IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v119y2022ics0264837722002228.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Functional transition of cultivated ecosystems: Underlying mechanisms and policy implications in China

Author

Listed:
  • Song, Xiaoqing
  • Wang, Xiong
  • Hu, Shougeng
  • Xiao, Renbin
  • Scheffran, Jürgen

Abstract

The ecological sustainability of cultivated land use is a major challenge for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. However, less attention has been paid to the ecological sustainability of cultivated land use (CLU) from the perspective of the functional transition of cultivated ecosystems (FTCE). Moreover, knowledge about the underlying mechanisms of the FTCE has been very limited to date. The aim of this study was to bridge this gap, taking the Guangdong province in China as the case-study area. A method for assessing cultivated ecosystem functions was presented based on the connotation, integrating the components, structure, and sustainability of cultivated ecosystems, and the ecological process of CLU. According to the theoretical framework of an inverted U-curve for the FTCE presented in this study, the FTCE referring to a shift from rapid consumption to recovery growth was identified using univariate analysis and panel data regression methods. The underlying mechanisms for the FTCE are concluded as induced substitution of agricultural production, involving agricultural input substitution, crop substitution, and land-use substitution. To improve the FTCE and further promote the ecological sustainability of CLU, it is important to encourage farmers to maximize the labor productivity in land use. Further, specific policies are proposed to control these three aspects of substitution. The findings and suggestions of this study are significant for China and other regions to promote the ecological sustainability of CLU. This study has made valuable progress compared with previous studies on land-use transition because of the integrated perspective of functional transition related to ecological sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Song, Xiaoqing & Wang, Xiong & Hu, Shougeng & Xiao, Renbin & Scheffran, Jürgen, 2022. "Functional transition of cultivated ecosystems: Underlying mechanisms and policy implications in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:119:y:2022:i:c:s0264837722002228
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106195
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837722002228
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106195?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. M. & von. Hauff(hauff@wiwi.uni-kl.de), 2015. "Requirements for the Sustainable Development of Industrial Areas," Journal "Region: Economics and Sociology", Institute of Economics and Industrial Engineering of Siberian Branch of RAS, vol. 3.
    2. Ligang Lyu & Zhoubing Gao & Hualou Long & Xiaorui Wang & Yeting Fan, 2021. "Farmland Use Transition in a Typical Farming Area: The Case of Sihong County in the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-16, March.
    3. de Groot, Rudolf S. & Wilson, Matthew A. & Boumans, Roelof M. J., 2002. "A typology for the classification, description and valuation of ecosystem functions, goods and services," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(3), pages 393-408, June.
    4. Ma, Li & Long, Hualou & Tu, Shuangshuang & Zhang, Yingnan & Zheng, Yuhan, 2020. "Farmland transition in China and its policy implications," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    5. Jean-Marc Roda & Maxime Goralski & Anthony Benoist & Anaphel Baptiste & Valentine Boudjema & Theodoros Galanos & Marine Georget & Jean-Eudes Hévin & Simon Lavergne & Frédéric Eychenne & Kan Ern Liew &, 2015. "Sustainability of biojet-fuel in Malaysia," Selected Books, CIRAD, Forest department, UPR40, edition 1, volume 1, number 17 edited by Jean-Marc Roda.
    6. Liu, Xing & Lehtonen, Heikki & Purola, Tuomo & Pavlova, Yulia & Rötter, Reimund & Palosuo, Taru, 2016. "Dynamic economic modelling of crop rotations with farm management practices under future pest pressure," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 65-76.
    7. Fei, Rilong & Lin, Ziyi & Chunga, Joseph, 2021. "How land transfer affects agricultural land use efficiency: Evidence from China’s agricultural sector," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    8. Wilhelm, Jennifer A. & Smith, Richard G. & Jolejole-Foreman, Maria Christina & Hurley, Stephanie, 2020. "Resident and stakeholder perceptions of ecosystem services associated with agricultural landscapes in New Hampshire," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    9. Song, Xiaoqing & Wang, Xiong & Li, Xinyi & Zhang, Weina & Scheffran, Jürgen, 2021. "Policy-oriented versus market-induced: Factors influencing crop diversity across China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    10. Saburo Yamada & Vernon W. Ruttan, 1980. "International Comparisons of Productivity in Agriculture," NBER Chapters, in: New Developments in Productivity Measurement and Analysis, pages 507-594, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Paul T. M. Ingenbleek & Gé B. C. Backus, 2015. "Organizing Open Innovation for Sustainability," Springer Books, in: Alexander Brem & Éric Viardot (ed.), Adoption of Innovation, edition 127, pages 109-131, Springer.
