IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/lauspo/v100y2021ics0264837719316795.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Green-depressing cropping system: A referential land use practice for fallow to ensure a harmonious human-land relationship in the farming-pastoral ecotone of northern China

Author

Listed:
  • Chen, Xin
  • Jiang, Li
  • Zhang, Guoliang
  • Meng, Lijun
  • Pan, Zhihua
  • Lun, Fei
  • An, Pingli

Abstract

The farming-pastoral ecotone of northern China (FPENC) is a fragile ecosystem that severely suffers from the acute contradiction between population growth and limited land resources. The Chinese government emphasized that rehabilitated agriculture, such as current government-led fallow, should be developed in the FPENC. However, what kind of farmland needs to lay fallow, how to manage the fields during fallow periods, and the duration of fallow periods are unclear. Fortunately, the green-depressing cropping system (GDCS) (Yaqing in Chinese Pinyin) that has existed for approximately 300 years also as a farmland use practice to reduce farmland use intensity and to recover soil property has something in common with fallow in the field selection and field management, and can serve as the reference for specific fallow policy. Therefore, we aimed to improve our limited understanding of the GDCS and provide recommendations for future fallow policies. Given this, an approach using satellite data to map the GDCS fields was explored, and this information can be combined with a questionnaire survey to help understand the current state of the GDCS in the FPENC. Then, the factors influencing farmers’ willingness to adopt the GDCS in the FPENC were evaluated using a binary logistic regression model (BLR). The results indicated that the GDCS was still a widely distributed and common land use practice in the FPENC, and approximately 3.34 % and 2.31 % of the total arable land of Shangdu experienced the GDCS in 2019 and 2018, respectively. Furthermore, farmers in the Houshan area had a higher willingness to adopt the GDCS than farmers in the Qianshan area. More specifically, passive GDCS predominated as a suboptimal choice due to severe drought, while older farmers and agro-pastoral households had a higher willingness to adopt an active GDCS. Ultimately, the GDCS plays an important role in improving soil fertility and conserving soil water, leading to an increase of at least 50 % in crop yields in the year immediately following implementation. Finally, according to the current state of the GDCS and factor analysis, we concluded that the future fallow program in FPENC should be first performed in regions with high proportions of dryland and sloping fields, a small resident population, high levels of mechanization and high farmland transfer rates. Additionally, fallow by omitting a year of cropping is enough for farmland to recover, and different fallow subsidies are required to encourage farmers to implement this practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Chen, Xin & Jiang, Li & Zhang, Guoliang & Meng, Lijun & Pan, Zhihua & Lun, Fei & An, Pingli, 2021. "Green-depressing cropping system: A referential land use practice for fallow to ensure a harmonious human-land relationship in the farming-pastoral ecotone of northern China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:100:y:2021:i:c:s0264837719316795
    DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104917
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264837719316795
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104917?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Su, Baozhong & Li, Yuheng & Li, Lequn & Wang, Yue, 2018. "How does nonfarm employment stability influence farmers' farmland transfer decisions? Implications for China’s land use policy," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 66-72.
    2. Zeng, Yangmei & Zhang, Junbiao & He, Ke, 2019. "Effects of conformity tendencies on households’ willingness to adopt energy utilization of crop straw: Evidence from biogas in rural China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C), pages 573-584.
    3. Zhang, Qi & Song, Conghe & Chen, Xiaodong, 2018. "Effects of China’s payment for ecosystem services programs on cropland abandonment: A case study in Tiantangzhai Township, Anhui, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 239-248.
    4. Guo, Huanhuan & Li, Bo & Hou, Ying & Lu, Shubing & Nan, Bo, 2014. "Rural households' willingness to participate in the Grain for Green program again: A case study of Zhungeer, China," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 42-49.
    5. Prendergast, Patrick & Pearson-Merkowitz, Shanna & Lang, Corey, 2019. "The individual determinants of support for open space bond referendums," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 258-268.
    6. Oliver, Yvette M. & Robertson, Michael J. & Weeks, Cameron, 2010. "A new look at an old practice: Benefits from soil water accumulation in long fallows under Mediterranean conditions," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(2), pages 291-300, December.
