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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Sustainability and Applications".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022) | Viewed by 26088

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Prof. Dr. Yu Cao

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Guest Editor

Department of Land Management, School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Interests: landscape ecology and land use & cover change; ecosystem services; remote sensing & GIS applications
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a Special Issue of Sustainability titled “Agricultural Landscape Stability and Sustainable Land Management”. The agricultural landscape is a typical landscape characterized by the interaction between human beings and nature; it possesses multifunctional value, with services such as food production, environmental regulation, and culture. Due to the rapid global industrialization and urbanization process, the vast agricultural landscape has undergone substantial changes, although the multifunctional value of the agricultural landscape cannot be replaced by other landscapes (e.g., urban, forest, and wetland). Besides, the external spatial pattern and the internal function of the agricultural landscape affect the sustainable development of a region. While many studies have examined the evolution of the spatial pattern of agricultural landscapes, the effects of changes in agricultural landscape functions and environmental effects on sustainable development under the influence of human activities have not been fully understood. Therefore, this Special Issue focuses on the theme of agricultural landscape stability and sustainable land management, covering topics related to environmental, social, and economic dimensions, and requires a multidisciplinary approach to study agricultural landscape changes with a scientific question closely related to landscape sustainability and sustainable agricultural land management strategy. Papers submitted for this Special Issue will be subjected to a rigorous peer-review process with the goal of the rapid and wide dissemination of results, developments, and applications.

The Special Issue covers topics including but not limited to the following:

Multidimensional value of the agricultural landscape;
Agricultural landscape stability;
Quantitative methods for the sustainability of the agricultural landscape;
Comprehensive rural development;
Urban expansion and agricultural landscape evolution;
Ecosystem services in the agricultural landscape;
Sustainable cultivated land management strategy;
Cultivated land protection and food security in developing countries;
Ecological compensation for cultivated land occupation;
Rural spatial planning and regional governance;
Rural renewal and ecological restoration.

Prof. Dr. Yu Cao
Guest Editor

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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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

Multifunctional agriculture
Ecosystem services
Rural–urban interactions
Agricultural sustainability
Cultivated landscape dynamic
Landscape dynamic modeling
Ecological compensation
Agricultural cultural heritage
Rural spatial planning
Regional governance
Rural ecological restoration
Landscape stability

Published Papers (9 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 9911 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Construction and Optimization of an Ecological Network in the Comprehensive Land Consolidation Project of a Small Rural Town in Southeast China

by Mengyuan Su, Xiaoqian Fang, Kaiying Sun, Jiahao Bao and Yu Cao

Sustainability 2023, 15(7), 5984; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15075984 - 30 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1284

Abstract

In recent years, China has put forward comprehensive land consolidation projects to solve problems in rural areas, such as cultivated land fragmentation, scattered spatial pattern of construction land and ecological environment pollution, and boost the rural revitalization strategy. Constructing ecological networks is important for maintaining ecological security. This study built an ecological network using morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA), spatial principal component analysis (SPCA) method and minimum cumulative resistance model (MCR) models to analyze the spatial and temporal characteristics and ecological security pattern. Finally, it was optimized by analyzing ecological network indices and using two methods of adding additional ecological sources and stepping stones. The results show that ecological sources and ecological corridors for three phases are located in the central and northern parts with an uneven distribution. In fact, adding new ecological sources is more efficient in balancing the ecological pattern of a study area. The ecological network indices α, β, γ and C values increased by 15.3%, 8.4%, 8.5% and 3.3%, respectively. Constructing and optimizing an ecological network is expected to provide scientific basis for small-scale landscape design, provide theoretical reference for spatial pattern optimization of comprehensive land consolidation projects and coordination of regional development and ecological protection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Landscape Stability and Sustainable Land Management)

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15 pages, 5416 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Mapping Ecosystem Services in an Andean Water Supply Basin

by Diana Marcela Ruíz Ordoñez, Yineth Viviana Camacho De Angulo, Edgar Leonairo Pencué Fierro and Apolinar Figueroa Casas

