IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natsus/v1y2018i6d10.1038_s41893-018-0076-2.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Progress towards sustainable intensification in China challenged by land-use change

Author

Listed:
  • Lijun Zuo

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Zengxiang Zhang

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Kimberly M. Carlson

    (University of Hawai’i)

  • Graham K. MacDonald

    (McGill University)

  • Kate A. Brauman

    (University of Minnesota)

  • Yingchun Liu

    (State Forestry Administration)

  • Wen Zhang

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Huayong Zhang

    (North China Electric Power University)

  • Wenbin Wu

    (Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences)

  • Xiaoli Zhao

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Xiao Wang

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Bin Liu

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Ling Yi

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Qingke Wen

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Fang Liu

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Jinyong Xu

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Shunguang Hu

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • Feifei Sun

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

  • James S. Gerber

    (University of Minnesota)

  • Paul C. West

    (University of Minnesota)

Abstract

China is experiencing rapid land-use change and shifts in farm management. However, the interactive effects of these drivers on cropping system sustainability are unclear. Here, we evaluate spatio-temporal trade-offs among crop production and five key environmental indicators, including land use, water consumption, excess nitrogen and phosphorous use, and greenhouse gas emissions in China. From 1987 to 2010, as crop kilocalorie production increased (+66%), so did the total environmental impact of all indicators (+1.3–161%) except greenhouse gas emissions (−18%). Concurrently, environmental intensity—impact per kilocalorie produced—decreased for all indicators (−51–−13%) except excess phosphorus (+57%). Despite substantial loss and displacement of cropland to urban expansion, counterfactual scenario analysis indicates that farm management explained >90% of changes in crop production and environmental impact. However, cropland is expanding in regions of relatively high land and irrigation intensity. Although efficiency gains partly compensated for increased environmental pressures, continued geographic shifts in cropland could challenge progress towards agricultural sustainability in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Lijun Zuo & Zengxiang Zhang & Kimberly M. Carlson & Graham K. MacDonald & Kate A. Brauman & Yingchun Liu & Wen Zhang & Huayong Zhang & Wenbin Wu & Xiaoli Zhao & Xiao Wang & Bin Liu & Ling Yi & Qingke , 2018. "Progress towards sustainable intensification in China challenged by land-use change," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 1(6), pages 304-313, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natsus:v:1:y:2018:i:6:d:10.1038_s41893-018-0076-2
    DOI: 10.1038/s41893-018-0076-2
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-018-0076-2
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41893-018-0076-2?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.

    Citations

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


    Cited by:

