Research Progress and Discoveries Related to Cultivated Land Abandonment

doi:10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2021.02.004

Abstract

Abstract:

Using bibliometric methods, this paper analyzes the total amount and keyword composition among 910 studies in the field of farmland abandonment published in the Web of Science database from 1992 to 2019. According to the usage of keywords, existing studies are reviewed from the three aspects of monitoring and mapping, driving forces and influencing factors, and effects assessment and trade-off. The results show that: (1) At present, the extraction and mapping of abandoned farmland data mainly rely on household surveys and remote sensing technology, and combing NDVI time series with spatial information can provide abandoned farmland data with high precision. (2) The driving forces and influencing factors of cultivated land abandonment have been summarized in terms of extent, sources and attributes, respectively. Cultivated land marginalization is the fundamental driving force of cultivated land abandonment, labor migration is the direct driving force, and changes in socio-economic factors are the main driving forces. (3) The environmental effects of cultivated land abandonment are spatially heterogeneous, and temporal-spatial differences, the landscape environment, climate, cultivation and topographic features will all play decisive roles in shaping the ultimate environmental effects. Studies of trade-offs between the impacts of cultivated land abandonment mainly focus on ecosystem service function and value, while the role of spatial background is often ignored. Based on a systematic review of existing literature, this paper suggests that future efforts should carry out large-scale investigations on abandoned cultivated land at the national level, conduct multi-scale research on the driving forces of land abandonment, and conduct trade-off research on the effects of land abandonment based on national conditions.

Key words: cultivated land abandonment, mapping, driving forces, simulation, trade-off

CHEN Qianru, XIE Hualin. Research Progress and Discoveries Related to Cultivated Land Abandonment[J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2021, 12(2): 165-174.

Figures/Tables 7

References 70

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Research field	Keywords
Monitoring and mapping	GIS, Land abandonment, Agricultural abandonment, Landsat, Remote sensing, Cropland abandonment, China, Farmland abandonment, Abandonment
Driving forces and influencing factors	Land use change, Land-use change, Land use
Impact and trade-off*	Secondary succession, Soil erosion, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Conservation

Research field	Keywords
Monitoring and mapping	GIS, Land abandonment, Agricultural abandonment, Landsat, Remote sensing, Cropland abandonment, China, Farmland abandonment, Abandonment
Driving forces and influencing factors	Land use change, Land-use change, Land use
Impact and trade-off*	Secondary succession, Soil erosion, Agriculture, Biodiversity, Conservation

Types	Driving forces	Connotations
Fundamental driving force	Cultivated land margination	Zero return on cultivated land; Negative return on cultivated land
Direct driving force	Labor migration	The decline of labor quantity and quality
Main driving force	Changes in socio-economic factors	Migration and the non-agricultural shift of the rural population resulting from urbanization and industrialization; Decreased land-use net income caused by changes in market demand, international trade development and increased price of agricultural materials, etc. Agricultural policy adjustment; Land system reform; Agricultural technology upgrading; Agricultural commercialization, etc.

Types	Driving forces	Connotations
Fundamental driving force	Cultivated land margination	Zero return on cultivated land; Negative return on cultivated land
Direct driving force	Labor migration	The decline of labor quantity and quality
Main driving force	Changes in socio-economic factors	Migration and the non-agricultural shift of the rural population resulting from urbanization and industrialization; Decreased land-use net income caused by changes in market demand, international trade development and increased price of agricultural materials, etc. Agricultural policy adjustment; Land system reform; Agricultural technology upgrading; Agricultural commercialization, etc.

Agro-ecological or biophysical factors	Socio-economic factors	Agricultural property characteristics
Soil depletion	Weak competitiveness of land products	Low active population proportion in cultivated land location
Climate limitations	High land cost	Low farmer proportion
Steep slope	Under-capitalization	Population migration
Small plot	Difficulties in land leasing	Farmland heirs in default
Difficulty of mechanized operation	Specific land competitiveness	Family heritage disputes
Poor land plot accessibility	Economic substitution	Difficulty of cultivated land capitalization
Far distance from villages or countryside	Urbanization	Working capacity
Soil degradation, erosion, or salinization	Extensive/intensive management