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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 (29 June 2023) | Viewed by 19464

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Lu Zhang

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Guest Editor

College of Public Administration, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Interests: land use and management; land carbon metabolism
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Bing Kuang

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Guest Editor

College of Public Administration, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Interests: land use; cultivated land protection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Bohan Yang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

College of Public Administration, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Interests: land system change; land resource allocation; land use modeling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

With the rapid progress of urbanization and social economy, the utilization and protection of land have become one of the great social problems in many countries. Rapid and excessive urbanization has not only brought significant challenges to the sustainable use and management of urban land, but also imposed far-reaching, negative implications on farmland use as well as ecological environment protection, as both urban and rural land are faced with overexploitation, and the harmony of the human–land system has yielded to discord. Unreasonable land-use planning and allocation are gradually reducing the efficiency and sustainability of urban land use, and also branching out the conversion scale of farmland to construction land. However, farmland reduction and urbanization not only give rise to ecological environmental issues, such as farmland degradation, environmental pollution, carbon emission increases, and so on, but also induce many social problems around land interests. We hope that if sustainable development and a harmonious human–land relationship can be integrated into the land-use planning and management processes, it will be possible to fulfill the diversified requirements of urbanization and minimize adverse ecological and social impacts at the same time.

This Special Issue intends to collect recent diverse studies regarding sustainable land use and management from different research perspectives, with the ultimate aim of contributing to the global challenges of the sustainable urban and rural development in the rapidly urbanizing world. We seek original and innovative academic papers concerning land-use planning as well as its social and ecological effects, preferably for making use of big data, GIS, system simulation, social networks, etc. Planning approaches and policy analysis are also welcomed, as land-use planning and management depend, to a high degree, on authorities and governance models in many countries and regions.

Relevant topics include but are not limited to the following areas:

Urban/rural land use planning and allocation;
Urban/rural land use and sustainable development;
Sustainable urban land management approaches;
Planning and public policy analysis in urban areas;
Rural land use and land conflicts;
Sustainable rural land management approaches;
Low-carbon-oriented land use allocation;
Resilience and sustainable intensification of cultivated land systems.

Dr. Lu Zhang
Dr. Bing Kuang
Dr. Bohan Yang
Guest Editors

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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.

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Keywords

land use planning and management
land overexploitation
the harmony of the human–land system
sustainable development
big data
system simulation

Published Papers (13 papers)

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Editorial

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4 pages, 172 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Sustainable Land Use and Management

by Lu Zhang, Bing Kuang and Bohan Yang

Sustainability 2023, 15(23), 16259; https://doi.org/10.3390/su152316259 - 24 Nov 2023

Viewed by 1049

Abstract

With the rapid development of urbanization and social economy, the utilization and protection of land have become one of the great social problems globally [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Land Use and Management)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

17 pages, 300 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Can Land Transfer Promote Agricultural Green Transformation? The Empirical Evidence from China

by Guoqun Ma, Danyang Lv, Tuanbiao Jiang and Yuxi Luo

Sustainability 2023, 15(18), 13570; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813570 - 11 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 859

Abstract

As an important means of farmland policy, whether land transfer can promote agricultural green transformation is worthy of further study; however, related research is relatively rare. Based on the inter-provincial panel data from 2005 to 2020, this paper examines the influence of land transfer on agricultural green transformation and its underlying mechanism by using a two-way fixed effect model and an intermediary effect model. This study reveals significant findings as follows: (1) Land transfer substantially promotes agricultural green transformation. (2) Energy consumption is a major contributor to the growth of agricultural carbon emissions; however, land transfer can mitigate this by reducing energy consumption. (3) Land transfer can promote agricultural green transformation by fostering agricultural technology progress. (4) Further analysis reveals that land transfer in economically developed areas and the southeastern side of the “Hu-Huanyong Line” significantly enhances agricultural green transformation. Based on these findings, this paper suggests promoting land transfer while considering regional differences. Additionally, attention should be directed towards reducing energy consumption and encouraging agricultural technology’s progress. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Land Use and Management)

