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Land
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Advances in Land Consolidation and Land Ecology
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Advances in Land Consolidation and Land Ecology

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Systems and Global Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 July 2024 | Viewed by 9697

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yanmei Ye

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Interests: land consolidation and land ecology; land space planning; land management
Dr. Xiaobin Zhang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Management, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China
Interests: land consolidation; land institutions; property rights

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change, population increase, urbanization, industrialization, land use pattern change, and diversified demands for land resources are leading to complex land governance and ecological issues. Land consolidation and land ecology are two interrelated fields that are essential for addressing these issues and promoting sustainable land use and regional development. This special issue aims to bring together multidisciplinary contributions in the fields of land consolidation and land ecology, highlighting the importance of their integration for sustainable land management practices. By providing insights into these topics, the issue aims to foster further development in land conservation and management efforts through land consolidation and land ecology. The cross-disciplinary nature of the contributions makes this issue an important source of knowledge for researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Land consolidation and land ecology policies and practices for sustainable land use;
  • Land ecology and environmental sustainability;
  • The impact of land consolidation on land ecology and the landscape construction in land consolidation;
  • The effectiveness of existing land consolidation and land ecology models;
  • The role of technology and digital solutions in land consolidation and land ecology;
  • Integrated land consolidation planning and management approaches;
  • The socioeconomic impacts of land consolidation and land ecology;
  • The orientation and guidelines for designing legal frameworks and strategies of land consolidation and land ecology;
  • Technical methods and practical experience of land ecological protection and restoration;
  • Effects of land property rights on land consolidation and land ecology.

We welcome contributions from a wide range of disciplines, including land management, geography, agriculture, environmental science, urban planning, sociology, and economics. We look forward to receiving your original research articles and reviews.

Prof. Dr. Yanmei Ye
Dr. Xiaobin Zhang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • land consolidation
  • land ecology
  • sustainable land use
  • landscape construction
  • nature resource management
  • cross-disciplinary contributions
  • technology-driven solutions
  • land property rights
  • rural development
  • land ecological restoration

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 1628 KiB  
Article
Analysis of the Evolution of the Policy of Linking the Increase and Decrease in Urban and Rural Construction Land in China Based on the Content Analysis Method
by Weilai Ding, Jiao Rao and Hongbo Zhu
Land 2024, 13(3), 329; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13030329 - 05 Mar 2024
Viewed by 618
Abstract
The policy of linking the increase and decrease in urban and rural construction land is a land policy that gradually forms and develops to solve the contradiction between “food and construction” under the background of urbanization in China. It is of great significance [...] Read more.
The policy of linking the increase and decrease in urban and rural construction land is a land policy that gradually forms and develops to solve the contradiction between “food and construction” under the background of urbanization in China. It is of great significance to the sustainable development of China’s social economy. In order to grasp the evolution of the policy of linking the increase and decrease in urban and rural construction land in China as a whole, this paper used the content analysis method to analyze the changes in the content of China’s urban−rural construction land increase/decrease linkage policy from different perspectives, such as the levels of policy promulgation and the types of policy promulgation. Firstly, 105 directly related policy texts were selected from a large amount of policy information and read in detail with this as a sample, and 11 keywords were extracted, which were “balance of occupation and compensation”, “clear property rights”, “reasonable planning”, “project area”, “turnover indicators”, “linkage procedure”, “voluntary principle”, “resettlement compensation”, “cultivated land protection”, “supervision and management”, and “capital finance and taxation”. Secondly, the policy text was coded to provide quantitative data on policy development. Finally, the trajectory of policy development was analyzed on the basis of the quantitative data on policy development. The results show that the existing policies were mostly issued in the form of notifications, management measures, implementation plans, working rules, and so on, involving the nature, principles, conditions, methods, procedures, capital finance and taxation, and circulation indicators of the linkage between the increase and decrease, but the policy effectiveness is low, and there is a lack of formal laws and regulations. Improving the legal status of the policy, changing the relationship between the government and the market, strengthening the protection of cultivated land, and reconstructing the income distribution mechanism will help to further improve the policy of linking the increase and decrease in urban and rural construction land. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Land Consolidation and Land Ecology)
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30 pages, 5004 KiB  
Article
The Effects of Vegetation Structure and Timber Harvesting on Ground Beetle (Col.: Carabidae) and Arachnid Communities (Arach.: Araneae, Opiliones) in Short-Rotation Coppices
by Jessika Konrad, Ralph Platen and Michael Glemnitz
Land 2024, 13(2), 145; https://doi.org/10.3390/land13020145 - 26 Jan 2024
Viewed by 822
Abstract
Landscape complexity is a crucial factor for insect diversity in agricultural landscapes. Short-rotation coppices (SRCs) are characterised by high habitat heterogeneity. The impact of vegetation structure on the composition and diversity of ground beetle and arachnid communities was therefore investigated in four SRCs [...] Read more.
