on the status and driving factors of non-grain cultivated land (NGCL), but lacked research on the impact mechanism of NGCL on sustainable agricultural development from the perspective of farmers' household livelihoods and agricultural production factor allocation. Therefore, the concept of resilience was introduced. According to official statistics of China from 2010 to 2021, such as the local statistical yearbooks, the impact of NGCL on agricultural development resilience (ADR) in the main grain-producing area of Northeast China was explored based on the threshold effect model and the spatial lag model. The results indicate that: (1) the overall level of NGCI in the study area from 2011 to 2020 show an upward followed by a downward trend; (2) the size of agricultural labor force and average area per labor constrain the impact of NGCI on ADR, and the change can be characterized by negative to positive, increasing and then decreasing respectively, and the former is more constrained than the latter; (3) a negative effect of the NGCI trend on ADR exists without spatial spillover effect. The expansion of food production exacerbates the risk of factor mismatch, which is accentuated by the governance environment that pursues food production excessively. Establishing the NFP governance standards should consider the transformation of farmers' livelihoods and the optimization of production factor allocation. Constructing a resilient risk management mechanism, promoting moderate scale operation and optimizing agricultural labor scale are specific paths for improving the governance mechanisms of NGCI. This study provides a theoretical reference for the development of policies and governance strategies for NGCI in underdeveloped areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the dynamics of the eco-efficiency of cultivated land use (ECLU) is important to balance food security and environmental protection. The Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) is a vital region of national strategic development in China. However, the spatio-temporal characteristics and typical patterns of the ECLU in the YREB remain unclear. This study aims to reveal the spatio-temporal characteristics of the ECLU by using the super-efficiency slack-based measure (SBM) and a spatial autocorrelation model. The typical patterns of the ECLU were classified based on a decision tree algorithm. The results indicate that the overall ECLU increased from 0.78 to 0.87 from 2000 to 2019, dropping sharply in 2003 before rising again. Different reaches had similar trends. The local indicators of spatial association (LISA) cluster reflect that the spatial distributions of high-high and low-low agglomeration varied dramatically among these years. The ECLU was divided into three typical patterns considering the restriction of agrochemicals and water resources (RAW), cultivated land and agrochemicals (RCA), as well as technology (RT). Most cities belonged to the low ECLU category in RT pattern. Fully understanding the spatio-temporal characteristics and classification of the ECLU will provide a reference for decision-makers to improve the ECLU in different regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scientific understanding of the connotation of Green Use of Cultivated Land (GU-CL) is important to promote sustainable use of cultivated land. This study aims to analyze the regional heterogeneity of the Green Use Level of Cultivated Land (GUL-CL) in Heilongjiang Reclamation Area (HRA). Using entropy power method and coupled coordination degree model, statistical analysis was carried out based on the data of the HRA in 2020. The results show that the degree of GUL-CL in the study area is generally well-developed, but internal differences exist. Specifically, the GUL-CL ranges from 0.590 to 38.179, with a mean value of 8.818. Additionally, 29.204% of the total farms are above the higher level, mainly in Jiansanjiang and Baoquanling. In environmental friendliness practices, the high-level areas are concentrated primarily on the Songnen Plain Reclamation Area. Or, the Sanjiang Plain Reclamation Area positively presents significant effects on resource conservation. In the study area, spatial intensification and output efficiency are relatively balanced. The coupling coordination degree of green use of cultivated land (GU-CL) (0.20–0.50) is at a low coupling coordination stage. Consequently, this study can provide practical knowledge for the GU-CL in the black soil region of Northeast China.