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 1793; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15031793 - 17 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1859

Abstract

Socio-ecological dynamics affect the ecosystem services supply and are relevant to generate effective water management strategies; this condition is considered to evaluate under a holistic approach, the water ecosystem services (WES) in an Andean supply basin (ASB) in Colombia. This analysis focus on the connection of biophysical and sociocultural components for the multi-purpose use of water based on The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) modelling for Las Piedras River Basin (LPRB). The generated Hydrological Response Units (HRUs), allows to estimate the capacity of the basin for supplying water (quantity) in adequate conditions (quality) for local populations in rural and urban areas, as well as WES zoning. The model was calibrated and validated to generate a baseline scenario, which was complemented with social cartography and participative workshops. The results indicate a low concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus, boosted by specific agro-ecological strategies developed by local communities; however, there are health risks for populations downstream and those that are supplied with water directly from the source. Additionally, Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) affects water availability, which demands restoration and conservation strategies to maintain WES supply for socioeconomic and cultural purposes, since different views on the available WES converge in the basin. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Landscape Stability and Sustainable Land Management)

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16 pages, 5368 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Why Do Farmers Support Stable Land Ownership? Marketization with Chinese Characteristics

by Ximing Zhang, Xiao Li and Hui Wang

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1729; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021729 - 16 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1208

Abstract

Recent debates regarding marketization have focused on the relationship between the state and the market, while the grassroots and their everyday experiences have arguably been understudied. In this paper, we study marketization with the example of land marketization in China. Out of concern for the grassroots’ perspective, we investigate Chinese farmers’ perceptions with regard to stable land ownership of farmland, which are essential for land marketization in the backdrop of intensive land use conversion in China’s urban periphery. Approximately 1200 farmer households were interviewed around 12 cities in mainland China. An ordered probit regression analysis of the survey results reveals a series of factors that explain the individual farmers’ preference for stable land ownership. Among others, the decreasing size of farmer household and rural women’s insecure property rights in farmland are identified as two grassroots-based characteristics underpinning China’s ongoing transition to a more market-based farmland use institution. An important theoretical implication of our research is that the mainstream literature perhaps over-attributes China’s marketization to the state and the market, while under-evaluating the spontaneous support from bottom-up. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Landscape Stability and Sustainable Land Management)

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21 pages, 961 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Farmers’ Perception on Their Cultivated Land Quality Protection Behavior: A Case Study of Ningbo, China

by Xiaoying Wang, Hangang Hu, Aifeng Ning, Guan Li and Xueqi Wang

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6357; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106357 - 23 May 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2075

Abstract

Farmers’ protection behavior largely depends on their perceived value of cultivated land quality protection. However, existing research shows that the impact path of these perceived factors on farmers’ cultivated land protection behavior is not clear. Based on the survey data of 288 farmers in Ningbo City, this study empirically analyzed the impact of farmers’ perception on their cultivated land quality protection behavior through structural equation modeling (SEM). The results showed that farmers’ cultivated land quality protection behavior largely depended on perceived value, and they followed the logic paradigm of “perceived tradeoff→perceived value→behavioral intention→behavioral response”. Among them, farmers’ perceived value comes from farmers’ comprehensive tradeoff of benefits and risks in the process of cultivated land quality protection. In other words, improving farmers’ perceived benefits and reducing perceived risks is conducive to improving farmers’ perceived value of cultivated land quality protection. The above findings are helpful to improve farmers’ behavior of farmland land quality protection and provide new ideas and empirical basis for the design and improvement of cultivated land quality protection policies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Landscape Stability and Sustainable Land Management)

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17 pages, 2340 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Tibetan Herders’ Life Satisfaction and Determinants under the Pastureland Rehabilitation Program: A Case Study of Maduo County, China

by Cuizhen Xia, Lihua Zhou, Ya Wang and Xiaodong Pei

Sustainability 2022, 14(4), 2381; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042381 - 19 Feb 2022

