Impact of Urbanization on the Sustainable Production of Regional Specialty Food: Evidence from China’s Potato Production

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

1.     The abstract section is too lengthy. I suggest condensing the content and focusing on the key conclusions of this manuscript.

2.       Additionally, the introduction should be more concise.

3.    Several issues have arisen in the introduction. Firstly, in the first paragraph of the manuscript, the authors should clearly state the main points that the manuscript intends to explore. Currently, the coherence is weak.

4.        The authors should provide a more concise introduction to potatoes.

5.        More attention should be given to relevant literature. I recommend the authors to read the following papers and cite them in the introduction section or section 2.3 if appropriate.

How urban sprawl influences eco-environmental quality: Empirical research in China by using the Spatial Durbin model.

Economic transition, urbanization and population redistribution in China.

6.       The font in figures 3 and 4 should be enlarged. 

7.      Why did the authors choose SDM to explore the relationship? I suggest the authors to read and learn from the following literature: Exploring the temporal and spatial effects of city size on regional economic integration: Evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China.

8.     In the results section, the authors do not need to use excessive sentences to illustrate the results. However, they should explore the underlying reasons for the results and explain why these situations can occur.

9.      It would be beneficial to include 1-2 sentences in the conclusion section that comprehensively summarize the research contents of the manuscript. It is not advisable to present the conclusions directly.

10.   The limitations and contributions should be discussed in the conclusions section or introduction section.

Author Response

Please see the attachment. We have provided a point-by-point response to the reviewer’s comments in the Word document.

Author Response File: Author Response.doc

Reviewer 2 Report

The aim of the reviewer is to provide constructive feedback on the paper titled ‘Impact of urbanization on the sustainable production of regional specialty food: evidence from China's potato production’ submitted to Land.

The paper explores a highly relevant and timely topic, investigating the impact of urbanization on sustainable food production, specifically focusing on potato production in China. While the subject matter is relevant and applicable, the lengthy two-page introduction seems to lack focus. The paper could benefit from a more concise introduction, and a clear statement of the research objectives or research questions in particular. The formulation of the research questions is essential for enhancing clarity so it is recommended that the authors explicitly state the research questions within the introduction.

The readability of the paper could be significantly improved by shortening the content. With the current length exceeding 20 pages, the authors should consider relocating large tables to the appendix to enhance the flow of the main text. A major concern of the Reviewer is that the text seems to be quite hard to read for the readership of the journal.

Another notable concern is the absence of source information for the visuals presented in the paper. While it is clear that the visuals are the authors’ own compilation, it is crucial to explicitly state this in the figure captions. It is advised that the authors remove all Chinese characters from Figure 2 (a and b).

In Lines 76, 99, etc. Please note that China might not be classified as a developing country. Although the classification of a country as “developing” or “emerging” is not universally agreed upon, China is classified as a middle-income country.

The references are relevant, and recent sources have been appropriately used.

Please check the text for typos and grammar mistakes, e.g., in Line 82: “It can be emphasize”.

Addressing the mentioned points will strengthen the manuscript’s impact and accessibility.

Please make the text more reader-friendly.

Author Response

Please see the attachment. We have provided a point-by-point response to the reviewer’s comments in the Word document.

Author Response File: Author Response.doc

Reviewer 3 Report

Dear Authors, I have copied your abstract below, inserting commentary as pertinent.  Recently, the rapid urbanization process has gradually deepened its role in the sustainable development of agriculture, especially in the sustainable supply of food in poor areas. Comment: It is not clear that rapid urbanization leads to such an outcome.  Please suggest such a scenario.  Meanwhile, compared with traditional staple grain, potatoes are mainly planted in China's poor areas and play a key role in ensuring food production, farmers' income, and soil improvement. Comment:  To what does "meanwhile" refer?  Therefore, studying the impact of different dimensions of urbanization on carbon emissions from potato production is of great practical significance for achieving sustainable food production in poor areas. Comment: Once again, the point of reference of carbon emissions is unclear.  I assume you postulate that green energy has an advantageous effect upon the plight of the poor, but how specifically do you believe this is so?  Firstly, this study matched the distribution of main potato producing areas with national-level poverty-stricken counties in China, and contrasted with the main staple grain producing areas to determine the research area. Secondly, an improved carbon emission model for potato production and a multi-dimensional urbanization framework of "economy-population-land" were used to calculate the carbon emission intensity of potato production (CEIPP) and the urbanization levels respectively. Finally, the mechanism of the impact of urbanization on CEIPP was explored with the spatial Durbin model (SDM), which compared with the carbon emission intensity of staple grain (CEISG) results. Comment:  It is not at all clear that the Durbin model can elucidate this causal linkage.  The main conclusions are as follows. Urbanization of main potato producing areas developed rapidly from 2002 to 2020, which is in line with the decrease of CEIPP. Comment:  Here again this linkage is elusive.  The decrease of CEIPP has a significant impact on slowing down the growth of total carbon emission, and has greater potential for reduction, especially in Central and Western China that have a large poverty-stricken population. Compared with traditional staple grain, urbanization has become a key factor influencing CEIPP. The improvement of comprehensive urbanization, population urbanization, and economic urbanization reduces CEIPP, while land urbanization increases CEIPP. Therefore, to reduce CEIPP and promote its sustainable development, it is necessary to improve population urbanization and economic urbanization, properly avoid the disorderly expansion of land urbanization, and improve the quality and level of comprehensive urbanization. Comment: These terms are not per se familiar to your general readership.  Further, I would expect that the phrase "disorderly expansion of land urbanization" is the centerpiece of your analysis, but it seems to be an adjunct to your more extensive causal analysis hence not particularly suited for this special issue.  Overall I would recommend rewriting your abstract and attending to the inconsistencies noted, throughout your submission.  For your work to have practical consequence in policy development, you must consider stating more concisely your central hypotheses, and then addressing your findings with a more extensive statement of these while depicting the necessary caveats.  As it stands, this submission falls short in making a convincing argument that would be met with the acceptance of policy makers in general.  In addition, some commentary on how the Chinese situation might be less representative of other nations' agricultural efforts should be included. Are there not multiple avenues through which potato production can be decarbonized?  I think so, and not all would register the same effect. 

Minor edits would be helpful for sake of clarity.  Grammar is in general ok.  

Author Response

Please see the attachment. We have provided a point-by-point response to the reviewer’s comments in the Word document.

Author Response File: Author Response.doc

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The authors have addressed all my concerns. Thanks.

Reviewer 2 Report

Thank you for the modifications/amendments. The quality of the paper improved. I still miss the sources of your visuals, they are required even if the calculations are your own. You can add the phrase "own calculations".

Reviewer 3 Report

Changes are helpful

ok minor points that could be more succinctly stated but not essential