Landscape complexity is a crucial factor for insect diversity in agricultural landscapes. Short-rotation coppices (SRCs) are characterised by high habitat heterogeneity. The impact of vegetation structure on the composition and diversity of ground beetle and arachnid communities was therefore investigated in four SRCs and six reference plots. The study site was located in Hesse, Germany. The invertebrates were surveyed from 2011 to 2014 using pitfall traps, and the vegetation structure was quantified by estimating the percentage cover of 10 structural variables. The impact of the selected structural variables on community composition was analysed during grove growth as well as after a timber harvest. We found correlations between the cover percentages of structural variables and the quantitative and qualitative species composition in both animal groups (p ≤ 0.05). The share of individuals of forest species increased with rising shading and litter cover, while those of open land decreased. The opposite trends were found the year after the timber harvest. The SRCs showed a higher structural diversity compared to the reference biotopes (p ≤ 0.05). This was positively correlated (p ≤ 0.001) with species diversity and the variety of habitat preference groups in both animal groups. The high diversity within the habitat preference groups indicated a functional redundancy among species for both animal groups and, consequently, a high level of resilience within these communities. Little is known about the functional aspects of ground beetles and spiders in ecosystems, and detailed studies are urgently needed. We conclude that SRCs can contribute to the diversification of agricultural landscapes as an alternative to traditional crop cultivation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Land Consolidation and Land Ecology)
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30 pages, 6906 KiB  
Article
Quantitative Evaluation of China’s Central-Level Land Consolidation Policies in the Past Forty Years Based on the Text Analysis and PMC-Index Model
by Guodong Huang, Xiaoqiang Shen, Xiaobin Zhang and Wei Gu
Land 2023, 12(9), 1814; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12091814 - 21 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 854
Abstract
After nearly forty years of development, China’s land consolidation policies (CLCP) have become an important tool for promoting rural revitalization and sustainable development. However, as a major land management policy, there is still a lack of quantitative evaluation research on its text. This [...] Read more.
After nearly forty years of development, China’s land consolidation policies (CLCP) have become an important tool for promoting rural revitalization and sustainable development. However, as a major land management policy, there is still a lack of quantitative evaluation research on its text. This paper establishes an evaluation system for CLCP using text analysis and the PMC-Index model. Based on a reasonable definition of the connotation of land consolidation, this paper collects 313 related policies issued by China’s central government from 1982 to 2022, using text analysis to sort out the characteristics of issuance time, policy types, issuing institutions, and cooperation networks. By combining the outcomes of text mining with the previous research results to set evaluation indicators for the PMC-Index model, it distinguishes between comprehensive policies and specialized policies and separately evaluates them. Then, the PMC-Surface is established to clearly display the calculation results. The results show that the evaluation scores of comprehensive policies and specialized policies showed an upward trend over time. This indicates that the content of CLCP is constantly being enriched and expanded. The evaluation scores for different dimensions of comprehensive policies are relatively balanced, whereas there are significant differences in the evaluation scores of various dimensions of specialized policies. Both comprehensive policies and specialized policies have weaknesses in policy functions, incentives and constraints, and implementation guarantees, so improvements may be needed in these areas in the future. This study provides valuable insights into the advantages and disadvantages of a single land consolidation policy in China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Land Consolidation and Land Ecology)
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22 pages, 1887 KiB  
Article
Study on the Causes of Differences in Cropland Abandonment Levels among Farming Households Based on Hierarchical Linear Model—13,120 Farming Households in 26 Provinces of China as an Example
by Xiangdong Wang and Decheng Zhao
Land 2023, 12(9), 1791; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12091791 - 15 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 615
Abstract
Cropland abandonment is a widespread phenomenon with an increasing trend around the world, including China. Cropland abandonment is the result of a multi-scale and multifactor nested structure. In order to comprehensively identify the individual and background effects, this study explores the causes of [...] Read more.
