Sustainable land use in central China: the effects of different livelihood capital configurations on farmers’ ecological production behaviors

Non-point source pollution is a severe environmental problem in emerging countries (e.g., China). Many studies have examined farmers’ ecological production behaviors (EPBs) concerning land protection, agricultural transformation, and environmental development. Despite a growing emphasis on shaping livelihood capitals to improve farmers’ EPBs, it remains unclear how different combinations of livelihood capitals contribute to farmers’ EPBs. To bridge this knowledge gap, we explore the effects of different configurations of five livelihood capitals on farmers’ EPBs based on the sustainable livelihood framework. After collecting farmer survey data in Hubei province (a major grain-producing region in Central China), we evaluated the ecological production effect of different livelihood capital configurations using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The results show that three combinations of livelihood capitals predict high EPBs of farmers. Specifically, the high adoption of EPBs is expected for farmers with a negation of natural capital but sufficient social capital (configuration 1: social capital dominant-driven configuration), good human and financial capital combined with the negation of natural and physical capital (configuration 2: human–financial capital integrated-driven configuration), and human, physical, and social capital combined with the negation of financial capital (configuration 3: human–physical–social capital combined-driven configuration). We examined how livelihood capital configurations affect ecological production by adopting a theoretical and empirical approach in sustainable land use. Consequently, tailored policy recommendations should be implemented to enhance sustainable socio-economic development in rural areas.