Topographic heterogeneity, rural labour transfer and cultivated land use: An empirical study of plain and low‐hill areas in China.

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]