Cropland abandonment is a widespread phenomenon with an increasing trend around the world, including China. Cropland abandonment is the result of a multi-scale and multifactor nested structure. In order to comprehensively identify the individual and background effects, this study explores the causes of the differences in farmland abandonment levels at two levels: farm household and village, based on a hierarchical linear model. The results show that (1) 83.63% of the differences in farm abandonment rates are differences in farm households, while 16.37% are differences in their villages; (2) several factors, including whether the head of household is healthier, per capita cropland area, ratio of transferred farmland, possession of large-scale agricultural production machinery or livestock for agricultural production, ratio of agricultural income, and whether there are village cadres, have a significant negative impact on abandonment rates at the farm household level, while at the village level, commuting distance, whether it is a suburb of a large or medium-sized city, topography of the village is plain or not, and the ratio of the number of people in agricultural production in the village have a significant positive impact on abandonment rates. Furthermore, whether it has experienced land expropriation has a significant positive effect on the abandonment rate; (3) commuting distance weakens the negative correlation between the ratio of transferred cropland and the ratio of agricultural income and the abandonment rate. In addition, whether it is a suburb of a large or medium-sized city strengthens the negative correlation between whether it owns large-scale agricultural production machinery or livestock and the abandonment rate, and whether the topography of the village is plain weakens the negative correlation between the possession of large agricultural production machinery or livestock for agricultural production and the agricultural income ratio and the abandonment rate. Furthermore, ratio of the number of people in agricultural production in the village weakens the negative correlation between the ratio of transferred cropland and abandonment rate, and whether the village has experienced land expropriation strengthens the negative correlation between the ratio of agricultural income and abandonment rate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Land Consolidation and Land Ecology)
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21 pages, 4885 KiB  
Article
Examining the Decoupling of Economic Growth with Land Expansion and Carbon Emissions in Zhejiang Province, China
by Zepan Li, Zhangwei Lu, Lihua Xu, Yijun Shi, Qiwei Ma, Yaqi Wu, Yu Cao and Boyuan Sheng
Land 2023, 12(8), 1618; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12081618 - 17 Aug 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 843
Abstract
Coordinating the interrelationships among economic growth, land resource utilization, and carbon emissions is critical for promoting high-quality economic growth and achieving sustainable urban progress. According to the gravity model and the Tapio decoupling model, this study examined the decoupling relationships of economic growth [...] Read more.
Coordinating the interrelationships among economic growth, land resource utilization, and carbon emissions is critical for promoting high-quality economic growth and achieving sustainable urban progress. According to the gravity model and the Tapio decoupling model, this study examined the decoupling relationships of economic growth with land expansion and carbon emissions in Zhejiang Province during the period of 2002–2017. We found that (1) The economic gravity center and the built-up area gravity center generally shifted towards the northwest; however, the carbon emission gravity center initially shifted towards the northwest and then towards the southwest. The spatial coupling between the economic gravity center and the built-up area gravity center exhibited a tendency of ‘first weakening, then strengthening, and last weakening’, whereas the spatial coupling between the economic gravity center and the carbon emission gravity center displayed a tendency of ‘first strengthening and then weakening’. (2) The decoupling of economic growth and land expansion is weak at every stage with effective controls on land expansion. However, in recent years, the phenomenon of ‘expansive negative decoupling’ has become prevalent in counties and cities surrounding the central city. The decoupling of economic growth and carbon emissions steadily increased at each stage, first ‘expansive coupling and expansive negative decoupling’, then ‘weak decoupling’, and finally ‘strong decoupling’. The urban low-carbon transformation effect is remarkable. (3) Zhejiang Province should prioritize addressing the regional imbalance and state instability in the decoupling relationships. It is crucial to comprehensively consider the natural resource endowment, macro-policy factors, and urban development orientation of counties and cities while implementing differentiated planning and control strategies, which will promote regional coordination and comprehensive, high-quality development in all areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Land Consolidation and Land Ecology)
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18 pages, 5396 KiB  
Article
Agricultural Cultivation Structure in Arid Areas Based on Water–Carbon Nexus—Taking the Middle Reaches of the Heihe River as an Example
by Boxuan Li, Meng Niu, Jing Zhao, Xi Zheng, Ran Chen, Xiao Ling, Jinxin Li and Yuxiao Wang
Land 2023, 12(7), 1442; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12071442 - 19 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1226
Abstract
China faces challenges of food security and sustainable agricultural production. However, current studies rarely address the spatial distribution patterns of water consumption and carbon emissions. We studied the irrigation water use efficiency and carbon emission differences of crops in arid areas and their [...] Read more.
