Despite a recent line of research highlighting trust as an important determinant of residents’ happiness in Western countries, empirical evidence regarding the strength of these linkages in the developing world needs to be more comprehensive and conclusive. This paper contributes to this literature by performing a deeper examination into the trust-based explanation of happiness and, particularly, exploring the mediating role of social capital in rural China, where rapid economic growth coexists with gradual and fundamental social changes. Using data from the nationally representative cross-sectional Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) in 2012, 2013, and 2015, we indicate that trust positively affects the happiness of rural residents and social capital. Our findings support the role of social capital in mediating happiness prediction. Furthermore, additional tests suggest heterogeneous social capital for different ages and degrees of regional market competition. Specifically, the mediating effect of social capital on rural residents over 30 years old (inclusive) and living in high-market competition areas is significant. These findings provide a valuable direction for the government that producing an environment that enhances social networks and facilitates the exchange of social support holds promise for improving the life satisfaction of the rural Chinese population. Trust can significantly improve rural residents’ happiness through increasing social capital. The government should effectively manage the rural social trust crisis and help rural residents build social capital in multiple ways, improving the life satisfaction of rural residents.

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Amid the epoch of global overpopulation, the agroforestry system can intervene as a novel practice that can safeguard agricultural sustainability, provide a means of livelihood, yield ecological benefits, and contribute to household food security. However, the adoption of sustained agroforestry practices requires an understanding of both farmers’ personal characteristics and perceived statuses, constituting a difficult task to anticipate, analyze, and visualize. To this end, it is crucial to understand and identify the most significant factors driving the adoption of agroforestry. This research attempts to examine the determinants and psychological drivers of smallholder farmers’ intention to plant trees on farmland and the factors that may discourage them from doing so. The conceptual framework of the study was developed based on the theory of planned behavior. We draw on survey data from 400 smallholder farmers in a northern irrigated plain of Pakistan. A binary logistic regression model was employed to explore how socio-psychological drivers influence farmers’ decision to adopt agroforestry practices. The study results reveal that 60.5% of the respondents prefer to adopt agroforestry practices. The results from a logit estimation showed that socio-economic variables such as family size, land ownership, subsidies, livestock rearing, sources of energy, and total income had a significant positive influence on the planting of trees on farmland, while age had a negative influence. Moreover, runoff control and the control of heat significantly affect the perceptions of farmers regarding the adoption of agroforestry. The findings suggest that implementing policies that enhance the delivery of robust agricultural extension services and training programs for farmers could disseminate the agroforestry system countrywide, which might offer substantial benefits for farmers in the long term while maintaining environmental integrity.