Spatiotemporal differences, dynamic evolution and trend of cultivated land use efficiency: Based on three food functional areas

China's agricultural development has entered a period of transition, and improving the cultivated land use efficiency (CLUE) is of great significance for guaranteeing national food security. Based on the province panel data in China from 2000 to 2021, this research calculates the cultivated land use efficiency, and uses the Dagum-Gini coefficient, Kernel density estimation, and Markov chain to conduct an in-depth analysis of CLUE's regional variations and distribution dynamics in three food functional areas (TFA) of China. The study results showed that the trend of CLUE was characterized by “increasing levels and decreasing absolute differences,” not only in the whole country but also in the TFA. The inter-regional variation among TFA is gradually narrowing, and the cross-group degree of inter-regional variation is on the rise. The upward probability of CLUE was more effective than the probability of a transitionary change, and the mutual influence of CLUE between neighboring cities would lead to spatial convergence in the level of CLUE in the long term. Therefore, improving CLUE in China's TFA should not only grasp the regional differences in CLUE but also actively utilize the spatial spillover effects among functional regions to realize the cross-regional synergistic development of cropland utilization efficiency in China.