The benefit of cultivated land use is an essential indicator for measuring the optimal allocation of cultivated land resources and the high-quality development of agriculture. Taking Shiyan City, Xiangyang City, and Suizhou City in Northern Hubei as the research objects, this paper presents an evaluation index system for cultivated land use efficiency from the perspectives of ecology, economy, and society. The entropy TOPSIS method and the obstacle degree model were applied to estimate the cultivated land use efficiency and identify obstacle factors in the three study areas from 2010 to 2020, and the results were as follows. (1) The comprehensive benefit level of cultivated land utilization in Northern Hubei showed an upward trend, and the individual benefit levels of cultivated land utilization in different cities were significantly different. Xiangyang City had outstanding economic performance, Shiyan City had the fastest growth rate of ecological benefits, and various benefits of Suizhou City were "steady". (2) The fluctuation ranges of the obstacle factors for cultivated land use were relatively large in the Northern Hubei region. From 2010 to 2016, the effective irrigation index, land-averaged fertilizer input level, agricultural input–output ratio, and per capita income of farmers were the main factors restricting the improvement of cultivated land utilization efficiency in Northern Hubei. During 2017–2020, the per capita pesticide input level, per capita grain output, forest coverage rate, land output rate, and agricultural mechanization efficiency became the main obstacles restricting the improvement of cultivated land-use efficiency. (3) All cities of Northern Hubei should take measures according to local conditions, implement specific policies to address the restrictive factors of cultivated land use, improve the level of cultivated land-use benefit in the region, and promote the coordination and unity of the economic, ecological, and social benefits of cultivated land use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lower reaches of the Yellow River are China’s grain production base and ecological barrier. Its total grain production ranks third in China in 2021, and its cultivated land plays an extremely important role in ensuring food security in the Yellow River Basin and even the whole country. Based on the data of GlobeLand30 in 2000, 2010 and 2020, this study studied the spatial distribution of cultivated land use and the cultivated land transfer pattern, the spatial distribution concentration degree and directional distribution characteristics of cultivated land and grain production, and the sensitivity analysis of grain production to the change of cultivated land area in the lower reaches of the Yellow River by using the methods of land cover transfer matrix, spatial distribution concentration model, sensitivity analysis model, standard deviation ellipse model and spatial autocorrelation analysis. The results show that: 1) The land type with the largest area transferred from cultivated land in the lower Yellow River is artificial surface, and its regional distribution is scattered; At the same time, the land type with the largest area transferred into cultivated land is still artificial surface, which is directly related to the rural land remediation measures implemented by the government. 2) During the period from 2000 to 2020, the spatial distribution concentration index (HHI) grade of cultivated land in the lower reaches of the Yellow River was moderately concentrated and below, and there was no obvious concentration trend; the concentration degree of grain production distribution in the lower reaches of the Yellow River is higher than that of cultivated land, such as Rizhao, Dongying, Qingdao and Weihai, where the HHI grades of grain production are higher; The center of gravity of cultivated land in the lower reaches of the Yellow River is relatively stable, while the center of gravity of grain production shows an obvious trend of “westward shift”. 3) During 2000–2010, the grain productions of 68.38% of districts and counties were insensitive to the change of cultivated land, while the grain productions of 18 districts and counties were highly sensitive to the change of cultivated land, mostly distributed in the hilly and mountainous areas of central and southern Shandong; During 2010–2020, the proportion of insensitive districts and counties decreased to 36%, and the middle and high sensitive areas obviously showed a gradual decreasing trend. Based on GlobeLand30 remote sensing image technology, this study can effectively reveal the temporal and spatial dynamic changes of cultivated land use and grain production in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, and provide scientific reference for further rational development and utilization of cultivated land resources in the lower reaches of the Yellow River and promoting the high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin.

Heavy metal-contaminated cultivated land treatment (HMCLT) plays an essential role in the realization of sustainable utilization of cultivated land resources and sustainable agricultural development. Evaluating this policy’s impact on agricultural development resilience (ADR) has great practical significance. This paper reveals the impact HMCLT has on ADR from the perspectives of time and space, utilizing data from Hunan province between 2007 and 2019. The synthetic control method (SCM) and spatial Durbin model (SDM) are employed for investigating the temporal and spatial effects HMCLT has on ADR. The results demonstrate that the HMCLT policy has effectively improved the pilot cities’ ADR and can enhance ADR in adjacent areas from a spatial perspective. In addition to HMCLT policy, financial support for agriculture, farmers’ per capita disposable income, and rural population density are key factors affecting ADR. However, they all have a crowding-out effect on the ADR in neighboring areas. Due to these circumstances, while the governments make efforts in promoting the policy design and improvement of HMCLT, increasing the disposable income of farmers, narrowing regional differences in government financial support and human capital, and promoting regional interactions are essential to enhance ADR. This study formulates valuable insights for policymakers and researchers in the field of sustainable agricultural development.

