Land Use Policy and Food Security

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Water, Energy, Land and Food (WELF) Nexus".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 November 2024 | Viewed by 1517

Special Issue Editors

Sichuan Center for Rural Development Research, College of Management, Sichuan Agricultural University, 211 Huimin Road, Wenjiang District, Chengdu 611130, China
Interests: land use policy; sustainable livelihoods and poverty; emergency management; rural sustainable development; climate change and behavioral response; resources and environment policy; policy evaluation; rural revitalization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
School of Economics, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu 610074, China
Interests: farmers’ livelihood; ecological protection; green and low carbon; disaster economy; sustainable development; resource and environmental carrying capacity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu 610041, China
Interests: land use policy; sustainable development of mountain areas; sustainable livelihoods for farmers; resources and environment policy; rural sustainable development; land use transformation; rural revitalization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Food security is the foundation of the stable development of human society and economy, and the land use policy of a country is closely related to food security. For example, in recent years, China has implemented a large number of land use policies (such as high-standard farmland construction, one household and one field, and the separation of three rights, etc.), which have profoundly affected the development of related markets (non-agricultural employment market, land transfer market, and socialized service market), changed the pattern of land use by farmers (self-support, transfer and abandon land), and contributed to the food security and sustainable development of China and even the world. However, we still lack systematic research and understanding on how these useful land use policies systematically affect market development, how to reshape farmers' land use patterns, how to change farmers’ planting structure, and how to ensure farmers’ food security and sustainable development. Based on this background, this Special Issue is dedicated to building a theoretical and practical research platform for studies systematically assessing the direct and indirect impacts of land use policies on food security and sustainable development. Original research and review articles in this research field are welcome. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Evolution of logic and enlightenment of land use policy;
  • Land use policy and market development;
  • Land use policy and food security;
  • Land use policy and sustainable development.

Dr. Dingde Xu
Dr. Shili Guo
Dr. Shaoquan Liu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • land use policy
  • food security
  • moderate scale management
  • social service scale management
  • sustainable rural development
  • agricultural systems