China faces challenges of food security and sustainable agricultural production. However, current studies rarely address the spatial distribution patterns of water consumption and carbon emissions. We studied the irrigation water use efficiency and carbon emission differences of crops in arid areas and their spatial distribution using wheat and maize, two major food crops in the middle reaches of the Heihe River, as examples. Furthermore, we have optimized low-carbon cropping of crops under the multiple objectives of water conservation and economic development. The results show that: (1) The carbon emissions per unit of water consumption for maize are 0.03 × 10−6 t mm−1 and 0.49 × 10−6 t mm−1 for wheat. Irrigation water consumption per unit yield is 515.6 mm t−1 for maize and 426.7 mm t−1 for wheat. (2) The spatial distribution patterns of irrigation water consumption were opposites for maize and wheat. The former has lower irrigation water consumption in the planting area upstream of the Heihe River and higher in the lower reaches. In contrast, the pattern of wheat irrigation is the opposite. (3) After optimizing the cropping mix for both crops, the area planted with wheat should be reduced to 59% of the current size, while maize should be expanded to 104%. The results of the research hold immense importance in guiding the future grain crop planting patterns for water-saving agriculture and low-carbon agriculture development in arid zones worldwide, aligning with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Land Consolidation and Land Ecology)
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15 pages, 1610 KiB  
Article
How to Improve the Benefits of Short-Term Fallow on Soil Physicochemical and Microbial Properties: A Case Study from the Yellow River Delta
by Yaoben Lin, Yuanbo Wang, Xingjun Lv, Shuangyan Yue, Hongmei Liu, Guangyu Li and Jinghui Zhao
Land 2023, 12(7), 1426; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12071426 - 16 Jul 2023
Viewed by 1005
Abstract
Fallowing is regarded as an effective method for the self-recovery management of farmland and is generally used in cultivated land management. Studies have shown that long-term fallow has many ecological and environmental benefits. However, the long-term fallowing of farmland has also caused a [...] Read more.
Fallowing is regarded as an effective method for the self-recovery management of farmland and is generally used in cultivated land management. Studies have shown that long-term fallow has many ecological and environmental benefits. However, the long-term fallowing of farmland has also caused a decline in the grain production of farmland for a period of time. Short-term fallow can reduce the risk of food insecurity, but there are few studies on short-term fallow, especially on the comparation of different fallowing management methods and their relationship with soil microbial ecology. Our study has focused on seven treatments. Firstly, the traditional farming method was set as the control group. Native vegetation and crop-pasture vegetation were set as the fallowing vegetation. There were three irrigation–fertilization levels for each vegetation. The effects of the sampling times showed that the impact of fallow management on the soil properties became gradually stronger with time. The interactions between the sampling times and treatments showed a significant impact on organic carbon and total nitrogen. There was a significant impact of fallow management on the inorganic carbon accumulation and ammonia nitrogen consumption. Microbial biomass carbon was significantly increased by fallowing. Fallowing with irrigation could enhance the soil microbial nitrogen transformation. Some genera associated with assisting diseases were significantly increased by the native vegetation fallow and grass fallow with farmyard manure. The fallow with native vegetation showed more advantageous ecological benefits than the crop-pasture vegetation fallow. Although the crop-pasture vegetation followed the principle of ecological intensification, it failed to show better ecological benefits in the short fallow period. In irrigation management, the benefits of native vegetation and crop-pasture vegetation are similar. However, considering the lower cost of crop-pasture vegetation, crop-pasture vegetation fallow with irrigation could be a better choice. If it is difficult to implement conservation measures during the fallowing process, native vegetation fallowing without management may be the only fallowing choice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Land Consolidation and Land Ecology)
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16 pages, 1839 KiB  
Article
Agroecological Risk Assessment Based on Coupling of Water and Land Resources—A Case of Heihe River Basin
by Jiashan Yu, Jun Zhou, Jing Zhao, Ran Chen, Xueqi Yao, Xiaomin Luo, Sijia Jiang and Ziyang Wang
Land 2023, 12(4), 794; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12040794 - 31 Mar 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1172
Abstract
In the arid zone of northwest China, the Heihe River Basin (HRB), as a typical inland river basin, has a fragile regional ecological environment, obvious ecological degradation characteristics, and extremely serious problems in the utilization of agricultural land resources. Meanwhile, the shortage of [...] Read more.
