IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jlands/v13y2024i11p1790-d1510433.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Current Scenario of Farmland Abandonment in China: A Systematic Review

Author

Listed:
  • Qiaowen Lin

    (School of Economics and Management, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China)

  • Peter Sammonds

    (Institute for Risk and Disaster Reduction, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK)

  • Mengxin Xu

    (School of Economics and Management, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China)

  • Zhe Zhu

    (School of Management, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, China)

  • Yu Cao

    (School of Economics and Management, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China)

Abstract

The significant expansion of farmland abandonment not only poses a threat to agricultural sustainability, but also challenges biodiversity conservation and food security. This study aims to initiate a deep systematic analysis of the current scenario of Chinese farmland abandonment, which is timely and urgent as a starting point to fully understand the current state of knowledge of it. In total, 181 articles out of 5384 articles through four databases (CNKI, Web of Science core collection, Scopus, and CAB Abstracts) are extracted and synthesized by the PRISMA method. A total of 12 experts from 11 countries with specialized knowledge in the research field are interviewed. It is found that farmland abandonment in East China is the most frequently reported, which is followed by the Southwest. The research focus in China has shifted from mountainous areas to agricultural and pastoral areas and major grain-producing areas. Chinese farmland abandonment is defined principally from the perspective of the managerial approach. An inventory that categorizes these different drivers of farmland abandonment is built, which includes socio-economic aspects, biophysical attributes, policy, household characteristics, and specific events. Socio-economic aspects, especially off-farm employment, are the most commonly studied factors. Meanwhile, the aging of the population is also noteworthy. Different trajectories should be applied accordingly due to the significant differences between North and South China. Furthermore, there is an optimistic attitude towards the ecological impact of abandoned farmland in China. However, more evidence should be given on it. Those findings will hopefully provide some insights for the scientific community and policy makers.