Because the relationship between cultivated land and the surrounding land types is not taken into account, there existed a deviation in the assessment of cultivated landscape ecological security. A novel methodology assessing the cultivated landscape ecological security is presented in this study, in the grid scale adjusted cultivated landscape ecological security index by the cultivated land disturbance index and the surrounding environment index. This method was applied in Xintai City, Shandong Province. The results demonstrate that (1) between 1985 and 2015, there was a constant loss of 173.2 km2 cultivated land, the bulk of which was converted to building land, primarily on the outskirts of cities. (2) The landscape ecological security of cultivated land has decreased; the bulk of high-risk grids are located in central metropolitan areas and mining districts, and have a tendency to spread out over time. (3) We applied a three–dimensional model to generate a spatial combination of cultivated land and presented zoning suggestions for regional cultivated land use and management. This assessment technique reduces errors that may occur when relying solely on landscape features for cultivated ecological security evaluation. The evaluation’s results more accurately reflect the impact of human activity and urban growth, are more consistent with local features, and have a higher quality of reference value.

Sustaining cultivated land is critically important for food security, economic development, and social stability in China. China has been developing rapidly since the adoption of the Chinese Economic Reform of 1978, revealing the spatial evolution characteristics of cultivated land can provide valuable information for estimating and sustaining Chinese food security. In this study, we analyzed the spatial evolution of cultivated land from 1980 to 2015 in the Heilongjiang Province, one of the most important grain production regions in China, by combining five land-use databases, a geographic information system, and mathematical models. The results showed that cultivated land in the Heilongjiang Province increased by 33,234 km2 (23%) from 1980 to 2015. The increase primarily resulted from land conversion from the forest (11,511 km2), grassland (9780 km2), and unused land (9696 km2). Additionally, cultivated land-use change's spatial characteristics differed among decadal periods. Spatial changes were stronger during 1990–2000 than in the other periods (1980–1990, 2000–2010, and 2010–2015). The landscape shape index indicated that cultivated land development had a regular changing pattern but showed a trend toward irregular development over the study period. The spatial expansion of cultivated land showed a strong directional trend, which was further found to be associated with geomorphological factors, indicating the prominent controls of abiotic factors on cultivated land expansion. This study provides an overview of the long-term spatial evolution characteristics of cultivated land and the key abiotic controls on cultivated land use change. This information can help local government policymakers effectively balance regional development, environmental protection, and food security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The county-level Cultivated Land Use Form index (CLUF) in Shaanxi province in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015 was measured with the entropy method and the linear combination method. Then, the spatial differentiation characteristics and driving mechanism of CLUF were characterized and identified through exploratory spatial data analysis, standard deviation ellipse model, kernel density estimation, multiple linear, and spatial regression analysis. The conclusions drawn from empirical results were as follows. First, the CLUF presented a spatial differentiation pattern of high in the middle and low in the north and south, and the CLUF had a strong positive spatial correlation. The local spatial patterns were mainly the high-high agglomeration and low-low agglomeration. Second, the gravity center of CLUF moves from northeast to southwest, but it is always located in the central part of Shaanxi province. The CLUF showed a trend from expansion and decentralization to contraction and centralization in geographical space, with an obvious spatial spillover effect. Third, the results of nuclear density estimation showed that the difference in the CLUF between counties displayed a trend of first shrinking and then expanding. Fourth, the cultivated land use transition was promoted by the combination of the natural environment, economic growth, and urbanization development, and factors of the driving mechanism of the cultivated land use transition are complicated. Finally, policy recommendations to promote the rationalization and cultivated land use transition were put forward, such as strengthening infrastructure construction, formulating differentiated policies, and giving play to the role of neighboring demonstrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The period from 2010 to 2020 is a period of rapid economic development in China, with the increasing population and the urbanization level reaching 63.89%. Cultivated land plays an extremely important role in China’s food security. In order to grasp the spatial and temporal distribution and change of cultivated land use in China in time, based on GlobeLand30 data in 2010 and 2020, this study studied the spatial and temporal change characteristics of total cultivated land resources, cultivated land development and utilization degree, dynamic change degree of cultivated land utilization rate, and cultivated land use center and direction by using GIS technology, reclamation index, cultivated land utilization rate dynamic change degree model, cultivated land center shift model and standard deviation ellipse model. The results show that: ①The cultivated land area in China has changed greatly during 2010–2020, with the largest increase in cultivated land area in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang, while the largest decrease in cultivated land area in Shandong, Jiangsu, Hebei, Guangdong, Henan and Zhejiang; ②The areas with the highest degree of cultivated land development and utilization are mainly concentrated in Shandong, Jiangsu, Henan, Anhui and other provinces in the east, while Qinghai, Tibet and Xinjiang have the lowest degree of cultivated land development and utilization; ③The regions with the highest dynamic change degree index of cultivated land utilization rate are mainly concentrated in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, Tibet and Qinghai, while the dynamic change degree index of cultivated land utilization rate in Liaoning, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Zhejiang and Guangdong shows obvious negative changes; ④The spatial and temporal migration of the center of gravity of cultivated land use in China shows the trend of “moving westward to northward”, and the spatial distribution direction of cultivated land use roughly presents the overall characteristics of northeast-southwest direction. This study can effectively reveal the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of cultivated land use at provincial level in China based on GlobeLand30, and provide a scientific reference for further rational development, utilization and protection of cultivated land resources in China.

