Demarcation of Prime Farmland Protection Areas around a Metropolis Based on High-Resolution Satellite Imagery

Abstract

Prime farmland (PF) is defined as high-quality farmland and a prime farmland protection area (PFPA, including related roads, waters and facilities) is a region designated for the special protection of PF. However, rapid urbanization in China has led to a tremendous farmland loss and to the degradation of farmland quality. Based on remote sensing and geographic information system technology, this study developed a semiautomatic procedure for designating PFPAs using high-resolution satellite imagery (HRSI), which involved object-based image analysis, farmland composite evaluation, and spatial analysis. It was found that the HRSIs can provide elaborate land-use information, and the PFPA demarcation showed strong correlation with the farmland area and patch distance. For the benefit of spatial planning and management, different demarcation rules should be applied for suburban and exurban areas around a metropolis. Finally, the overall accuracy of HRSI classification was about 80% for the study area, and high-quality farmlands from evaluation results were selected as PFs. About 95% of the PFs were demarcated within the PFPAs. The results of this study will be useful for PFPA planning and the methods outlined could help in the automatic designation of PFPAs from the perspective of the spatial science.

The effect of land use regulations on farmland protection and non‐agricultural land conversions in China

“…A recent study by Xia et al . () made similar hypotheses to demarcate the protection zones in a small area of eastern China with satellite images and farmland quality. Moreover, including a full set of county‐by‐period indictors in the specification helps address the absence of a real counterfactual group to represent significant changes occurring over the study period.…”

“…First, a prime farmland protection zone is not a geographic entity but rather a virtual space of planning concept aiming at the mandatory protection of high quality farmlands (Xia et al . ). Consequently, boundaries of protection zones have never been revealed.…”

Implementing land evaluation and site assessment (LESA system) in farmland protection: A case‐study in northeastern China

“…The LESA system was first introduced for farmland evaluation applications in China. Unlike previous studies on LESA system applications (Dung & Sugumaran, 2005;Xia et al, 2016), the LESA system in our study categorized the total farmland into three primary areas (Table 9 and Figure 9). This is advantageous because it not only scientifically demonstrated the suitability and compatibility features of the farmland but also provided guidance for the implementation of farmland consolidation and remediation techniques in the three areas.…”

Optimization and classification control of permanent basic farmland based on quality classification

“…Permanent basic farmland, as the essence of arable land, plays a crucial role in ensuring national food security and the supply of essential agricultural products (Lambin et al, 2013;Chen et al, 2021;Wu et al, 2022). The scientific and rational delineation of permanent basic farmland is of significant strategic importance in protecting arable land, stabilizing agricultural production, ensuring food and ecological security, and promoting socio-economic development in China (Xia et al, 2016;Wu et al, 2017a;Qianwen et al, 2017;Song et al, 2022). With the advancement of national spatial planning, the delineation of the ecological protection redline, permanent basic farmland, and urban development boundaries has been completed nationwide, resulting in the demarcation of 1.55 billion mu (15 mu = 1ha) of permanent basic farmland.…”