Acta Geographica Sinica ›› 2019, Vol. 74 ›› Issue (5): 992-1010.doi: 10.11821/dlxb201905012

• Land Use and Ecosystem Services • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Theoretical explanation and case study of regional cultivated land use function transition

SONG Xiaoqing1,2,LI Xinyi1   

  1. 1. School of Geography and Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
    2. Hunan Key Laboratory of Land Resources Evaluation and Utilization, Changsha 410118, China
  • Received:2018-03-30 Revised:2019-02-27 Online:2019-05-25 Published:2019-05-24
  • Supported by:
    National Natural Science Foundation of China(41401191);National Natural Science Foundation of China(41871094);Humanities and Social Sciences of Ministry of Education Planning Fund(18YJAZH078);Guangdong Natural Science Foundation(2015A030313504);The Open Fund of Hunan Key Laboratory of Land Resources Evaluation and Utilization(SYS-MT-201801)

Abstract:

Changes of cultivated land use structures including type structure, input structure, and plantation structure, could succinctly reveal change of cultivated land use function morphology. Cultivated land use function transition (CLUFT) in the process of socio-economic development, however, is currently an issue to be resolved. Based on the underlying relationship between induced production substitution and cultivated land use structure change, this paper established a comprehensive explanation framework of the CLUFT. Then, the regional CLUFT was studied with Guangdong province as a typical case area. Results show that cultivated land use functional morphology in Guangdong overall entered the interim stage of the transition from socio-economic morphology to ecological and economic morphology. Cultivated land use function in the Pearl River Delta has accomplished the transition from socio-economic morphology to ecological-economic morphology. The rest of districts of Guangdong, however, accomplished the transition from socio-ecological morphology to socio-economic morphology. Both socio-economic and institutional forces drove the CLUFT in Guangdong. Mechanism of the CLUFT behaves as cascading effects of interactions among urbanization, socio-economic development, induced production substitution, changes of cultivated land use structures, and transformation of cultivated land use function morphologies. The positive analysis above justified the comprehensive explanation framework presented in this paper. That is, changes of cultivated land use structures could effectively denote cultivated land use function transition. With socio-economic development from its primary stage to an advanced one, changes of cultivated land use structures will drive transition of cultivated land use function morphology from socio-ecological morphology to socio-economic morphology, and to ecological and economic morphology under the direct force of induced production substitution. This paper presented new knowledges on morphology and transition explanations in land use transition research. Furthermore, new knowledges on the underlying mechanism of cultivated land use transition has been developed based on rethinking of the induced production substitution in agriculture. This study is of significance to bridge the knowledge gap of cultivated land use transition among scholars, the public, and policy makers and to deepen further research on land use transition. Finally, suggestions on transformation from dryland to paddy filed in southern China and control of socio-ecological effects of cultivated land use function transition were discussed.

Key words: land use transition, cultivated land, function, structure, pattern, Guangdong