Suggested Citation

  • Qiaowen Lin & Peter Sammonds & Mengxin Xu & Zhe Zhu & Yu Cao, 2024. "The Current Scenario of Farmland Abandonment in China: A Systematic Review," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-17, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:11:p:1790-:d:1510433
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/11/1790/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2073-445X/13/11/1790/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Quintas-Soriano, Cristina & Buerkert, Andreas & Plieninger, Tobias, 2022. "Effects of land abandonment on nature contributions to people and good quality of life components in the Mediterranean region: A review," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    2. Baojing Gu & Xiaoling Zhang & Xuemei Bai & Bojie Fu & Deli Chen, 2019. "Four steps to food security for swelling cities," Nature, Nature, vol. 566(7742), pages 31-33, February.
    3. Leirpoll, Malene Eldegard & Næss, Jan Sandstad & Cavalett, Otavio & Dorber, Martin & Hu, Xiangping & Cherubini, Francesco, 2021. "Optimal combination of bioenergy and solar photovoltaic for renewable energy production on abandoned cropland," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 45-56.
    4. Ojha, Roshan Babu & Atreya, Kishor & Kristiansen, Paul & Devkota, Deepa & Wilson, Brian, 2022. "A systematic review and gap analysis of drivers, impacts, and restoration options for abandoned croplands in Nepal," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Lu, Dan & Su, Kangchuan & Wang, Zhanpeng & Hou, Mengjie & Li, Xinxin & Lin, Aiwen & Yang, Qingyuan, 2025. "Patterns and drivers of terrace abandonment in China: Monitoring based on multi-source remote sensing data," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 148(C).
    2. Guo, Baishu & Jin, Gui, 2025. "Beyond the land quantity: Rethinking the role of land quality in agriculture from the efficiency perspective," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    3. Salah Beni Hamed & Mouna Ben Hamed & Lassaad Sbita, 2022. "Robust Voltage Control of a Buck DC-DC Converter: A Sliding Mode Approach," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-21, August.
    4. Vergamini, Daniele & Olivieri, Matteo & Andreoli, Maria & Bartolini, Fabio, 2024. "Simulating policy mixes to reduce soil erosion and land abandonment in marginal areas: A case study from the Liguria Region (Italy)," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    5. Ewa Jadwiga Lipinska, 2024. "The Culture of Global Ecological Security: Theoretical and Empirical Aspects," European Research Studies Journal, European Research Studies Journal, vol. 0(3), pages 1432-1454.
    6. Liu, Yansui & Zhou, Yang, 2021. "Reflections on China's food security and land use policy under rapid urbanization," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    7. Raja Chowdhury & Nidia Caetano & Matthew J. Franchetti & Kotnoor Hariprasad, 2023. "Life Cycle Based GHG Emissions from Algae Based Bioenergy with a Special Emphasis on Climate Change Indicators and Their Uses in Dynamic LCA: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-19, January.
    8. Vera, Ivan & Wicke, Birka & Lamers, Patrick & Cowie, Annette & Repo, Anna & Heukels, Bas & Zumpf, Colleen & Styles, David & Parish, Esther & Cherubini, Francesco & Berndes, Göran & Jager, Henriette & , 2022. "Land use for bioenergy: Synergies and trade-offs between sustainable development goals," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    9. Kafle, Sagar & Poudel, Bibek & Gyawali, Purushottam & Bhattarai, Dilli Ram & Acharya, Tri Dev & Acharya, Rupesh & Dhakal, Saurav & Pradhan, Prajal & Adhikari, Sushil, 2025. "Industrial hemp in Nepal: Production and valorization perspectives," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    10. Bethwell Moyo & Khuliso Emmanuel Ravhuhali, 2022. "Abandoned Croplands: Drivers and Secondary Succession Trajectories under Livestock Grazing in Communal Areas of South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-14, May.
    11. Dimitris Goussios & Dimitra Gaki & Prodromos Mardakis & Ioannis Faraslis, 2024. "New Possibilities for Planning the Recovery of Abandoned Agricultural Land in Mediterranean Mountain Communities: The Case of Troodos in Cyprus," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-23, December.
    12. Inês Costa-Pereira & Ana A. R. M. Aguiar & Fernanda Delgado & Cristina A. Costa, 2024. "A Methodological Framework for Assessing the Agroecological Performance of Farms in Portugal: Integrating TAPE and ACT Approaches," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-21, May.
    13. Rita Biasi & Francesco Valerio Collotti & Stefano Baia Curioni, 2024. "Returning to Integrated Landscape Management as an Approach to Counteract Land Degradation in Small Mediterranean Islands: The Case Study of Stromboli (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy)," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-20, November.
    14. Tanja Šumrada & Emil Erjavec & Urban Šilc & Jaka Žgajnar, 2024. "Socio-Economic Viability of the High Nature Value Farmland under the CAP 2023–2027: The Case of a Sub-Mediterranean Region in Slovenia," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-32, September.
    15. Adam Pawlewicz & Katarzyna Pawlewicz, 2023. "The Risk of Agricultural Land Abandonment as a Socioeconomic Challenge for the Development of Agriculture in the European Union," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-24, February.
    16. Piotr Jarosław Żarczyński & Sławomir Józef Krzebietke & Stanisław Sienkiewicz & Jadwiga Wierzbowska, 2023. "The Role of Fallows in Sustainable Development," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-19, November.
    17. Armenia Androniceanu & Oana Matilda Sabie, 2022. "Overview of Green Energy as a Real Strategic Option for Sustainable Development," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(22), pages 1-35, November.
    18. Sun, Yong & Miao, Yiling & Xie, Zhiju & Jiang, Xingling, 2025. "Address the challenge of cultivated land abandonment by cultivated land adoption: An evolutionary game perspective," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    19. Hong Tang & Jian Liu & Xiaowen Dai & Yun Zhang & Wendai He & Qi Yin & Feng Huang & Ruiping Ran & Yunqiang Liu, 2022. "Household Groups’ Land Use Decisions Investigation Based on Perspective of Livelihood Heterogeneity in Sichuan Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-26, August.
    20. Hualin Xie & Yuyang Wen & Yongrok Choi & Xinmin Zhang, 2021. "Global Trends on Food Security Research: A Bibliometric Analysis," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-21, January.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:gam:jlands:v:13:y:2024:i:11:p:1790-:d:1510433. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.