The sustainable intensification of cultivated land use (SICLU) is required to coordinate the contradiction between growing food demand and resource and environmental constraints. Farming households' livelihood transition directly influences the direction of cultivated land use transformation. Based on a theoretical analysis, we used the data of 359 questionnaires of farming households in Qufu County, China to evaluate SICLU according to households' livelihood types, in order to provide a reference for understanding the process law of SICLU on a micro perspective. The objectives are to: (i) quantitatively evaluate the SICLU level using the emergy analysis and (ii) explore the differences in SICLU between different farming households' livelihood types. The results show that: (1) Auxiliary inputs were the main inputs in the process of cultivated land use, renewable environment inputs were mainly from rainwater chemical and earth rotation, and the non-renewable net loss of topsoil was relatively rare. (2) 14% of farming households' cultivated land use was non-sustainable intensification (SI), 52% was low-SI, 30% was medium-SI, and 4% was high-SI. (3) Among the different livelihood types identified, the SICLU level of the agricultural-professional farming households was the highest, followed by traditional agricultural farming households, agricultural mainly part-time farming households, non-agricultural mainly part-time farming households, and non-agricultural farming households. The conclusions are as follows: (1) The purpose of the SICLU is not to maximize the ecological benefit, economic benefit, and social benefit, but to pursue an optimal solution that maintains a dynamic balance in order to realize the compound benefits generated by cultivated land use. (2) The SICLU level of the sample farming households was relatively low, and the characteristics of the livelihood types varied.

Previous studies focused on the status and driving factors of non-grain cultivated land (NGCL), but lacked research on the impact mechanism of NGCL on sustainable agricultural development from the perspective of farmers’ household livelihoods and agricultural production factor allocation. Therefore, the concept of resilience was introduced. According to official statistics of China from 2010 to 2021, such as the local statistical yearbooks, the impact of NGCL on agricultural development resilience (ADR) in the main grain-producing area of Northeast China was explored based on the threshold effect model and the spatial lag model. The results indicate that: (1) the overall level of NGCI in the study area from 2011 to 2020 show an upward followed by a downward trend; (2) the size of agricultural labor force and average area per labor constrain the impact of NGCI on ADR, and the change can be characterized by negative to positive, increasing and then decreasing respectively, and the former is more constrained than the latter; (3) a negative effect of the NGCI trend on ADR exists without spatial spillover effect. The expansion of food production exacerbates the risk of factor mismatch, which is accentuated by the governance environment that pursues food production excessively. Establishing the NFP governance standards should consider the transformation of farmers’ livelihoods and the optimization of production factor allocation. Constructing a resilient risk management mechanism, promoting moderate scale operation and optimizing agricultural labor scale are specific paths for improving the governance mechanisms of NGCI. This study provides a theoretical reference for the development of policies and governance strategies for NGCI in underdeveloped areas.