20 pages, 6858 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Landslide Displacement Prediction Based on CEEMDAN Method and CNN–BiLSTM Model

by Zian Lin, Yuanfa Ji and Xiyan Sun

Sustainability 2023, 15(13), 10071; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151310071 - 25 Jun 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1087

Abstract

Landslides are a typical geological disaster, and are a great challenge to land use management. However, the traditional landslide displacement model has the defect of ignoring random displacement. In order to solve this situation, this paper proposes a CNN–BiLSTM model that combines a convolutional neural network (CNN) model and a bidirectional long short-term memory network (BiLSTM) model. In this model, the CEEMDAN method is innovatively proposed to decompose landslide displacement. The GRA–MIC fusion correlation calculation method is used to select the factors influencing landslide displacement, and finally the CNN–BiLSTM model is used for prediction. The CNN–BiLSTM model was constructed to extract the temporal and spatial characteristics of data for landslide displacement prediction. Two new concepts that evaluate the state of a landslide and the trend of the landslide are proposed to improve the performance of the prediction model. Then, we discuss the prediction performance of the CNN–BiLSTM model under four different input conditions and compare it with seven other prediction models. The experimental prediction results show that the model proposed in this paper can be popularized and applied in areas with frequent landslides, and provide strong support for disaster prevention and reduction and land use management. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Land Use and Management)

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17 pages, 4517 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reassessing Resettlement-Associated Poverty Induced by Water Conservancy Projects in China: Case Study of the “Yangtze to Huai River Inter-Basin” Water Diversion Project

by Yu Lu and Ziheng Shangguan

Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9477; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129477 - 13 Jun 2023

Viewed by 993

Abstract

The displacement and resettlement-associated poverty caused by water conservancy projects (WCP) is a worldwide issue. Re-settlers are often impoverished for extended periods due to loss, difficult re-establishment, and insufficient compensation. Addressing poverty has become a worldwide concern, and accurate measurements of poverty remain a fundamental issue. Before 2020, the Chinese government used the absolute income method to measure re-settler poverty. However, this method reflected neither the overall income gap nor potential benefits of social development and poverty alleviation policies. Therefore, we used the relative income and multidimensional methods alongside the absolute income poverty method to measure the poverty in recently resettled households. Based on survey data from over resettled 1000 households we conclude that: (1) The remaining poor measured by the absolute poverty line were mainly caused by serious diseases, disabilities and loss of labor ability, which means they have no ability to be lifted out of poverty except through the bottom line of local governments. As a result, the absolute poverty line loses its distinction to poverty. (2) Rural re-settlers were more resilient to forced majeure because land guarantees employment and food supply, allowing households to avoid secondary livelihood destruction. (3) Income derived measurement of re-settler poverty masks the benefits of poverty alleviation and other socioeconomic aid programs. A few households showed improvements in child school attendance, child mortality, nutrition, cooking fuel, asset ownership, and social insurance following resettlement. (4) To reduce the multidimensional gap, government aid programs should focus on years of schooling (including training), nutrition, household savings, and household labor force rather than simply providing monetary assistance. At the same time, we suggest that the government adopt a variety of compensation methods, such as: sharing the benefits of water conservancy projects, industrial support and improving the bottom line guarantee. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Land Use and Management)

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23 pages, 692 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Land Tenure Institutional Factors on Small Landholders’ Sustainable Land Management Investment: Evidence from the Highlands of Ethiopia

by Shewakena Aytenfisu Abab, Feyera Senbeta and Tamirat Tefera Negash

Sustainability 2023, 15(12), 9150; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15129150 - 6 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1297

