IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i23p10070-d455192.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Decreasing Cropping Intensity Dominated the Negative Trend of Cropland Productivity in Southern China in 2000–2015

Author

Listed:
  • Zhongen Niu

    (Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Huimin Yan

    (Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Fang Liu

    (Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China)

Abstract

As the country with the highest food consumption in the world, China’s food security has been drawing global attention. The inter-annual variability of agricultural productivity and its predominant driving factors play important roles in food security and sustainable agricultural development. Here, we used gross primary productivity (GPP), which was simulated using the vegetation photosynthesis model (VPM), to quantify the spatial-temporal heterogeneity of cropland productivity from 2000 to 2015. The results showed that the cropland GPP significantly increased in northern China and markedly decreased in southern China. Socioeconomic and climatic factors jointly promoted a rise in GPP in the Northeast region, Inner Mongolia and Great Wall region, Huang-Huai-Hai region, and Loess Plateau region, with contribution rates of 93.6%, 67.9%, 73.8%, and 78.1%, respectively. The negative GPP trend in southern China was mainly attributed to the decreasing cropping intensity, with direct contributions of 54.1%, 53.9%, and 48.7% for the Yangtze River region, Southwest region, and South China region, respectively. Despite the decline in cropping intensity, the policies of Cang-liang-yu-di and Cang-liang-yu-ji can help in ensuring food security in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhongen Niu & Huimin Yan & Fang Liu, 2020. "Decreasing Cropping Intensity Dominated the Negative Trend of Cropland Productivity in Southern China in 2000–2015," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-14, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:23:p:10070-:d:455192
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/23/10070/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/23/10070/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Nuno Carvalhais & Matthias Forkel & Myroslava Khomik & Jessica Bellarby & Martin Jung & Mirco Migliavacca & Mingquan Μu & Sassan Saatchi & Maurizio Santoro & Martin Thurner & Ulrich Weber & Bernhard A, 2014. "Global covariation of carbon turnover times with climate in terrestrial ecosystems," Nature, Nature, vol. 514(7521), pages 213-217, October.
    2. Yi, Fujin & Sun, Dingqiang & Zhou, Yingheng, 2015. "Grain subsidy, liquidity constraints and food security—Impact of the grain subsidy program on the grain-sown areas in China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 114-124.
    3. Fusuo Zhang & Xinping Chen & Peter Vitousek, 2013. "An experiment for the world," Nature, Nature, vol. 497(7447), pages 33-35, May.
    4. Jikun Huang & Jiping Ding, 2016. "Institutional innovation and policy support to facilitate small-scale farming transformation in China," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(S1), pages 227-237, November.
    5. Hongbin Li & Lei Li & Binzhen Wu & Yanyan Xiong, 2012. "The End of Cheap Chinese Labor," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 26(4), pages 57-74, Fall.
    6. Wu, Wenbin & Yu, Qiangyi & You, Liangzhi & Chen, Kevin & Tang, Huajun & Liu, Jianguo, 2018. "Global cropping intensity gaps: Increasing food production without cropland expansion," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 515-525.
    7. Wang, Xiaobing & Yamauchi, Futoshi & Otsuka, Keijiro & Huang, Jikun, 2016. "Wage Growth, Landholding, and Mechanization in Chinese Agriculture," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 30-45.
    8. Ran Tao & Ping Qin, 2007. "How Has Rural Tax Reform Affected Farmers and Local Governance in China?," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 15(3), pages 19-32, May.
    9. Xuejun Liu & Ying Zhang & Wenxuan Han & Aohan Tang & Jianlin Shen & Zhenling Cui & Peter Vitousek & Jan Willem Erisman & Keith Goulding & Peter Christie & Andreas Fangmeier & Fusuo Zhang, 2013. "Enhanced nitrogen deposition over China," Nature, Nature, vol. 494(7438), pages 459-462, February.
    10. Deepak K. Ray & Navin Ramankutty & Nathaniel D. Mueller & Paul C. West & Jonathan A. Foley, 2012. "Recent patterns of crop yield growth and stagnation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 3(1), pages 1-7, January.
    11. Alston, Julian M. & Beddow, Jason M. & Pardey, Philip G., 2009. "Mendel versus Malthus: Research, Productivity and Food Prices in the Long Run," Staff Papers 53400, University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics.
    12. You, Liangzhi & Spoor, Max & Ulimwengu, John & Zhang, Shemei, 2011. "Land use change and environmental stress of wheat, rice and corn production in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 461-473.
    13. Shilong Piao & Philippe Ciais & Yao Huang & Zehao Shen & Shushi Peng & Junsheng Li & Liping Zhou & Hongyan Liu & Yuecun Ma & Yihui Ding & Pierre Friedlingstein & Chunzhen Liu & Kun Tan & Yongqiang Yu , 2010. "The impacts of climate change on water resources and agriculture in China," Nature, Nature, vol. 467(7311), pages 43-51, September.
    14. Nanyan Deng & Patricio Grassini & Haishun Yang & Jianliang Huang & Kenneth G. Cassman & Shaobing Peng, 2019. "Closing yield gaps for rice self-sufficiency in China," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 10(1), pages 1-9, December.
    15. Yu, Qiangyi & Wu, Wenbin & You, Liangzhi & Zhu, Tingju & van Vliet, Jasper & Verburg, Peter H. & Liu, Zhenhuan & Li, Zhengguo & Yang, Peng & Zhou, Qingbo & Tang, Huajun, 2017. "Assessing the harvested area gap in China," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 212-220.
    16. Wang, Xiaobing & Huang, Jikun & Zhang, Linxiu & Rozelle, Scott, 2011. "The rise of migration and the fall of self employment in rural China's labor market," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 573-584.
    17. Patricio Grassini & Kent M. Eskridge & Kenneth G. Cassman, 2013. "Distinguishing between yield advances and yield plateaus in historical crop production trends," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 4(1), pages 1-11, December.
    18. LIU, Mingxing & XU, Zhigang & SU, Fubing & TAO, Ran, 2012. "Rural tax reform and the extractive capacity of local state in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 23(1), pages 190-203.
    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. Cosimo Magazzino & Marco Mele & Fabio Gaetano Santeramo, 2021. "Using an Artificial Neural Networks Experiment to Assess the Links among Financial Development and Growth in Agriculture," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-15, March.