The models of cultivated land kernel density, dynamic degree and influence mechanism were used to discuss the evolution and influence mechanism of cultivated land ' s spatial distribution from 1990 to 2020 in Liaoning Province. The results showed that the characteristics of cultivated land agglomeration in Liaoning Province are significant, showing a spatial distribution pattern of It dense in the northwest and sparse in the southeast It, with a variation range of 0 - I 0. 17 hm2 I km2 • The relative index of cultivated land change gradually transformed from the high in the western and eastern regions in 1990 to the high in the central region in 2020. In the 1990s, the average annual increase of cultivated land was 1. 88 x 104 hm2, but decreased by 2. 72 x 104 hm2 after the 21st century. The area of cultivated land decreased in Shenyang, Dalian and Anshan but increased in Panjin and Tieling. Natural factors are a prerequisite for cultivated land use, but socio-economic and regional policies play an important role. The intensification of drought and the reduction of agricultural population led to a reduction of 3. 576 x 105 hm2 of cultivated land. With the social development, the average output value increased by 302%, and the social fixed investment increased by 9. 4 times. It is suggested that the government should encourage diversified cultivation of cultivated land, establish a mechanism for the circulation of cultivated land, strengthen the construction of new countryside, and encourage the young labor force to return home to develop science and technology agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The benefit of cultivated land use is an essential indicator for measuring the optimal allocation of cultivated land resources and the high-quality development of agriculture. Taking Shiyan City, Xiangyang City, and Suizhou City in Northern Hubei as the research objects, this paper presents an evaluation index system for cultivated land use efficiency from the perspectives of ecology, economy, and society. The entropy TOPSIS method and the obstacle degree model were applied to estimate the cultivated land use efficiency and identify obstacle factors in the three study areas from 2010 to 2020, and the results were as follows. (1) The comprehensive benefit level of cultivated land utilization in Northern Hubei showed an upward trend, and the individual benefit levels of cultivated land utilization in different cities were significantly different. Xiangyang City had outstanding economic performance, Shiyan City had the fastest growth rate of ecological benefits, and various benefits of Suizhou City were “steady”. (2) The fluctuation ranges of the obstacle factors for cultivated land use were relatively large in the Northern Hubei region. From 2010 to 2016, the effective irrigation index, land-averaged fertilizer input level, agricultural input–output ratio, and per capita income of farmers were the main factors restricting the improvement of cultivated land utilization efficiency in Northern Hubei. During 2017–2020, the per capita pesticide input level, per capita grain output, forest coverage rate, land output rate, and agricultural mechanization efficiency became the main obstacles restricting the improvement of cultivated land-use efficiency. (3) All cities of Northern Hubei should take measures according to local conditions, implement specific policies to address the restrictive factors of cultivated land use, improve the level of cultivated land-use benefit in the region, and promote the coordination and unity of the economic, ecological, and social benefits of cultivated land use.

Promoting the sustainable intensification of cultivated land use (SICL) has become crucial for ensuring a sufficient supply of grain and important agricultural products, as well as for the sustainable use of resources. Taking widely used areas of Shandong Province in China as examples, an analytical scale and level framework for SICL is constructed in this study. It measures the level of SICL through material flow analysis, constructs Tobit models to analyze the influencing factors of SICL at the farming household scale, and analyzes the transition mechanisms of SICL. The results show that the overall level of SICL in Shandong Province is low, and the spatial distribution is uneven. There are relatively more farmers participating in unsustainable intensification than in medium or low levels of SICL, with farmers working at a high level of SICL making up the smallest proportion. The factors that determine the level of SICL at which farmers work vary significantly. More male farmers operate at a low SICL level than female farmers, while females outnumber males at a high SICL level. This is mainly related to the regional distribution of age and population. Meanwhile, with larger cultivated land areas, there is a lower degree of land fragmentation, with a higher level of SICL corresponding to a smaller distance to the nearest town closer within 1–5 km from the town center. We can see the level of SICL and its processes themselves are closely related to time and space scales. Based on the above analysis, it is necessary to clarify the standard processes of SICL to adapt them to local conditions. This includes instructing managers on how to improve resource utilization, increase the sustainable development of cultivated land and establish a comprehensively efficient and functional SICL mechanism. The sustainable intensification of cultivated land use and its specific application in the new era are conducive to enriching the frontier theories and methodology of sustainable development, and are of great significance to the advancement of green agriculture and the decision-making of rural