Viewed by 1395

Abstract

The Pastureland Rehabilitation Program (PRP) has been implemented for nearly 20 years, and the lives of herders in different regions have been affected to varying degrees. The level of people’s well-being could measure the success of policy. Taking Maduo County as an example, the life satisfaction of 266 Tibetan herders was investigated through a participatory questionnaire survey in July 2021. Multiple linear regression and optimal scale regression were constructed to analyze the impact of the satisfaction of different aspects of life and PRP on life satisfaction, respectively. The results show that the herders in Maduo County had relative high satisfaction in various aspects of life and overall life, and leisure and consumption were important aspects influencing life satisfaction. The relative living standard, the difficulty in borrowing and the quality of government services had a significant positive impact on herders’ life satisfaction. Occupation and migration location also led to the significant differences of life satisfaction. However, the income changes caused by PRP and subsidy levels did not show a significant impact. We discussed the particularity of Maduo County and suggested that more attention should be paid to the improvement of the social environment such as wealth disparity, channels of assistance, working environment, and the effective assistance formulated according to the demands of different groups needs to be optimized continuously, so as to enhance the self-development ability of herders. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Landscape Stability and Sustainable Land Management)

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Graphical abstract

18 pages, 20420 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Optimizing the Compensation Standard of Cultivated Land Protection Based on Ecosystem Services in the Hangzhou Bay Area, China

by Hua Li, Dan Su, Yu Cao, Jiayi Wang and Yu Cao

Sustainability 2022, 14(4), 2372; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042372 - 18 Feb 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2143

Abstract

The significant positive externality of cultivated land ecosystem services leads to the low comparative benefit of cultivated land utilization and then causes practical problems such as the abandonment and non-agriculturalization of the cultivated land, which poses a threat to China’s food security. The existing protection system only focuses on the quantity requirement and food production service of cultivated land and ignores the multi-function of cultivated land as an ecosystem, resulting in insufficient incentives and poor effect. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the protection’s economic compensation standard by adding the cultivated land’s ecosystem service value in order to comprehensively assess cultivated land resources and correct for externalities. Taking the area around Hangzhou Bay, where the contradiction between cultivated land protection and economic development is prominent, as an example, the values of six typical cultivated land ecosystem services in 2016 was constructed and calculated, including food production, carbon sequestration and oxygen production, water conservation, soil conservation, biodiversity maintenance, and cultural leisure. Combined with ecosystem services’ values and the quality index, we finally determined the new county-level compensation standard of cultivated land protection in the Hangzhou Bay area. The results show that the value of cultivated land ecosystem services present obvious regional disparities, meaning that there exist significant differences in the sustainable use capacity of cultivated land and the necessity of establishing grading compensation standards in the region. Finally, we analyze the rationality and innovation of the new compensation standard model as well as its role in the protection of cultivated land and look forward to promoting the sustainable use of cultivated land through these new incentives. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Landscape Stability and Sustainable Land Management)

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15 pages, 891 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Citizenship Ability, Homestead Utility, and Rural Homestead Transfer of “Amphibious” Farmers

by Zhongyou Yuan, Chenchen Fu, Shujie Kong, Jifeng Du and Wei Li

Sustainability 2022, 14(4), 2067; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042067 - 11 Feb 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1879