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

17 pages, 58512 KiB  
Article
Spatiotemporal Distribution and Driving Mechanisms of Cropland Long-Term Stability in China from 1990 to 2018
by Yuchen Zhong, Jun Sun, Qi Wang, Dinghua Ou, Zhaonan Tian, Wuhaomiao Yu, Peixin Li and Xuesong Gao
Land 2024, 13(7), 1016; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13071016 - 8 Jul 2024
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Abstract
Long-term stability is crucial in cropland for maintaining stable agricultural production and ensuring national food security. However, relatively few studies have been conducted on the long-term stability of cropland at the national level. This study assessed the long-term stability of cropland in China [...] Read more.
Long-term stability is crucial in cropland for maintaining stable agricultural production and ensuring national food security. However, relatively few studies have been conducted on the long-term stability of cropland at the national level. This study assessed the long-term stability of cropland in China from 1990 to 2018 using a fine-resolution land use dataset. The experimental results indicated that the average area of unstable cropland in China from 1990 to 2018 amounted to 2.08 × 106 km2, 47.31% of the total. The Qinghai–Tibet Plateau exhibited the highest average proportion of unstable cropland at 65.9%, followed by the northern arid and semiarid region, Southern China, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau. The quantity of unstable cropland in China initially declined before increasing, reaching a final growth rate of 5.09%. Furthermore, this study explored the relevant driving factors of cropland’s long-term stability from both natural factors and human activities based on artificial neural networks. The relative importance of distance to vegetation reached a value of 0.30, indicating that it had the most significant influence on the long-term stability of cropland, followed by relief amplitude and soil type. This phenomenon may be attributed to the inadequate execution of the Grain for Green Policy and the requisition–compensation balance of cropland policy, along with the depletion of young and middle-aged laborers due to urban migration from rural areas. Local governments should focus on addressing the unsustainable exploitation of sloped land in rural mountainous or hilly regions while preventing urban developers from appropriating fertile cropland to compensate for less fertile areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use Policy and Food Security)
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23 pages, 6276 KiB  
Article
Quantitative Evaluation and Evolution Characteristics of Consistency Level of Black Soil Conservation Policy, Taking China’s Black Soil Protection Policy as an Example
by Fan Zhang, Peng Han, Ling Wu and Zhanwei Tian
Land 2024, 13(6), 800; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13060800 - 5 Jun 2024
Viewed by 451
Abstract
Scientifically evaluating China’s black soil protection policy and exploring its evolution characteristics are crucial for promoting high-quality and efficient black soil protection projects worldwide. Utilizing the Policy Modeling Consistency (PMC) index model, the effectiveness of China’s black soil protection policy system is assessed. [...] Read more.
Scientifically evaluating China’s black soil protection policy and exploring its evolution characteristics are crucial for promoting high-quality and efficient black soil protection projects worldwide. Utilizing the Policy Modeling Consistency (PMC) index model, the effectiveness of China’s black soil protection policy system is assessed. Building upon this evaluation, the research delves into the evolution process of the black soil protection policy system, examining its dynamic characteristics across different government levels. Through the application of text mining technology and visual analysis techniques, the study explores four dimensions: keyword co-occurrence, vertical synergy calculation, policy theme identification, and policy tool analysis. The results show the following: (1) The PMC index showed a phased growth trend, and various indicators gradually improved and tended to be stable. (2) Government policies at the same level exhibit progressive evolution patterns in terms of policy keywords and themes. (3) Across different levels of government, there are hierarchical lag evolution rules observed in policy keywords and provincial policy tools. Additionally, policy keywords display vertical synergy evolution patterns. In conclusion, future black soil conservation policies need to reduce hierarchical delays, enhance the coverage and comprehensiveness of policy content, and establish a sound policy feedback mechanism. The conclusions of the study are significant for improving management approaches throughout the black soil zones of the world. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use Policy and Food Security)
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23 pages, 1925 KiB  
Article
Farmland Rental Market, Outsourcing Services Market and Agricultural Green Productivity: Implications for Multiple Forms of Large-Scale Management
by Heng Zhang and **angyu Guo
Land 2024, 13(5), 676; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13050676 - 13 May 2024
Viewed by 550
Abstract
Large-scale management is the key to realizing long-term agricultural growth in smallholder countries. Land-scale management and service-scale management are two forms of agricultural large-scale management. The former is committed to changing the small-scale management pattern, but the latter tends to maintain it. There [...] Read more.
Large-scale management is the key to realizing long-term agricultural growth in smallholder countries. Land-scale management and service-scale management are two forms of agricultural large-scale management. The former is committed to changing the small-scale management pattern, but the latter tends to maintain it. There has been a lack of discussion and controversy about the relationship between the two. From the perspective of market maturity, this paper explores whether the two are complementary or mutually exclusive and how their complementary or mutually exclusive relationship affects agricultural green productivity. The results show the following: Land-scale management and service-scale management are complementary, not superficially contradictory. The benign interaction between the two has a consistent improvement effect on green productivity in both the short and long term, which has spatial spillovers appearing in the long term. The reasons are as follows: The farmland rental market can reverse the inhibitory effect of the current low-maturity outsourcing services market on green productivity. The outsourcing services market can delay the arrival of the inflection point beyond which expansion of farmland rental transactions reduces green productivity, and amplify the positive effect of farmland rental on it. Although the degree of benign interaction between the two forms of large-scale management has gradually increased in recent years, it is still low overall. Agricultural large-scale management in China is still in the stage driven by land-scale management. Smallholder countries such as China need not worry prematurely about which large-scale management path to take, and they should treat both forms of large-scale management with an equal perspective to accelerate the high-level interaction between them. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use Policy and Food Security)
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