high-quality development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continuous decline in the resource and environment-carrying capacity of cultivated land resources has seriously threatened the sustainable supply of cultivated land resources in China. Using the Hicks-Moorsteen total factor productivity index method, we examine the total factor productivity of cultivated land use (CL-TFP) in China from 2003 to 2017 under environmental constraints. We further use a panel Tobit model to estimate the effect of its influencing factors. The results show that the CL-TFP presents a fluctuating upward trend and reaches data envelopment analysis (DEA) efficiency during the sample period. The regional results reveal a significant spatial difference, especially in the mid-west region, which fails to reach DEA efficiency. China's main cultivated land did not realize economies of scale. The phenomenon of spatial polarization in what we refer to as very low-value areas and very high-value areas is clear, and the changes are gradual. Regarding the determinative influencing factors, results from the panel Tobit model show that cultivated land usage tax and environmental pollution control investment have no significant effect on CL-TFP, while income level and agricultural intermediate consumption do have a positive effect on CL-TFP. The empirical evidence can help policymakers craft and frame effective policies that improve the utilization efficiency of China's cultivated land resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study was conducted to analyze the multi-function balance and coordination relationship of cultivated land and evaluate its utilization efficiency, which can not only improve the comprehensive benefits of cultivated land utilization but also realize the protection of cultivated land resources and environment. ArcGIS10.5, Fragstas4.2, the Spearman rank correlation, and a spatial autocorrelation analysis were used to determine the spatial-temporal pattern and evolution rule of the multi-functional tradeoff and synergy of cultivated land: (1) The trend of material output, ecological environment, landscape aesthetics, and labor carrying capacity continued to increase, among which the material output and landscape aesthetics increased faster than the ecological environment and labor force and the change of labor force carrying capacity was the most stable. (2) There was a synergistic effect among the various functions of cultivated land and the synergistic degree decreased with time; the tradeoff effect was opposite. (3) The multi-function balance and synergy of cultivated land show strong clustering characteristics; the functional spatial pattern of some cultivated land changed significantly with time. In the same function, the spatial pattern of the material output was more stable than the other three. Among the different functions, the synergy between the physical output and landscape aesthetics was strong; the balance between the ecological environment and labor force was also strong. These results were obtained, while improving the quality of the cultivated land background, reasonably guiding the flow of labor force and developing modern tourism agriculture, strengthening the cooperation among various departments within the county and between counties, and scientifically demarcating functional zones. The promotion of the multi-functional synergy of cultivated land and enhancement of the comprehensive benefits of cultivated land was also achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between rural labour transfer and cultivated land use has always been a hot topic in academic field and government management. Here, by using the large‐scale survey data of 1,868 farmers from 37 villages in Jianghan Plain and the low‐hill areas in southeastern Hubei province, we investigated the relationship between rural labour force transfer and decision‐making in cultivated land use from the perspective of terrain heterogeneity. The findings indicate that under different terrain conditions, there are significant differences in the decision‐making of farmers concerning cultivated land use, leading to different land use efficiencies in different areas. Specifically, rural labour force transfer enhances land use efficiency in plain areas; however, it does not affect that in the low‐hill areas. In addition, we found that in the plain areas, improving the quality of rural household labour can increase the cultivated land use efficiency, while in low‐hill areas, enhancement of geographical accessibility is the key to improving land use efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Economic agglomeration harms sustainable intensification of cultivated land use. • Pathways that economic agglomeration affects sustainable intensification are complex. • Sustainable intensification verifies "pollution halo" and "pollution haven" theories. • Integrated regional development systems can promote multi-objective synergies. The sustainable intensification (SI) of cultivated land use (CLU) is important for achieving global sustainable development goals (SDGs). However, in the rapid advancement of agglomeration economies, it remains unclear whether economic agglomeration (EA) affects SI. Combined with emergy theory, this study utilized socioeconomic and natural environment data from 31 provincial administrative regions from 1990 to 2017 to evaluate the SI level in China. It further analyzed the impact of EA on SI using a spatial econometric model that includes mediating effects. The results showed that the EA level in China continued to rise, whereas the SI level continued to decline from 1990 to 2017. The mediating effect analysis showed that fiscal support for agriculture and