    1. Tao Luo & Zilin Cheng & Hongmei Ma, 2024. "Impact of Land-Use Intensification on the Development of Sustainable Agricultural Green Innovation Technology," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(4), pages 20595-20629, December.
    2. Wang, Li & Liu, Xiaoli & Liu, Xuejing & Bao, Xiaoyuan & Zhang, Xuecheng & Yin, Baozhong & Wang, Wentao & Wang, Yandong & Zhen, Wenchao, 2024. "Effects of spring limited irrigation on grain yield and root characteristics of winter wheat in groundwater-overexploitation areas in the North China Plain," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    3. Hongyu Wang & Xiaolei Wang & Apurbo Sarkar & Fuhong Zhang, 2021. "How Capital Endowment and Ecological Cognition Affect Environment-Friendly Technology Adoption: A Case of Apple Farmers of Shandong Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-16, July.
    4. Quanfeng Li & Zhe Dong & Guoming Du & Aizheng Yang, 2021. "Spatial Differentiation of Cultivated Land Use Intensification in Village Settings: A Survey of Typical Chinese Villages," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-18, March.
    5. Huang, Jing & Ridoutt, Bradley G. & Thorp, Kelly R. & Wang, Xuechun & Lan, Kang & Liao, Jun & Tao, Xu & Wu, Caiyan & Huang, Jianliang & Chen, Fu & Scherer, Laura, 2019. "Water-scarcity footprints and water productivities indicate unsustainable wheat production in China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 1-1.
    6. Pan, Hengyu & Zheng, Xiangyu & Wu, Rui & Liu, Xincong & Xiao, Shijiang & Sun, Lu & Hu, Tianzi & Gao, Ziyan & Yang, Liping & Huang, Chengyi & Zhang, Xiaohong & Deng, Shihuai & Xiao, Yinlong, 2024. "Agriculture related methane emissions embodied in China's interprovincial trade," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 189(PA).
    7. Yaqiu Zhu & Bangyou Zheng & Qiyou Luo & Weihua Jiao & Yadong Yang, 2023. "Uncovering the Drivers and Regional Variability of Cotton Yield in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-16, November.
    8. Ke, Xinli & Chen, Jing & Zuo, Chengchao & Wang, Xiaoqian, 2024. "The cropland intensive utilisation transition in China: An induced factor substitution perspective," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    9. Qiu, Bingwen & Li, Haiwen & Tang, Zhenghong & Chen, Chongcheng & Berry, Joe, 2020. "How cropland losses shaped by unbalanced urbanization process?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    10. Han, Bo & Jin, Xiaobin & Sun, Rui & Li, Hanbing & Liang, Xinyuan & Zhou, Yinkang, 2023. "Understanding land-use sustainability with a systematical framework: An evaluation case of China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    11. Qiu, Bingwen & Jian, Zeyu & Yang, Peng & Tang, Zhenghong & Zhu, Xiaolin & Duan, Mingjie & Yu, Qiangyi & Chen, Xuehong & Zhang, Miao & Tu, Ping & Xu, Weiming & Zhao, Zhiyuan, 2024. "Unveiling grain production patterns in China (2005–2020) towards targeted sustainable intensification," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    12. Li, Wenchao & Guo, Shufang & Liu, Hongbin & Zhai, Limei & Wang, Hongyuan & Lei, Qiuliang, 2018. "Comprehensive environmental impacts of fertilizer application vary among different crops: Implications for the adjustment of agricultural structure aimed to reduce fertilizer use," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 210(C), pages 1-10.
    13. Langong Hou & Che Ma & Tao Liu, 2024. "Revealing Greenhouse Gas Emission and Nitrogen Fertilizer Destination: A Case Study in Chengdu Plain Cultivation Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-19, July.
    14. Shi, Shanheng & Zhou, Shiwei & Lei, Yongdeng & Harrison, Matthew Tom & Liu, Ke & Chen, Fu & Yin, Xiaogang, 2024. "Burgeoning food demand outpaces sustainable water supply in China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 301(C).
    15. Ze, Fu & Wong, Wing-Keung & Alhasan, Tariq kamal & Al Shraah, Ata & Ali, Anis & Muda, Iskandar, 2023. "Economic development, natural resource utilization, GHG emissions and sustainable development: A case study of China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    16. Zhou, Yang & Zhong, Zhen & Cheng, Guoqiang, 2023. "Cultivated land loss and construction land expansion in China: Evidence from national land surveys in 1996, 2009 and 2019," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    17. Chen, Feifei & Qiu, Huanguang & Zhao, Yilin & Wei, Xun & Wan, Xiangyuan, 2024. "Impact of new maize variety adoption on yield and fertilizer input in China: Implications for sustainable food and agriculture," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 218(C).
    18. Li Li & Zhichao Chen & Shidong Wang, 2022. "Optimization of Spatial Land Use Patterns with Low Carbon Target: A Case Study of Sanmenxia, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-22, October.
    19. repec:ags:aaea22:337098 is not listed on IDEAS
    20. Xiang, Mingtao & Yu, Qiangyi & Li, Yan & Shi, Zhou & Wu, Wenbin, 2022. "Increasing multiple cropping for land use intensification: The role of crop choice," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    21. repec:ags:aaea22:335650 is not listed on IDEAS
    22. Funk, Bryana & Amer, Saud A. & Ward, Frank A., 2023. "Sustainable aquifer management for food security," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    23. Yuling Fang & Shixin Wu & Guanyu Hou & Weiyi Long, 2024. "Spatiotemporal Changes and Driving Mechanisms of Cropland Reclamation and Abandonment in Xinjiang," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-19, September.

    More about this item

    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:nat:natsus:v:1:y:2018:i:6:d:10.1038_s41893-018-0076-2. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.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.