Formation mechanisms and general characteristics of cultivated land use patterns in the Chaohu Lake Basin, China

Abstract

Accurate identification and clearly dividing different cultivated land use patterns, and then clarifying their formation mechanisms, are the necessary premises to solve the inefficient utilization of cultivated land resources. Considering the deficiency of the existing research on cultivated land use patterns in integrated classification and formation mechanisms, this study takes the Chaohu Lake Basin, which has undergone major changes in cultivated land use, as the case area and constructs an integrated recognition factor system of different cultivated land use patterns. The classification rules for different cultivated land use patterns were formulated using the decision tree algorithm, and the townships were divided into four patterns: suburban compound operation (SC); grain and economic crop scale operation (GS); grain and economic crop extensive operation (GE); and grain, oil, and cotton scale operation (GOCS). By discussing the fundamental dynamics of cultivated land use spatial and non-spatial form changes, combining the occurrence mechanism of cultivated land use patterns, the general characteristics of cultivated land use in the four patterns are summarized. We found that he essence of cultivated land use pattern differentiation is the cultivated land use forms’ evolution in different stages. The process of cultivated land use pattern differentiation can be divided into three stages, which mainly result from the changes of industrialization, urbanization, and marketization, as well as differences in social culture and government macro-control. Such changes are influenced by both market orientation and system intervention. The GEE pattern appears in the primary stage, while the GES, SC, and GOCS patterns generally appear in the intermediate stage, and the general characteristics of the four cultivated land use patterns are significantly different. This study further enriches the theoretical system of cultivated land use patterns and provides scientific support for the land space optimization regulation path of high-quality agricultural development in the Chaohu Lake Basin.