agricultural labor productivity have a suppression effect of |−4.186|% and |−2.002|% in the local region, while cultivated land-use intensity has partial mediation of 6.350% in the local region; and agricultural labor productivity has a suppression effect of |−4.680|% on the surrounding region, while cultivated land-use intensity has stronger partial mediation relative to the local region, even up to 10.402% on surrounding regions. This implies that the impact of EA on SI involves complex paths and spatial differences. This study provides a better understanding of the reasons for the continuous decline in the SI in agglomeration-type economic development and feasible policy proposals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecological sustainability of cultivated land use is a major challenge for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. However, less attention has been paid to the ecological sustainability of cultivated land use (CLU) from the perspective of the functional transition of cultivated ecosystems (FTCE). Moreover, knowledge about the underlying mechanisms of the FTCE has been very limited to date. The aim of this study was to bridge this gap, taking the Guangdong province in China as the case-study area. A method for assessing cultivated ecosystem functions was presented based on the connotation, integrating the components, structure, and sustainability of cultivated ecosystems, and the ecological process of CLU. According to the theoretical framework of an inverted U-curve for the FTCE presented in this study, the FTCE referring to a shift from rapid consumption to recovery growth was identified using univariate analysis and panel data regression methods. The underlying mechanisms for the FTCE are concluded as induced substitution of agricultural production, involving agricultural input substitution, crop substitution, and land-use substitution. To improve the FTCE and further promote the ecological sustainability of CLU, it is important to encourage farmers to maximize the labor productivity in land use. Further, specific policies are proposed to control these three aspects of substitution. The findings and suggestions of this study are significant for China and other regions to promote the ecological sustainability of CLU. This study has made valuable progress compared with previous studies on land-use transition because of the integrated perspective of functional transition related to ecological sustainability. • We present a theoretical framework of functional transition of cultivated ecosystems (FTCE). • The FTCE is idendified as a U-shaped relationship between cultivated ecosystem functions and GDP per capita. • Underlying mechanisms for the FTCE are induced substitutions of agricultural inputs, crops, and land-use. • Maximizing labor productivity in land use is important for improving the FTCE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The recent trend of rapid urbanization draws more and more concerns on the land use pattern in China. This study employs an ecological input–output model to reveal the impact of domestic consumption and international trade on cultivated land distributions in China during 1987–2007. According to the high-sectoral-resolution dataset, Agriculture and Food Processing are identified as the two key sectors which contribute the largest volumes of embodied cultivated land to meet household food demand in 2007. The indicators of production- and consumption-based cultivated land are highly correlated during the research period: both experience a phase of stability during 1987–1995, then a boom from 1995 to 1997, and a steady decrease afterward. Although the total cultivated land use in China is fluctuating, the embodied intensity shows a declining trend from 7.12 ha/thousand Yuan in 1987 to 0.43 ha/thousand Yuan in 2007, with an annual decrease rate of 13.09%. With respect to trade pattern, the Agriculture sector is China's largest net importer of cultivated land, in contrast to the Textile sector as the largest net exporter. When China is shown to be a net embodied cultivated land exporter throughout the concerned years, the variation of embodied cultivated land balance is closely related to the country's international trade pattern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Clarifying the sustainable intensification of cultivated land use (SICLU). • Establishing an evaluation system by means of emergy analysis to evaluate SICLU. • Exploring the SICLU differences between farming households with diverse livelihood. • Providing a reference for understanding the process law of SICLU on a microscale. The sustainable intensification of cultivated land use (SICLU) is required to coordinate the contradiction between growing food demand and resource and environmental constraints. Farming households' livelihood transition directly influences the direction of cultivated land use transformation. Based on a theoretical analysis, we used the data of 359 questionnaires of farming households in Qufu County, China to evaluate SICLU according to households' livelihood types, in order to provide a reference for understanding the process law of SICLU on a micro perspective. The objectives are to: (i) quantitatively evaluate the SICLU level using the emergy analysis and (ii) explore the differences in SICLU between different farming households' livelihood types. The results show that: (1) Auxiliary inputs were the main inputs in the process of cultivated land use, renewable environment inputs were mainly from rainwater chemical and earth rotation, and the non-renewable net loss of topsoil was relatively rare. (2) 14% of farming households' cultivated land use was non-sustainable intensification (SI), 52% was low-SI, 