    12. Gaglio, Mattias & Aschonitis, Vassilis & Castaldelli, Giuseppe & Fano, Elisa Anna, 2020. "Land use intensification rather than land cover change affects regulating services in the mountainous Adige river basin (Italy)," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    13. Rana, Kartika & Goyal, Neha & Prakash Sharma, Gyan, 2018. "Staging stewards of agro-ecosystems in the ecosystem services framework," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 33(PA), pages 89-101.
    14. Herd-Hoare, S. & Shackleton, C.M., 2020. "Ecosystem disservices matter when valuing ecosystem benefits from small-scale arable agriculture," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    15. Klasen, Stephan & Meyer, Katrin M. & Dislich, Claudia & Euler, Michael & Faust, Heiko & Gatto, Marcel & Hettig, Elisabeth & Melati, Dian N. & Jaya, I. Nengah Surati & Otten, Fenna & Pérez-Cruzado, Cés, 2016. "Economic and ecological trade-offs of agricultural specialization at different spatial scales," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 111-120.
    16. Valencia Torres, Angélica & Tiwari, Chetan & Atkinson, Samuel F., 2021. "Progress in ecosystem services research: A guide for scholars and practitioners," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    17. Rajagopal, 2015. "Sustainable Marketing," Palgrave Macmillan Books, in: The Butterfly Effect in Competitive Markets, chapter 8, pages 194-219, Palgrave Macmillan.
    18. Lawrence Chin, 2015. "Sustainability in Retail Developments: Case of Singapore," ERES eres2015_5, European Real Estate Society (ERES).
    19. Graeme S. Cumming & Andreas Buerkert & Ellen M. Hoffmann & Eva Schlecht & Stephan von Cramon-Taubadel & Teja Tscharntke, 2014. "Implications of agricultural transitions and urbanization for ecosystem services," Nature, Nature, vol. 515(7525), pages 50-57, November.
    20. repec:arz:wpaper:eres2015-5 is not listed on IDEAS
    21. Schultner, Jannik & Dorresteijn, Ine & Manlosa, Aisa O. & von Wehrden, Henrik & Hylander, Kristoffer & Senbeta, Feyera & Fischer, Joern, 2021. "Ecosystem services from forest and farmland: Present and past access separates beneficiaries in rural Ethiopia," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 48(C).
    22. Zhang, Xiaobo & Yang, Jin & Wang, Shenglin, 2011. "China has reached the Lewis turning point," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 542-554.
    23. Su, Baozhong & Li, Yuheng & Li, Lequn & Wang, Yue, 2018. "How does nonfarm employment stability influence farmers' farmland transfer decisions? Implications for China’s land use policy," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 66-72.
    24. Zhou, Yang & Li, Xunhuan & Liu, Yansui, 2021. "Cultivated land protection and rational use in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    25. Posner, Stephen & Verutes, Gregory & Koh, Insu & Denu, Doug & Ricketts, Taylor, 2016. "Global use of ecosystem service models," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 131-141.
    26. Unknown, 2015. "Towards A Sustainable Soil Fertility Strategy in Ghana," Miscellaneous Publications 212898, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    27. Lu, Xiao & Shi, Yangyang & Chen, Changling & Yu, Miao, 2017. "Monitoring cropland transition and its impact on ecosystem services value in developed regions of China: A case study of Jiangsu Province," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 25-40.
    28. Andrew Balmford & Tatsuya Amano & Harriet Bartlett & Dave Chadwick & Adrian Collins & David Edwards & Rob Field & Philip Garnsworthy & Rhys Green & Pete Smith & Helen Waters & Andrew Whitmore & Donald, 2018. "The environmental costs and benefits of high-yield farming," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 1(9), pages 477-485, September.
