Tele-connection of global agricultural land network: Incorporating complex network approach with multi-regional input-output analysis

The geographical distribution imbalance of global agricultural land has been reduced as a result of increasing globalization, which accelerates land redistribution through global supply networks. In turn, interregional trade extends the control of land resources beyond of local borders. However, the specific structural features of agricultural land flow patterns embodied in international trade remain unclear from the perspective of a complex network. In this paper, we integrate multi-regional input-output model and complex network theory to reveal the structural characteristics of the global embodied land flow network (GELFN) in multiple dimensions. Globally, GELFN exhibits small-world nature, indicating that embodied land transfer interconnects economies at a high level. Regionally, GELFN has a basic community structure of seven groups, and economies in the same regional economic cooperation organizations, such as NAFTA, EU and AU, are more likely to cluster in the same community, implying that GELFN embodies the characteristics of multi-polarization and intra-region aggregation. Nationally, by introducing resource endowments and network-based measurements, we classify seven groups of key economies (‘connection clusters’) to identify different land use patterns. Moreover, the core-periphery structure of GELFN confirms that a few economies act as hubs associated with a large amount of land transfer. The results emphasize the importance of multi-regional cooperation on global agricultural land management and well-targeted policies in key economies and sectors.