Impact of perceived social norms on farmers’ behavior of cultivated land protection: an empirical analysis based on mediating effect model[Decline of soil fertility during forest conversion of secondary forest to Chinese fir plantations in subtropical China]

In this study, the impact of social norms on farmers’ behavior of cultivated land protection and the related mechanism was investigated in terms of direct effect and mediating effect and further verified by logistic and mediation effect estimation of different organic fertilizer application behaviors. An empirical analysis of the data collected from Xiajin County of Shandong, China, revealed that (1) perceived social norms can exert significant and positive effects on the behavior of farmers in cultivated land protection; (2) social norms can stimulate farmers to adopt cultivated land protection behaviors by affecting their related value cognition, risk confidence and skills; and (3) the mediating mechanisms varied in the impact of perceived social norms on different cultivated land protection behaviors, with farmyard manure application being significantly moderated by value cognition, risk confidence and skills, in contrast to a major impact of social network on the application of commercial organic fertilizers. This study enriched the theoretical interpretation of the impact of social norms on farmers’ behavior of cultivated land protection and provided useful information on activation of farmers’ cultivated land protection behavior to promote the sustainable development of agriculture.