How can the sustainable goal of cultivated land use in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau be realized?—based on a research framework of cultivated land use patterns

Abstract

The study of cultivated land use models is an important means to improve the benefit of cultivated land use and promote the sustainable use of cultivated land. The rational optimization of regional cultivated land use models based on the consideration of regional background conditions and development goals can provide a scientific basis for ensuring the sustainable use of cultivated land. This study constructed a three-dimensional research framework of "natural quality-utilization intensity-spatial layout" of cultivated land utilization pattern. Taking the county as a unit, the natural quality, spatial distribution and utilization intensity of cultivated land in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau were evaluated, and the types of cultivated land utilization models were determined. Based on the ecological protection and the regulation and control of agriculture and animal husbandry in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the optimization direction of cultivated land use patterns was discussed. The results show that the cultivated land use pattern divided by the “NUS” three-dimensional model can accurately reflect the characteristics of cultivated land use in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The existing cultivated land use pattern in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is basically consistent with its ecological protection and development direction zoning, but the problems of unreasonable expansion and excessive use intensity of cultivated land exist in the ecotone between some development areas and restricted areas. Therefore, the utilization and optimization of cultivated land in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau should be based on the premise of protecting ecological security and striving to solve the contradiction between agricultural development and ecological protection to realize the sustainable utilization of cultivated land.

Is marginalised cultivated land on the Tibetan Plateau suitable for production or ecology? An example from the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

“…The Tibetan Plateau, known as the ‘third pole of the earth’, is the most important ecological barrier area in China and even in Asia and is a typical ecologically fragile alpine area (H. Li & Song, 2021). Cultivated land on the Tibetan Plateau is barren, with a scarcity of high‐quality agricultural land, generally large slopes and short growing periods due to natural constraints (X. M. Wang, Zhou, et al, 2023). This year, with the rapid development of the Huangshui River Basin in Qinghai and the ‘One River, Two Rivers’ Basin in Tibet, urban expansion has compressed the space for high‐quality cultivated land (Yin et al, 2023).…”

“…high-quality agricultural land, generally large slopes and short growing periods due to natural constraints (X. M. Wang, Zhou, et al, 2023). This year, with the rapid development of the Huangshui River Basin in Qinghai and the 'One River, Two Rivers' Basin in Tibet, urban expansion has compressed the space for high-quality cultivated land (Yin et al, 2023).…”

“…In the Tibetan Plateau region, unreasonable cultivated land development activities can lead to soil erosion and land degradation phenomena, so ecological safety and sustainable development also need to be considered during cultivated land development (Bai et al, 2016; R. R. Ma et al, 2023; X. M. Wang, Zhou, et al, 2023). Cultivated land ecological function evaluations arise in the context of cultivated land protection and utilisation and are important for promoting the sustainable utilisation and development of cultivated land (Song & Ouyang, 2012).…”