    7. Wang, Can & Siriwardana, Mahinda & Meng, Samuel, 2019. "Effects of the Chinese arable land fallow system and land-use change on agricultural production and on the economy," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 186-197.
    8. Yuan, M. & Zhang, L. & Gou, F. & Su, Z. & Spiertz, J.H.J. & van der Werf, W., 2013. "Assessment of crop growth and water productivity for five C3 species in semi-arid Inner Mongolia," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 28-38.
    9. Xie, Hualin & Cheng, Lingjuan & Lu, Hua, 2018. "Farmers’ responses to the winter wheat fallow policy in the groundwater funnel area of China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 195-204.
    10. Zhong, Honglin & Sun, Laixiang & Fischer, Günther & Tian, Zhan & Liang, Zhuoran, 2019. "Optimizing regional cropping systems with a dynamic adaptation strategy for water sustainable agriculture in the Hebei Plain," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 94-106.
    11. Xie, Hualin & Wang, Wei & Zhang, Xinmin, 2018. "Evolutionary game and simulation of management strategies of fallow cultivated land: A case study in Hunan province, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 86-97.
    12. Lu, Hua & Xie, Hualin & Lv, Tiangui & Yao, Guanrong, 2019. "Determinants of cultivated land recuperation in ecologically damaged areas in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 160-166.
    13. Weyerbrock, Silvia, 1998. "Reform of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy: How to reach GATT-compatibility?," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 375-411, February.
    14. Wang, Jieyong & Zhang, Ziwen & Liu, Yansui, 2018. "Spatial shifts in grain production increases in China and implications for food security," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 204-213.
    15. Zhang, Xiaoling & Han, Lu, 2018. "Which Factors Affect Farmers’ Willingness for rural community remediation? A tale of three rural villages in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 195-203.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Wencun Zhou & Zhengjia Liu & Sisi Wang, 2023. "Spatiotemporal Dynamics of the Cropland Area and Its Response to Increasing Regional Extreme Weather Events in the Farming-Pastoral Ecotone of Northern China during 1992–2020," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(18), pages 1-28, September.
    2. Xiaobo Liu & Yukuan Wang & Ming Li, 2021. "How to Identify Future Priority Areas for Urban Development: An Approach of Urban Construction Land Suitability in Ecological Sensitive Areas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-21, April.
    3. Xiao Zhu & Di Yao & Hanyue Shi & Kaichen Qu & Yuxiao Tang & Kaixu Zhao, 2022. "The Evolution Mode and Driving Mechanisms of the Relationship between Construction Land Use and Permanent Population in Urban and Rural Contexts: Evidence from China’s Land Survey," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-44, October.
    4. Yuanming Xie & Zemeng Ma & Mingjie Fang & Weiguo Liu & Feiyan Yu & Jiajing Tian & Shuoxin Zhang & Yan Yan, 2023. "Analysis of Net Primary Productivity of Retired Farmlands in the Grain-for-Green Project in China from 2011 to 2020," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-16, May.
    5. Jian, Yuqing & Liu, Zhengjia & Gong, Jianzhou, 2022. "Response of landscape dynamics to socio-economic development and biophysical setting across the farming-pastoral ecotone of northern China and its implications for regional sustainable land management," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C).
    6. Ma, Jun & Gao, Huixian & Cheng, Changgao & Fang, Zhou & Zhou, Qin & Zhou, Haiwei, 2023. "What influences the behavior of farmers' participation in agricultural nonpoint source pollution control?—Evidence from a farmer survey in Huai'an, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    7. Zhi Zhang & Zhiwei Wan & Shan Xu & Hong Wu & Lingyue Liu & Zhao Chen & Ji Zeng, 2023. "Environmental Adaptation in the Process of Human-Land Relationship in Southeast China’s Ethnic Minority Areas and Its Significance on Sustainable Development," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-16, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Yunxian Yan & Lingqing Wang & Jun Yang, 2022. "The Willingness and Technology Preferences of Farmers and Their Influencing Factors for Soil Remediation," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-15, October.
    2. Qingyuan Yang & Renhao Yang & Yahui Wang & Kaifang Shi, 2019. "Does Fallowing Cultivated Land Threaten Food Security? Empirical Evidence from Chinese Pilot Provinces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-17, May.