Abstract

Sustainable Land Management (SLM) is one of the key policy responses being implemented to curb land degradation in the highlands of Ethiopia. However, there is scant evidence to what extent Land Tenure Institutional Factors (LTIFs) influence small landholders’ on-farm investment in SLM. The overall objective of this study is, therefore, to understand the extent to which LTIFs influence on-farm SLM investment in the highlands of Ethiopia through unbundling tenure security (de jure, de facto, and perceived) across a bundle of rights. Survey data were collected between April and May 2021 from 2296 smallholder households and 6692 parcels of 19 highland woredas (districts) in three regional states (Amhara, Oromia, and SNNP) in Ethiopia. A probit regression model was used to estimate the average marginal effects of LTIFs quantitatively and supported by an in-depth qualitative analysis. The results revealed that 10 out of 16 LTIF-related variables have significantly influenced households’ on-farm investment in SLM with average marginal effect ranging from a minimum of 3% (tree tenure security risks) to a maximum of 14% (possession of land certificates), at 95% confidence interval, compared to a mean probability of 45%. The results also revealed that some of the households’ socio-economic and demographic factors and parcel-specific variables have significantly influenced on-farm SLM investment. These imply two policy issues. Firstly, it strengthens the notion that security of tenure may be a necessary condition, but not a sufficient, factor to incentivize smallholders’ on-farm SLM investment. Secondly, an in-depth analysis of the security of tenure categories across a bundle of rights is necessary to help formulate context-specific SLM policy and strategy incentivizing smallholders’ on-farm SLM investment. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Land Use and Management)

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20 pages, 5195 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Efficiency of Urban–Rural Integration in the Yangtze River Economic Belt and Its Optimization

by Gubu Muga, Shougeng Hu, Zhilan Wang, Luyi Tong, Zongnan Hu, Hui Huang and Shijin Qu

Sustainability 2023, 15(3), 2419; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15032419 - 29 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1462

Abstract

China has entered a new stage of integrated development of urban and rural areas under the constraints of scarce land resources and the need for high-quality economic and social development. While there is concern about the state and speed of urban–rural integrated development (URID), increasing attention is being paid to efficiency improvement. This paper comprehensively measures the efficiency of URID from the input–output perspective, taking into account the impact of carbon emissions; it also studies the efficiency of URID and its developmental spatiotemporal characteristics in 73 cities within three major city clusters in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) from 2010 to 2019, and analyzes the input–output optimization strategies for URID within each of these major urban systems. The results show that (1) the comprehensive efficiency evaluation system constructed by the study can more objectively reflect the state and trends of URID. From 2010 to 2019, the efficiency of URID in the three major city clusters in the YREB showed a downward trend; in cities with better economic development, the efficiency of URID was lower than in cities with average economic development, where carbon emission indicators showed a significant impact. (2) The spatial distribution of URID efficiency in the three major city clusters in the YREB follows an inverted “U” shape; URID efficiency in the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River (MRYRUA) is higher than in the Chengyu urban agglomeration (CYUA), where it is higher than in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration (YRDUA). (3) The input redundancy rates are high in the indicators for culture, sports and media, energy conservation and environmental protection, urban and rural communities, and housing security expenditures. Carbon emission redundancy has a negative impact on efficiency in URID. Based on the high redundancy rates of each input–output indicator, this paper proposes methods to optimize the efficiency of URID in each of the three major city clusters and provides directional guidance for promoting the high-quality development of regional urban–rural integration. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Land Use and Management)

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19 pages, 4935 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Digital Financial Inclusion, Cultivated Land Transfer and Cultivated Land Green Utilization Efficiency: An Empirical Study from China

by Min Zhou, Hua Zhang, Zixuan Zhang and Hanxiaoxue Sun

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1569; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021569 - 13 Jan 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1689