    29. Unescap-Sswa, 2015. "Enhancing the sustainability of development," SSWA Policy Briefs 0005, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) South and South-West Asia Office.
    30. Tim Newbold & Lawrence N. Hudson & Samantha L. L. Hill & Sara Contu & Igor Lysenko & Rebecca A. Senior & Luca Börger & Dominic J. Bennett & Argyrios Choimes & Ben Collen & Julie Day & Adriana De Palma, 2015. "Global effects of land use on local terrestrial biodiversity," Nature, Nature, vol. 520(7545), pages 45-50, April.
    31. Kuang, Bing & Han, Jing & Lu, Xinhai & Zhang, Xupeng & Fan, Xiangyu, 2020. "Quantitative evaluation of China’s cultivated land protection policies based on the PMC-Index model," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    32. Fang Cai, 2008. "Approaching a Triumphal Span: How Far Is China Towards its Lewisian Turning Point?," WIDER Working Paper Series RP2008-09, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    33. Begg, Iain & Bongardt, Annette & Nicolaïdis, Kalypso & Torres, Francisco, 2015. "EMU and sustainable integration," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 65243, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    34. Harris, Jonathan M. & Kennedy, Scott, 1999. "Carrying capacity in agriculture: global and regional issues," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 29(3), pages 443-461, June.
    35. Li, Jing & Zhang, Zelie & Jin, Xianfeng & Chen, Jiaquan & Zhang, Shaojia & He, Zong & Li, Sheng & He, Zhiming & Zhang, Haipeng & Xiao, He, 2018. "Exploring the socioeconomic and ecological consequences of cash crop cultivation for policy implications," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 46-57.
    36. Zhang, Wei & Ricketts, Taylor H. & Kremen, Claire & Carney, Karen & Swinton, Scott M., 2007. "Ecosystem services and dis-services to agriculture," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(2), pages 253-260, December.
    37. MacDonald, Heather & McKenney, Daniel, 2020. "Envisioning a global forest transition: Status, role, and implications," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    38. A. J. Challinor & J. Watson & D. B. Lobell & S. M. Howden & D. R. Smith & N. Chhetri, 2014. "A meta-analysis of crop yield under climate change and adaptation," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 4(4), pages 287-291, April.
    39. Casolani, Nicola & Nissi, Eugenia & Giampaolo, Antonio & Liberatore, Lolita, 2021. "Evaluating the effects of European support measures for Italian organic farms," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    40. Peng, Jian & Hu, Xiaoxu & Wang, Xiaoyu & Meersmans, Jeroen & Liu, Yanxu & Qiu, Sijing, 2019. "Simulating the impact of Grain-for-Green Programme on ecosystem services trade-offs in Northwestern Yunnan, China," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chengxiu Li & Xiuli Wang & Zhengxin Ji & Ling Li & Xiaoke Guan, 2022. "Optimizing the Use of Cultivated Land in China’s Main Grain-Producing Areas from the Dual Perspective of Ecological Security and Leading-Function Zoning," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-20, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maëlle Tripon & Dorothée Boccanfuso & Marie-Eve Yergeau, 2020. "Agriculture urbaine, pratiques agricoles et impacts environnementaux et de santé publique," Cahiers de recherche 20-02, Departement d'économique de l'École de gestion à l'Université de Sherbrooke.
    2. van der Zwaan, Bob & Kober, Tom & Longa, Francesco Dalla & van der Laan, Anouk & Jan Kramer, Gert, 2018. "An integrated assessment of pathways for low-carbon development in Africa," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 387-395.
    3. Sala-Garrido, Ramon & Mocholi-Arce, Manuel & Maziotis, Alexandros & Molinos-Senante, María, 2023. "The carbon and production performance of water utilities: Evidence from the English and Welsh water industry," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 292-300.
    4. Aghahosseini, Arman & Breyer, Christian, 2020. "From hot rock to useful energy: A global estimate of enhanced geothermal systems potential," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    5. Bakhshi, Parul & Babulal, Ganesh M. & Trani, Jean-Francois, 2018. "Education and disability in a conflict affected context: Are children with disabilities less likely to learn and be protected in Darfur?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 248-259.
