Spatiotemporal Evolution of Cultivated Land Non-Agriculturalization and Its Drivers in Typical Areas of Southwest China from 2000 to 2020

Abstract

Cultivated land resources are crucial to food security and economic development. Exploring the spatiotemporal pattern of cultivated land non-agriculturalization and its drivers is a prerequisite for cultivated land conservation. This paper used GlobeLand30 data to reveal the spatial and temporal pattern, the shift of the gravity center and the drivers of cultivated land non-agriculturalization by employing spatial analysis, gravity center model and the geographical detector model. The results show a dramatic increase in the non-agriculturalization of cultivated land in the period of 2010–2020 compared to 2000–2010. Spatially, the cultivated land non-agriculturalization mainly occurred in areas with high urbanization levels, such as eastern Sichuan Province and western Chongqing Municipality, while the cultivated land non-agriculturalization in other areas was small-scale and spatially scattered. Furthermore, the speed of cultivated land non-agriculturalization showed spatial unevenness, and the gravity center of cultivated land non-agriculturalization shifted towards the northeast at a distance of 123.21 km. The cultivated land non-agriculturalization was affected by GDP per capita, population density, GDP per unit of land and total retail sales of social consumer goods. The key drivers for the cultivated land non-agriculturalization in the study area were the continuous expansion of urban space and the large-scale cultivation of economic fruit trees. The government should promote small-scale machinery suitable for agricultural cultivation in the mountainous and hilly areas of Southwest China, and appropriately develop economic fruit groves and livestock farming to reduce the phenomenon of cultivated land non-foodization.

Effects of changes in land use structure on nitrogen input in the Pingzhai Reservoir watershed, a karst mountain region

“…For example, the construction of a reservoir affects farmers' willingness to farm, natural conditions affect farmers' employment choices, and policies to protect drinking water lead to policies to return farmland to forest. In the study of the drivers of land-use change in karst areas, reforestation, and ecological migration [ 32 ], poverty alleviation projects [ 34 ], continued urban expansion and large-scale planting of economic fruit trees [ 35 ], and improvements in agricultural technology [ 29 ] are all drivers of land-use change. However, the degree of influence of individual factors varies considerably from region to region.…”

Ecological Security Assessment and Warning of Cultivated Land Quality in the Black Soil Region of Northeast China

“…A high-quality tillage layer and management strategy can contribute significantly to improvements in CLQ [49,50]. Continued population growth and human activity put varying degrees of external pressure on cultivated land, increasing the demand for multiple agricultural products [51][52][53]. The overutilization of cropland can also damage its health and lead to a decline in its quality [54,55].…”

Why Have China’s Poverty Eradication Policy Resulted in the Decline of Arable Land in Poverty-Stricken Areas?

“…Reflecting the region's current state of economic development, measured by the natural logarithm of GDP [69,70]. (Units: 10,000 yuan) Precipitation PRCP Area precipitation [71].…”