Sustainable Intensification and Large-scale Operation of Cultivated Land Use at the Farmers’ Scale: A Case Study of Shandong Province, China

Abstract

Sustainable intensi cation of cultivated land use (SICLU) and large-scale operations (LSO) are widely recognized to improve agricultural performance. However, the current literature is ambiguous in de ning sustainable intensi cation (SI), incomprehensive in structuring SI indicators, and very limited in discussing their impacting mechanism. Self-e cacy is an important psychological factor that affects farmers' land-use behavior. Based on conceptualizing the connotation and extension of SICLU, we designed an index framework (including subjective and objective indicators) to assess SICLU. Then, by evolving the input and output of agricultural materials, a demonstration was carried out with the example of SICLU and LSO in Shandong Province, China. Logistic, OLS, and BRT models were used to quantify the possible degree and dynamic curve between SICLU indicators (such as policy cognition, labor availability, grain transaction turnover, machinery input, and irrigation input) and LSO.