30% was medium-SI, and 4% was high-SI. (3) Among the different livelihood types identified, the SICLU level of the agricultural-professional farming households was the highest, followed by traditional agricultural farming households, agricultural mainly part-time farming households, non-agricultural mainly part-time farming households, and non-agricultural farming households. The conclusions are as follows: (1) The purpose of the SICLU is not to maximize the ecological benefit, economic benefit, and social benefit, but to pursue an optimal solution that maintains a dynamic balance in order to realize the compound benefits generated by cultivated land use. (2) The SICLU level of the sample farming households was relatively low, and the characteristics of the livelihood types varied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the continuous development of China's society and economy, the breadth and depth of cultivated land resources development and utilization have been continuously expanded, while the production efficiency and scale of cultivated land gradually have been improved. There were rapidly increases of carbon emission induced from cultivated land management, such as the agricultural inputs and energy consumptions. Taking carbon emission from cultivated land utilization in Northeast China as the research object, we determined the carbon emission accounting framework system according to the life cycle method. Based on estimation results of carbon emissions from 1979 to 2015 in Northeast China, the driver factor system affecting agricultural carbon emissions was constructed using logarithmic mean Divisia index model and the influence mechanism of cultivated land carbon emissions in Northeast China was deeply explored. The results showed that total carbon emission from cultivated land utilization in 2015 was 21.9% higher than that in 1979 and carbon emission intensity in 2015 was 1.54 t·hm -2 lower than that in 1979. Soil management and agricultural inputs were the main sources of carbon emissions from cultivated land accounting for 83.6% of the total carbon emissions. The increases of land productivity and science and technology fund allocation rate were found to be the driving factors of carbon emission from cultivated land utilization. On the contrary, the reduction of input/output ratio, cultivated land area per capita and intensity of science and technology investment decreased carbon emission from cultivated land utilization.

During cultivated land use, nonseparable relationships exist between certain inputs and outputs. This study explored the influence of the nonseparable characteristics of input and output variables on both the cultivated land use environmental efficiency (CLUEE) and the cultivated land use environmental total factor productivity (CLUETFP). To evaluate China's CLUEE and CLUETFP from 1997 to 2017, we used the nonseparable hybrid model with undesirable outputs (NSH-U) and the nonseparable hybrid Malmquist (NSH-M) productivity index. The results showed the following: (1) The CLUEE differed significantly among regions, with the CLUEE decreasing from the eastern region to the western, northeastern, and central regions. We observed large differences in the CLUEE among provinces. (2) Nonradial input inefficiency and radial output inefficiency were the primary sources of cultivated land use environmental inefficiency. (3) Technical progress was the primary driving force behind the growth of CLUETFP across the entire country and in the eastern, central, western, and northeastern regions; however, technical efficiency limited the growth of CLUETFP to a certain extent. Finally, we proposed policy implications to improve China's CLUEE and CLUETFP. Unlabelled Image • The nonseparable characteristics of input and output variables were considered. • The NSH-U model and NSH-M productivity index were used to measure China's CLUEE and CLUETFP. • Technical progress was the main driving force behind the growth of China's CLUETFP. • The low CLUEE was the result of both nonradial input inefficiency and radial output inefficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultivated land use efficiency (CLUE) not only affects sustainable economic growth but is also closely related to the physical and mental health of citizens. In this paper, we employed the minimum distance to strong efficient frontier with undesirable outputs (MinDS-U) model and Malmquist productivity index based on the MinDS-U model (MinDS-U-M) to conduct static and dynamic multi-perspective analyses of the CLUE in 30 provinces in China from 1997 to 2017 under carbon emission constraints. The study results showed that: (1) There were significant differences in the cultivated land use technical efficiency (CLUTE) between eastern, central, western, and northeastern China. Compared with central China, eastern, western, and northeastern China have higher CLUTE and are closer to the production frontier. (2) There are varying degrees of non-coordination between carbon emission reduction and economic growth during cultivated land use in eastern, central, western, and northeastern China, and the problem of non-environmentally friendly technology is particularly prominent in central China. (3) The inter-provincial cultivated land use total factor productivity (CLUTFP) growth mode was unsatisfactory, and only Shaanxi and Chongqing followed the dual-high growth model. •The MinDS-U and MinDS-U-M models were used to measure China's cultivated land use efficiency. • There were significant differences in cultivated land use technical efficiency between regions. • The inter-provincial cultivated land use total factor productivity growth mode was unsatisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]