    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. Zhuang, Minghao & Liu, Yize & Yang, Yi & Zhang, Qingsong & Ying, Hao & Yin, Yulong & Cui, Zhenling, 2022. "The sustainability of staple crops in China can be substantially improved through localized strategies," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 154(C).
    2. Lin, Wensheng & Huang, Jikun, 2021. "Impacts of agricultural incentive policies on land rental prices: New evidence from China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 104(C).
    3. Gao, Yukun & Zhao, Hongfang & Zhao, Chuang & Hu, Guohua & Zhang, Han & Liu, Xue & Li, Nan & Hou, Haiyan & Li, Xia, 2022. "Spatial and temporal variations of maize and wheat yield gaps and their relationships with climate in China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    4. Shen Yuan & Bruce A. Linquist & Lloyd T. Wilson & Kenneth G. Cassman & Alexander M. Stuart & Valerien Pede & Berta Miro & Kazuki Saito & Nurwulan Agustiani & Vina Eka Aristya & Leonardus Y. Krisnadi &, 2021. "Sustainable intensification for a larger global rice bowl," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, December.
    5. Wang, Xiaobing & Huang, Jikun & Rozelle, Scott, 2017. "Off-farm employment and agricultural specialization in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 155-165.
    6. Jikun Huang & Shukun Wang & Zhihua Xiao, 2017. "Rising Herbicide Use and Its Driving Forces in China," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 29(3), pages 614-627, July.
    7. Qiu, Bingwen & Jian, Zeyu & Yang, Peng & Tang, Zhenghong & Zhu, Xiaolin & Duan, Mingjie & Yu, Qiangyi & Chen, Xuehong & Zhang, Miao & Tu, Ping & Xu, Weiming & Zhao, Zhiyuan, 2024. "Unveiling grain production patterns in China (2005–2020) towards targeted sustainable intensification," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).
    8. Ortiz-Bobea, Ariel & Tack, Jesse B., 2018. "Another genetic yield revolution is needed to offset climate change effects on U.S. maize," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 274380, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Lan, Kang & Chen, Xin & Ridoutt, Bradley G. & Huang, Jing & Scherer, Laura, 2021. "Closing yield and harvest area gaps to mitigate water scarcity related to China’s rice production," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    10. Xiang, Mingtao & Yu, Qiangyi & Li, Yan & Shi, Zhou & Wu, Wenbin, 2022. "Increasing multiple cropping for land use intensification: The role of crop choice," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    11. Zhang, Bangbang & Li, Xian & Chen, Haibin & Niu, Wenhao & Kong, Xiangbin & Yu, Qiang & Zhao, Minjuan & Xia, Xianli, 2022. "Identifying opportunities to close yield gaps in China by use of certificated cultivars to estimate potential productivity," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    12. Coronese, Matteo & Occelli, Martina & Lamperti, Francesco & Roventini, Andrea, 2023. "AgriLOVE: Agriculture, land-use and technical change in an evolutionary, agent-based model," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    13. Wang, Xiaobing & Yamauchi, Futoshi & Otsuka, Keijiro & Huang, Jikun, 2016. "Wage Growth, Landholding, and Mechanization in Chinese Agriculture," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 30-45.
    14. Giller, Ken E. & Andersson, Jens & Delaune, Thomas & Silva, João Vasco & Descheemaeker, Katrien & van de Ven, Gerrie & Schut, Antonius G.T. & van Wijk, Mark & Hammond, Jim & Hochman, Zvi & Taulya, God, 2022. "IFAD Research Series 83: The future of farming: who will produce our food?," IFAD Research Series 322005, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
    15. Huang, Jikun & Shi, Pengfei, 2023. "IFAD Research Series 90: Rural Transformation, Income Growth and Poverty Reduction by Province in China in the Past Four Decades," IFAD Research Series 335374, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
    16. Shen, Ge & Yu, Qiangyi & Zhou, Qingbo & Wang, Cong & Wu, Wenbin, 2023. "From multiple cropping frequency to multiple cropping system: A new perspective for the characterization of cropland use intensity," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    17. Keijiro Otsuka, 2021. "Changing Relationship between Farm Size and Productivity and Its Implications for Philippine Agriculture," Discussion Papers 2102, Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University.
    18. Hendricks, Nathan P. & Stigler, Matthieu M., 2020. "Global Yield Distributions since 1960," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304570, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    19. Tao Jin & Taiyang Zhong, 2022. "Changing rice cropping patterns and their impact on food security in southern China," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(4), pages 907-917, August.
    20. Yu Xu & Liangjie Xin & Xiubin Li & Minghong Tan & Yahui Wang, 2019. "Exploring a Moderate Operation Scale in China’s Grain Production: A Perspective on the Costs of Machinery Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-17, April.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:23:p:10070-:d:455192. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.