    3. Yu, Zhenning & She, Shuoqi & Xia, Chuyu & Luo, Jiaojiao, 2023. "How to solve the dilemma of China’s land fallow policy: Application of voluntary bidding mode in the Yangtze River Delta of China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    4. Li, Xiaoliang & Wu, Kening & Yang, Qijun & Hao, Shiheng & Feng, Zhe & Ma, Jinliang, 2023. "Quantitative assessment of cultivated land use intensity in Heilongjiang Province, China, 2001–2015," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    5. Hualin Xie & Qing Wu, 2019. "Analysis of Fallow Farming Decision-Making Behavior of Farmers Based on Hawk-Dove Game Theory: The Case of Guizhou Province," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-15, July.
    6. Xie, Hualin & Jin, Shengtian, 2019. "Evolutionary Game Analysis of Fallow Farmland Behaviors of Different Types of Farmers and Local Governments," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    7. Su, Kangchuan & Hu, Baoqing & Shi, Kaifang & Zhang, Zhongxun & Yang, Qingyuan, 2019. "The structural and functional evolution of rural homesteads in mountainous areas: A case study of Sujiaying village in Yunnan province, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    8. Huang, Yihang & Liu, Zhengjia, 2024. "Improving Northeast China’s soybean and maize planting structure through subsidy optimization considering climate change and comparative economic benefit," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    9. Zhifei Liu & Qianru Chen & Hualin Xie, 2018. "Influence of the Farmer’s Livelihood Assets on Livelihood Strategies in the Western Mountainous Area, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-12, March.
    10. Wang, Ying & Zhang, Qi & Bilsborrow, Richard & Tao, Shiqi & Chen, Xiaodong & Sullivan-Wiley, Kira & Huang, Qingfeng & Li, Jiangfeng & Song, Conghe, 2020. "Effects of payments for ecosystem services programs in China on rural household labor allocation and land use: Identifying complex pathways," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    11. Hongbin Liu & Shunting Li & Yuepeng Zhou, 2019. "Spatial-Temporal Variability of Soil Organic Matter in Urban Fringe over 30 Years: A Case Study in Northeast China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(1), pages 1-22, December.
    12. Xie, Xianxiong & Cui, Yu & Yao, Liuyang & Ni, Qi & Khan, Sufyan Ullah & Zhao, Minjuan, 2022. "Does fallow policy affect rural household income in poor areas? A quasi-experimental evidence from fallow pilot area in Northwest China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    13. Min Jiang & Xiubin Li & Liangjie Xin & Minghong Tan & Wen Zhang, 2023. "Impacts of Rice Cropping System Changes on Paddy Methane Emissions in Southern China," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(2), pages 1-13, January.
    14. Qi, Xiaoxing & Dang, Heping, 2018. "Addressing the dual challenges of food security and environmental sustainability during rural livelihood transitions in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 199-208.
    15. He, Yafen & Xie, Hualin & Peng, Chaozhong, 2020. "Analyzing the behavioural mechanism of farmland abandonment in the hilly mountainous areas in China from the perspective of farming household diversity," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    16. Zhou, Yang & Zhong, Zhen & Cheng, Guoqiang, 2023. "Cultivated land loss and construction land expansion in China: Evidence from national land surveys in 1996, 2009 and 2019," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    17. Peng Cheng & Houtian Tang & Yue Dong & Ke Liu & Ping Jiang & Yaolin Liu, 2021. "Knowledge Mapping of Research on Land Use Change and Food Security: A Visual Analysis Using CiteSpace and VOSviewer," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-22, December.
    18. You, Heyuan & Hu, Xiaowei & Wu, Yizhou, 2018. "Farmland use intensity changes in response to rural transition in Zhejiang province, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 350-361.
    19. Wei Song, 2019. "Mapping Cropland Abandonment in Mountainous Areas Using an Annual Land-Use Trajectory Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-24, October.
    20. Qianru Chen & Hualin Xie & Qunli Zhai, 2022. "Management Policy of Farmers’ Cultivated Land Abandonment Behavior Based on Evolutionary Game and Simulation Analysis," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-23, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:lauspo:v:100:y:2021:i:c:s0264837719316795. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joice Jiang (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/land-use-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.