Identifying the Determinants of Nongrain Farming in China and Its Implications for Agricultural Development

Identifying the Spatial–Temporal Pattern of Cropland’s Non-Grain Production and Its Effects on Food Security in China

Non-grain production of cropland (NGPCL) is a common phenomenon in the process of rapid urbanization in order to meet the diversified food demand and prosperity of the rural economy. However, excessive NGPCL will threaten grain production. How to control the moderate development of NGPCL in order to achieve the balance between food security and rural development has become a salient issue. In this study, we constructed a framework to measure NGPCL, revealed the spatial–temporal pattern of NGPCL, and then analyzed its influencing factors from the perspective of the human–land relationship. The results indicate that, firstly, the overall degree of NGPCL in China experienced an increase from 0.44 to 0.51, while the gap among cities was consistently enlarging, with the range value increasing from 0.74 to 0.91. Secondly, the spatial pattern of NGPCL was high in the northwest and southeast, and low in the northeast and central regions. The southern economic developed area exhibited the highest increase, while the Inner Mongolia, northwest China, and traditional agricultural areas experienced a decreasing trend in NGPCL. Thirdly, the spatial agglomeration of NGPCL has been intensified, with the Gansu–Xinjiang Desert plateau, southeast coastal economic belt, and urban agglomeration areas exhibiting a “high–high” agglomeration, while the traditional agricultural areas exhibited “low–low” agglomeration. Fourthly, NGPCL is positively correlated with the urbanization rate, land fragmentation, landscape diversity, land price, and grain production policy, while it is negatively linked with the agricultural employment rate, agricultural machinery level, and cultivated land per capita. The findings of this research are not only deepen the understanding of NGPCL, but are also of great significance for policy makers in order to propose targeted control measures.

Spatiotemporal Changes of Chemical Fertilizer Application and Its Environmental Risks in China from 2000 to 2019

Chemical fertilizers are important inputs in agricultural production. They not only increase crop yield but also bring many negative effects, such as agricultural non-point source pollution. Therefore, a scientific understanding of the regional differences in chemical fertilizer application and its environmental risks is of significance to promote China’s agricultural development. In this study, we analyzed the spatiotemporal pattern of chemical fertilizer application intensity (CFAI) in China since 2000, evaluated the environmental risks of provincial CFAI, and investigated the internal mechanism behind them. The results showed that the total amount and intensity of chemical fertilizer application in China from 2000 to 2019 presented a trend of increasing first and then decreasing. In 2000 and 2019, provincial CFAI in eastern China was generally higher than that in central and western China, and the environmental risks of provincial CFAI were spatially characterized by “high in the north and low in the south”. Factors such as poor soil conditions, unreasonable farming structure and backward fertilization methods are the main reasons for the continuous increase in the total amount and intensity of chemical fertilizer application, while the construction of ecological civilization and the transformation of society and economy are the main reasons for their decline. Finally, measures such as targeted fertilization, adjusting the use structure of chemical fertilizers, improving fertilization methods and replacing chemical fertilizers with organic fertilizers are proposed to promote the quantity reduction and efficiency increase of chemical fertilizer application in China.

Land Use Transitions under Rapid Urbanization: A Perspective from Developing China

Land use transition is a manifestation of land use and land cover change (LUCC) and is also a major research focus of the Global Land Project (GLP), as well as land system science (LSS) [...]