Quality Perspective on the Dynamic Balance of Cultivated Land in Wenzhou, China

Lin Lin,Jinsong Deng,Ziran Ye,Ke Wang,Muye Gan,Shenggao Lu,Melanie Weston,Amir Shahtahmassebi

doi:10.3390/su9010095

Abstract

Cultivated land in China has faced severe challenges in recent years due to rapid urbanization. In 1997, the “cultivated land requisition-compensation balance” policy was implemented by the government to maintain the quantity and quality of cultivated land. Previous studies mainly focused on the quantity changes of cultivated land. In this study, from a quality perspective, we characterized the occupation and compensation of cultivated land in Wenzhou City utilizing remote sensing and geographic information systems during 2005–2010 and 2010–2014. Our results indicated that although the quantity balance of cultivated land has been achieved in Wenzhou, there was a trend of consuming prime cultivated land for urbanization while compensating with less productive land. It was also found that topography, water resources, and accessibility play important roles in cultivated land changes, with urbanization occurring on the eastern coastal plain where high quality lands are prevalent. Less than 60% of the gained lands were under cultivation, with the majority of reclaimed land from forests and coastal areas and located in remote regions. Therefore, we suggest that a “cultivated land protection red line” policy should be implemented to protect the best cultivated lands, while preventing random land reclamation to secure agricultural and environmental sustainability.

Highlights

Cultivated land plays a critical role in human livelihoods and in the development of human civilization
This study examined cultivated land changes under the requisition-compensation balance policy in Wenzhou City in eastern China over two past time periods comprising 2005–2014
To improve the understanding of quality changes for the cultivated land dynamic balance, we comprehensively analyzed cultivated land occupation and compensation based on remote sensing and geographic information systems in terms of four aspects: quantity, quality, composition, and spatial variation

Summary

Introduction

Cultivated land plays a critical role in human livelihoods and in the development of human civilization. Due to the continuously increasing demands for urban expansion and the overexploitation of natural resources, cultivated land is shrinking rapidly in many regions of the world [1,2,3,4,5]. The largest developing country in the world, is facing the issue of having insufficient cultivated land resources for its growing population, which makes conserving cultivated land important for China’s continued development [1,6,7]. Since the implementation of the Reform and Opening-Up Policy in 1978, China has been experiencing unprecedented economic growth and profound social transformation [8]. The economic boom has dramatically increased the amount of residential, commercial, and industrial built-up areas, with the scarification of cultivated land [9]. The increasing population but shrinking cultivated land made the use of cultivated land under mounting pressure

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