Abstract

Digital financial inclusion (DFI), characterized by digitalization and inclusiveness, has generally been recognized as a significant promoter of efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of agricultural production. Simultaneously, cultivated land green utilization efficiency (CLGUE), which is the significant guarantees of food security, social stability and environmental protection, has attracted increasing attention in the recent decades. In practice, DFI seems to be a vital antecedent of the improvement of CLGUE. However, in the academic field, research on whether and how DFI can affect CLGUE is scarce. In this case, based on triple bottom line theory, this paper theoretically and empirically investigates whether and how DFI can reinforce CLGUE through the mediator of cultivated land transfer (CLT). Using Chinese provincial panel data from 2011 to 2020 and structural equation modelling (SEM) analysis in STATA 16.0, this paper identified the following: (1) DFI can directly facilitate CLGUE; (2) DFI can indirectly improve CLGUE through CLT. (3) DFI has regional heterogeneity in the improvement of CLGUE. Compared to the central and western areas, the positive relationship between DFI and CLGUE in the eastern areas is more obvious; (4) compared with main grain producing and main grain producing and marketing balance areas, the positive relationship in the main grain marketing areas is more obvious. Our research is one of the first to explore the mediating mechanism between DFI and CLGUE from the perspective of CLT. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Land Use and Management)

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26 pages, 5538 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Landscape Ecological Evaluation of Cultural Patterns for the Istanbul Urban Landscape

by Gül Aslı Aksu, Şermin Tağıl, Nebiye Musaoğlu, Emel Seyrek Canatanoğlu and Adnan Uzun

Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 16030; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142316030 - 30 Nov 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2068

Abstract

With the widespread population growth in cities, anthropogenic influences inevitably lead to natural disturbances. The metropolitan area of Istanbul, with its rapid urbanization rate, has faced intense pressure regarding the sustainability of urban habitats. In this context, landscapes comprising patches affected by various disturbances and undergoing temporal changes must be analyzed, in order to assess city-related disturbances. In this study, the main objective was to understand how urbanization changed the function of the spatial distribution of the urban mosaic and, more specifically, its relationship with the size, shape, and connection among land-use classes. For this purpose, we took Besiktas, a district of Istanbul, as the study area. We evaluated the landscape pattern of the urban environment in two stages. First, we used medium-resolution satellite imagery to reveal the general interactions in the urbanization process. Landscape- and class-level landscape metrics were selected to quantify the landscape connectivity, and the distances between classes (green areas and artificial surfaces), patterns, and processes, using five satellite images representing a time span of 51 years (1963, 1984, 1997, 2005, and 2014). The general landscape structure was examined by looking at the temporal–spatial processes of artificial surface and green areas obtained from these medium-resolution satellite images. The trends in selected landscape-level metrics were specified and discussed through the use of a moving window analysis. We then used Pleiades high-resolution satellite imagery (2015) to analyze the landscape structure in more detail. This high-resolution base image allows us to recognize the possibility of classifying basic cultural landscape classes. The findings regarding the spatial arrangement of each class in the areas allocated to 14 cultural landscape classes were interpreted by associating them with the landscape functions. Finally, particulate matter (PM₁₀) concentration data were collected and evaluated as an ecological indicator, in order to reveal the relationships between landscape structure and landscape function. In short, we first evaluated the whole landscape structure using medium-resolution data, followed by the classification of cultural landscapes using high-resolution satellite imagery, providing a time-effective—and, therefore, essential—auxiliary method for landscape evaluation. This two-stage evaluation method enables inferences to be made that can shed light on the landscape functions in an urban environment based on the landscape structure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Land Use and Management)

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15 pages, 443 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact Mechanism and Effect of Agricultural Land Transfer on Agricultural Carbon Emissions in China: Evidence from Mediating Effect Test and Panel Threshold Regression Model

by Ying Tang and Menghan Chen

Sustainability 2022, 14(20), 13014; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142013014 - 11 Oct 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1597