Abstract

Rural homestead transfer is of considerable significance for the revitalization of rural land assets and sustainable use of land resources. “Amphibious” farmers are the most likely to transfer their homestead. As such, it is important to study their transfer behavior and influencing factors to promote homestead transfer. The study involved distributing questionnaires to 768 “amphibious” farmers in Guangdong Province, China, and 747 samples were valid. The impact of the farmers’ citizenship ability and homestead utility preference on their homestead transfer behavior was analyzed using a binary logistic model. The study found that: (1) the citizenship ability of “amphibious” farmers had a significant positive impact on their willingness; the stronger the citizenship ability was, the stronger the willingness to transfer homesteads was. (2) Property and the guarantee utility of the homestead have an opposite impact on the willingness of “amphibious” farmers to transfer their homestead; if the property utility of the homestead is strong, its transfer intention is strong, but if the guarantee effect is strong, its transfer intention is weak. If the amphibious farmers are older, more educated, and have longer working years in cities, their willingness to transfer homestead will be lower. (3) The “amphibious” farmers working in cities and towns were found to have a stronger willingness to transfer homestead than those working in rural areas. Hence, the government should formulate differentiated policies for homestead transfer according to the ability endowment of farmers, improve various urban services and security infrastructure based on the urban housing of “amphibious” farmers, weaken the security utility of their rural homestead to flexibly realize their homestead property value, help them become citizens, and promote homestead transfer. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Landscape Stability and Sustainable Land Management)

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15 pages, 2480 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Technification in Dairy Farms May Reconcile Habitat Conservation in a Brazilian Savanna Region

by Juliana Silveira dos Santos, Fausto Miziara, Hayla da Silva Fernandes, Renato Cezar Miranda and Rosane Garcia Collevatti

Sustainability 2021, 13(10), 5606; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13105606 - 17 May 2021

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2250

Abstract

The assessment of the relationships between farm management systems and nature conservation may help in the design of more efficient strategies to uphold economic benefits and biodiversity conservation. To our knowledge, this is the first work in Brazil to study the relationship between farm conservation status and technification level. Here, we test the hypothesis that dairy farms with higher levels of technification have a higher percentage of natural vegetation and connectivity, and that differences in environment features between farms explain their conservation status. We obtained variables related to the level of technification such as feed, milking, sanitary control and breeding management systems. We show that farmers with a higher level of technification, such as artificial insemination in cattle breeding, tended to conserve a higher percentage of natural vegetation, as well as larger farms with a higher percentage of riparian forest. The adoption of artificial insemination is associated with other technification systems such as a forage diet, milking method and frequency and sanitary control. It is also significantly related to higher milk productivity. Our novel results point to a positive effect of technification on the conservation of natural vegetation, suggesting that economic incentives and programs aimed at increasing technification in cattle breeding may increase dairy production and conservation within the study area. Our findings also show an effect of larger areas of riparian forests, which are protected by Brazilian policy, in the conservation status of dairy farms. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Landscape Stability and Sustainable Land Management)

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15 pages, 6148 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Multi-Temporal Arable Land Monitoring in Arid Region of Northwest China Using a New Extraction Index

by Xinyang Yu, Younggu Her, Xicun Zhu, Changhe Lu and Xuefei Li

Sustainability 2021, 13(9), 5274; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13095274 - 8 May 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 10366

Abstract

Development of a high-accuracy method to extract arable land using effective data sources is crucial to detect and monitor arable land dynamics, servicing land protection and sustainable development. In this study, a new arable land extraction index (ALEI) based on spectral analysis was proposed, examined by ground truth data, and then applied to the Hexi Corridor in northwest China. The arable land and its change patterns during 1990–2020 were extracted and identified using 40 Landsat TM/OLI images acquired in 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020. The results demonstrated that the proposed method can distinguish arable land areas accurately, with the User’s (Producer’s) accuracy and overall accuracy (kappa coefficient) exceeding 0.90 (0.88) and 0.89 (0.87), respectively. The mean relative error calculated using field survey data obtained in 2012 and 2020 was 0.169 and 0.191, respectively, indicating the feasibility of the ALEI method in arable land extracting. The study found that arable land area in the Hexi Corridor was 13217.58 km² in 2020, significantly increased by 25.33% compared to that in 1990. At 10-year intervals, the arable land experienced different change patterns. The study results indicate that ALEI index is a promising tool used to effectively extract arable land in the arid area. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Landscape Stability and Sustainable Land Management)

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