Changes in agricultural land requirements for food provision in China 2003–2011: A comparison between urban and rural residents

Abstract

Rapid income growth and urbanization have led to significant changes in food consumption patterns in China. The impact of dietary changes is likely to increase agricultural land demand for food provision. This study investigates the changes in three types of agricultural land requirements for urban and rural residents in China using embodied land use intensities. Our results indicate that total per capita cultivated land requirement of rural residents decreased by 24.3%, from 1984 to 1501 m2 during the study period, while total per capita cultivated land requirement for urban residents decreased by 25.1%, from 2736 to 2049 m2. Total per capita pasture land requirement of rural residents increased by 13.6%, from 543 to 617 m2, while total per capita pasture land requirement of urban residents decreased by 31.4%, from 2991 to 2053 m2. Total per capita forest land requirement of rural residents increased by 31.0%, from 45 to 59 m2, while total per capita forest land requirement of urban residents decreased by 8.4%, from 164 to 150 m2. Our study provides clear implications about the linkages between dietary change and agricultural land demand. Our results imply that without sufficient improvement in production efficiency, pressures posed by dietary change on land resources related to the provision of food will remain high in the future.