In the arid zone of northwest China, the Heihe River Basin (HRB), as a typical inland river basin, has a fragile regional ecological environment, obvious ecological degradation characteristics, and extremely serious problems in the utilization of agricultural land resources. Meanwhile, the shortage of water resources, the low reduction of land quality, and excessive agricultural activities have greatly increased the local water and land pressure. In this paper, firstly, using the Malmquist DEA model and coupling coordination degree model, the agroecological risk assessment system on account of the coupling of water and land resources (WLR) is constructed. Secondly, taking HRB from 1995 to 2020 as an example, we carry out spatial correlation analysis based on the degree of risk-correlated WLR. Thirdly, we analyze the evolution process and spatial correlation of ecological risk of agricultural WLR in the HRB at the county scale, then we conclude and put forward policy suggestions for improvement. The results show that: (1) On the whole, the average ecological risk of agricultural water resources in the HRB from 1995 to 2020 was 0.933, indicating that the risk was declining; the average ecological risk of agricultural land resources in the HRB from 1995 to 2020 was 0.938, indicating that the risk was declining also. (2) The degree of ecological risk coupling and coordination of agricultural soil and water resources upstream of the HRB is on the rise, while that in the middle and lower reaches is on the decline. (3) Through panel model analysis, the matching suitability of WLR drives agroecological risk. The correlation between them is positive. In conclusion, this method can effectively evaluate the agroecological risk of WLR and provide technical support for agricultural production and management in arid areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Land Consolidation and Land Ecology)
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25 pages, 6852 KiB  
Article
Comprehensive Evaluation of Ecological-Economic Value of Guangxi Based on Land Consolidation
by Lili Zhang, Baoqing Hu, Ze Zhang, Gaodou Liang and Simin Huang
Land 2023, 12(4), 759; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12040759 - 28 Mar 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1346
Abstract
The “Two Mountains” concept of “green water and green mountains are gold and silver mountains” plays an important value-oriented role in the ecological transformation of land consolidation. In this study, Guangxi was divided into five consolidation zones in combination with relevant policies, and [...] Read more.
The “Two Mountains” concept of “green water and green mountains are gold and silver mountains” plays an important value-oriented role in the ecological transformation of land consolidation. In this study, Guangxi was divided into five consolidation zones in combination with relevant policies, and the evolution characteristics and change intensity of ecological-economic values before and after the three phases of land consolidation in Guangxi and each consolidation zone in 2010, 2015 and 2020 were explored by bivariate spatial autocorrelation, standard deviation ellipse, and linear regression equation. Finally, the ecological-economic values of each consolidation area, which were obtained separately, were standardized by z-score, and the standardized results were matched by dividing quadrants for analysis. The ecological-economic value matching states of each consolidation area are ecological-economic value coordinated development type (central karst basin area of Guangxi), ecological value imbalance type (southeast plain area and coastal hilly plain area of Guangxi), economic value imbalance type (northwest mountain area of Guangxi) and ecological-economic value low imbalance type (northeast hilly mountain area of Guangxi). The study aims to provide a theoretical basis for the planning and differentiated management of land consolidation in Guangxi and promote the ecological-economic value transformation of the region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Land Consolidation and Land Ecology)
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