    6. Zhiyuan Zhu & Zhenzhong Dai & Shilin Li & Yongzhong Feng, 2022. "Spatiotemporal Evolution of Non-Grain Production of Cultivated Land and Its Underlying Factors in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-15, July.
    7. Boräng, Frida & Jagers, Sverker C. & Povitkina, Marina, 2016. "Political determinants of electricity provision in small island developing states," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 725-734.
    8. Ando Fahda Aulia & Harpinder Sandhu & Andrew C. Millington, 2020. "Quantifying the Economic Value of Ecosystem Services in Oil Palm Dominated Landscapes in Riau Province in Sumatra, Indonesia," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-23, June.
    9. Van Acker, Rene & Cici, S. Zahra H. & Lohuis, Michael & Ryan, Camille & Sachs, Eric, 2015. "Gaining Societal Acceptance of Biotechnology: The Case for Societal Engagement," GMCC-15: Seventh GMCC, November 17-20, 2015, Amsterdam, the Netherlands 211639, International Conference on Coexistence between Genetically Modified (GM) and non-GM based Agricultural Supply Chains (GMCC).
    10. My, Nguyen H.D. & Demont, Matty & Van Loo, Ellen J. & de Guia, Annalyn & Rutsaert, Pieter & Tuan, Tran Huu & Verbeke, Wim, 2018. "What is the value of sustainably-produced rice? Consumer evidence from experimental auctions in Vietnam," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 283-296.
    11. Kattumuri, Ruth & Kruse, Tobias, 2017. "Renewable technologies in Karnataka, India: jobs potential and co-benefits," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 86551, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    12. Lili Chen & Hongsheng Chen & Chaohui Zou & Ye Liu, 2021. "The Impact of Farmland Transfer on Rural Households’ Income Structure in the Context of Household Differentiation: A Case Study of Heilongjiang Province, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-20, April.
    13. Lili Guo & Yuting Song & Mengqian Tang & Jinyang Tang & Bright Senyo Dogbe & Mengying Su & Houjian Li, 2022. "Assessing the Relationship among Land Transfer, Fertilizer Usage, and PM 2.5 Pollution: Evidence from Rural China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-18, July.
    14. Xinyao Li & Lingzhi Wang & Bryan Pijanowski & Lingpeng Pan & Hichem Omrani & Anqi Liang & Yi Qu, 2022. "The Spatio-Temporal Pattern and Transition Mode of Recessive Cultivated Land Use Morphology in the Huaibei Region of the Jiangsu Province," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-16, November.
    15. Ping Xue & Xinru Han & Yongchun Wang & Xiudong Wang, 2022. "Can Agricultural Machinery Harvesting Services Reduce Cropland Abandonment? Evidence from Rural China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-15, June.
    16. Posthumus, H. & Rouquette, J.R. & Morris, J. & Gowing, D.J.G. & Hess, T.M., 2010. "A framework for the assessment of ecosystem goods and services; a case study on lowland floodplains in England," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(7), pages 1510-1523, May.
    17. Fan, Fan & Henriksen, Christian Bugge & Porter, John, 2016. "Valuation of ecosystem services in organic cereal crop production systems with different management practices in relation to organic matter input," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 22(PA), pages 117-127.
    18. Sun, Xueqing & Xiang, Pengcheng & Cong, Kexin, 2023. "Research on early warning and control measures for arable land resource security," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    19. Li, Xiaoliang & Wu, Kening & Yang, Qijun & Hao, Shiheng & Feng, Zhe & Ma, Jinliang, 2023. "Quantitative assessment of cultivated land use intensity in Heilongjiang Province, China, 2001–2015," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    20. Ning He & Wenxian Guo & Hongxiang Wang & Long Yu & Siyuan Cheng & Lintong Huang & Xuyang Jiao & Wenxiong Chen & Haotong Zhou, 2023. "Temporal and Spatial Variations in Landscape Habitat Quality under Multiple Land-Use/Land-Cover Scenarios Based on the PLUS-InVEST Model in the Yangtze River Basin, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-19, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:119:y:2022:i:c:s0264837722002228. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.