Abstract

In order to identify the mechanism and effect of agricultural land transfer on agricultural carbon emissions, a study was conducted by analyzing the panel data of 30 provincial-level administrative regions from 2005 to 2019. Both the intermediary effect model and panel threshold regression model are applied to test the correlation between agricultural land transfer and agricultural carbon emissions, which provides some clarity on the mechanism of agricultural land transfer affecting agricultural carbon emissions and its future trends. The research results are as follows. Firstly, agricultural land transfer has a positive effect on agricultural carbon emissions, and agricultural factor input plays a mediating role between agricultural land transfer and agricultural carbon emissions. More specifically, the input of agricultural chemical elements has a positive impact on agricultural carbon emissions, while the input of agricultural machinery elements has a negative impact on agricultural carbon emissions. Secondly, under the threshold constraint of the urbanization level, the relationship between agricultural land transfer and agricultural carbon emissions is characterized by an inverted “U” shape, with a threshold value of 0.73. In view of these findings, more attention should be directed to addressing the negative impact of agricultural land transfer on the ecological environment. Furthermore, various targeted measures should be taken to reduce the ecological risk carried by agricultural land transfer, to increase the effort made on achieving the goals of agricultural carbon emission reduction, and to promote the green and sustainable development of the agricultural industry. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Land Use and Management)

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20 pages, 2346 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessment of Urban Green Development Efficiency Based on Three-Stage DEA: A Case Study from China’s Yangtze River Delta

by Qi Yang, Zhonggen Sun and Hubiao Zhang

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12076; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912076 - 24 Sep 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1266

Abstract

With the march of global urbanization, there are looming problems including environmental degradation and remediation all over the world. In this case, urban green development is the key to overcoming climate crisis, biodiversity loss and pollution. In this paper, a three-stage DEA model was employed to study the urban green development efficiency (GDE), with cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) as the object. In the study, the regional economic foundation, urbanization level, industrial structure and government planning were used as external environmental variables, and the impact of objective external environmental factors was tested empirically, thereby eliminating the adverse environmental impact and statistical noise to obtain more truthful GDE. According to the results, first, the influence of external environmental factors and stochastic disturbance on GDE was effectively removed by virtue of the three-stage DEA model, and the GDE of the YRD was measured in a true and objective manner. The GDE of the YRD in Stage III was notably higher than that in Stage I since the GDE in Stage I was underestimated under the influence of objective environmental variables. Second, the GDE level showed heterogeneity in different cities, which behaved better in coastal and southeastern regions than in central, western and northern regions. Third, regarding the impact of external environmental variables, the GDE was enhanced by increasing the proportion of the tertiary industry and the green area of built districts but weakened when the area of built districts (ABD) reflecting urban construction was expanded. The index gross regional product (GRP) reflects local economic development level, the impact of which on GDE was not determined in this paper. As a consequence, in the process of urban development, it is suggested to focus on the innovation and application of green technology, upgrade the industrial structure, cultivate green talents, and formulate reasonable green transformation policies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Land Use and Management)

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12 pages, 3835 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatio-Temporal Variation of Habitat Quality for Bird Species in China Caused by Land Use Change during 1995–2015

by Bingkui Qiu, Jinjiang Yao, Siyu Han and Zhe Zhu

Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 10078; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141610078 - 15 Aug 2022

Viewed by 1471

Abstract

The analysis of land use change (LUC) has become an important criterion for evaluating the impact of human activities on the natural environment. Habitat loss and degradation caused by LUC are the main threats to biodiversity worldwide. Research on the impact of long-term, wide-scope, and fine-scale LUC on bird habitats is currently limited due to a lack of adequate data. In this study, conducted in China, 9 km grid units were sampled randomly between 1995 and 2015. Logistic regression was used to calculate the probability that each unit grid contained suitable habitat (hereinafter, abbreviated as PGSH) for 981 bird species and analyze the spatial-temporal characteristics of PGSH accordingly. The results showed that: (1) The habitat quality of 84 bird species deteriorated, but for 582 bird species, habitat quality improved. (2) There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between the intensity of LUC and the PGSH. The LUC intensity threshold is approximately 67.21%. (3) Based on the counterfactual scenario analysis, the construction of the Three North Shelterbelt has increased the PGSH for all bird species from 20.76% before restoration to 21.38% after restoration. Within the LUC grid representing the transformation of farmland back to forests, the average PGSH for all birds increased from 73.97% to 75.04%. These results may provide a reference for measuring the impacts of LUC on bird species, enabling the protection of bird species and habitats that need it most. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Land Use and Management)

