Abstract: With obvious phase characteristics, cultivated land function changes in Japan, South Korea, USA, and European developed countries share a common experience of transition. Agricultural development and land use demand change in China are similar to the situation in the above countries. Clarifying whether cultivated land function transition are occurring in China is of significance to cultivated land management. This paper aims at depicting the evolving cultivated land function in China since 1949. First, the research framework of cultivated land function change coupled by policy development analysis and quantitative assessment is established. Then, methods of measurement of cultivated land functions are proposed. Results show that cultivated land function transition was found in 2006. It is worthwhile that co-ordination and malposition of supply and demand of cultivated land functions coexisted with supply lag and function morphology distortion. Considering the experiences in the above developed countries and cultivated land function change in China, this paper proposes suggestions on multifunctional management of cultivated land. In addition, route of land use transition research is discussed based on the research framework of cultivated land function change.

Key words: cultivated land, transition, multifunction, China, land use, policy