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19 pages, 3228 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on the Spatial-Temporal Evolution of Land Use Ecosystem Service Value and Its Zoning Management and Control in the Typical Alpine Valley Area of Southeast Tibet—Empirical Analysis Based on Panel Data of 97 Villages in Chayu County

by Shuping Fan, Peng Li, Qi He, Jiaru Cheng, Mingfeng Zhang, Nan Wu, Song Yang and Shidong Pan

Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 10057; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141610057 - 14 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1226

Abstract

Under the background of ecological civilization construction and the overall planning of land and space, it is particularly important to explore the land use ecosystem service value and its zoning control. This paper, taking Chayu County, a typical alpine valley area of southeast Tibet as an example and based on the remote sensing interpretation data of three periods in 2000, 2010 and 2020, employs the three-level spatial scale from the village level, the township level to the county level to converge step by step, and uses a series of model algorithms to analyze and calculate the regional ecosystem service value and their dynamic changes, as well as spatial agglomeration and regional type division. The research shows that the land use types mainly consist of forest land, grassland and unused land, whose overall change range is small during the study period. The conversion of land use types is mainly between forest land, grassland and unused land and the land use index generally presents a spatial pattern of “high in the southwest and low in the northeast”, showing a decreasing trend to some degree. ESVI generally presents a differentiation pattern of “high in the west and low in the east”, with obvious spatial differentiation characteristics of kernel density, significant clustering and distribution characteristics and stable variation range, displaying an overall spatial pattern with characteristics of “dense in the west and sparse in the east, high in the north and low in the south”. Based on the administrative village scale, the study area is divided into three different types of land use ecological function areas: habitat maintenance function area, biological protection function area and production support function area. Differentiated approaches to appropriate development and construction and the corresponding optimization paths of ecological protection will be put forward. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Land Use and Management)

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20 pages, 2452 KiB

Open AccessArticle

What Is the Operation Logic of Cultivated Land Protection Policies in China? A Grounded Theory Analysis

by Shandong Niu, Xiao Lyu and Guozheng Gu

Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8887; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148887 - 20 Jul 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1548

Abstract

Cultivated land protection policies (CLPP) are essential for maintaining social stability, guaranteeing food security, and ensuring sustainable development. However, a mismatch exists between policy performance and the objectives that influence the implementation of CLPP, and the system mechanisms of CLPP must be revealed and explored. Based on the literature review, this paper summarizes the current dilemmas of China’s cultivated land protection at the theoretical level, and preliminarily depicts the external foundation of CLPP in view of China’s topography and spatial distribution of cultivated land. This paper uses CLPP texts as research samples based on grounded theory to construct an analytical framework. The results show that the operation logic of the CLPP is founded on situation–structure–motivation–action–space–outcome. Accordingly, systematic analysis and in-depth understanding of the operation logic of CLPP will help to re-examine the profound relationship between policy text and implementation effect from such perspectives as transnational, trans-regional, and multi-scale. It also helps to reveal the hidden scientific value of spatiotemporal pattern for cultivated land protection, and serve the formulation and implementation of relevant policies in the future. Under the background of the new era of ecological civilization, it is urgent to enhance the operational effectiveness of the CLPP, identifying the focus of policy implementation, and scientifically formulating the CLPP is of great significance to its success. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Land Use and Management)

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