Protection Of Land Resources Research Articles

PARADIGM DEVELOPMENT OF LAND RELATIONS AND HIGH-TECHNOLOGICAL LAND USE

The study substantiates that land resources are a strategic resource, the socio-economic development of society depends on the rationality and efficiency of their use. The economic content of the concept of «land relations» is generalized and it is revealed that they are a component of social relations, arise in the process of interaction of society with natural resources and regulate the norms of behavior of business entities of the agricultural sector of the economy within the framework of land legislation. The basis of land relations is the category of land ownership, therefore changes and development of organizational and legal forms of land ownership are perhaps the most important condition. It is worth noting that land relations in agriculture are part of production relations and can be both stimulating and restraining factors for the rational use of agricultural land and high-tech land use. It was found that land legislation in Ukraine remains fragmentary and often inconsistent between all regulatory acts, and changes to individual regulations and legal mechanisms cause risks for investors and landowners, which creates legal uncertainty and complicates the implementation of the efficiency of land resources use. High-tech land use is a direction of modern agrarian development aimed at increasing the efficiency of agriculture, preserving natural resources and ensuring food security. Systematizing the problems and directions of development of land relations and high-tech land use, it was highlighted that the main priority remains the implementation of the social function of land ownership and land use, which ensures the most efficient land use of land plots for their intended purpose. Thus, the main guidelines of land policy are the stability and effectiveness of the functioning of the system of land relations and agricultural land use, aimed at ensuring the country's food security and increasing the well-being of the population. The development of land relations and high-tech land use should be based on maximum consideration of natural, economic and social conditions and environmental requirements for preserving the environment, protecting land resources and restoring their fertility, increasing the productivity of the land fund, as well as limiting the negative impact of economic activity on flora and fauna, etc.

RAF-Unet: A Remote Sensing Identification Method for Forest Land Information with Modified Unet

Abstract Carrying out remote sensing refinement identification of forest land in complex environment is of great significance for timely mapping of forest distribution. Aiming at the problem that remote sensing images have bias in the extraction of forest land information data, based on the semantic segmentation algorithm Unet, combining the ResNet50 deep learning network, the attention mechanism module and the feature pyramid structure, we construct RAF-Unet (ResNet+Attention+FPN+Unet) to improve the extraction of forest land information data. The ResNet50 classification network is used as the encoder of the Unet network to extract the feature maps at five different scales; then, the attention mechanism module is introduced in the decoder stage of the Unet network to extract the key task goal information by learning the weight values of the features; finally, the feature pyramid structure is used in the output stage of the encoder to fuse the information from the shallow network and the deep network to extract the remote sensing forest land information in the image. The results show that the RAF-Unet algorithm outperforms the Unet algorithm in all the indexes, with a precision of 95.24%, a recall of 91.80%, an F1-score value of 93.49%, an intersection over union of 87.63%, and an accuracy of 93.68%; the validity of the modules is verified by the ablation experiments, and the ResNet network, the attention mechanism, and the feature pyramid structure are all effective in improve the classification effect. It helps the forestry department to better manage and dynamically monitor forestry information, which is of great significance to the scientific development, utilization and protection of forest land resources.

Довкіллєве правосуддя в Україні та світі

The article is devoted to the study of domestic and foreign trends in environmental justice. To solve the set goal, the following research methods were used, in particular: the method of scientific observation is to form the topic and purpose of the research; comparative legal method in the study of foreign experience of environmental justice; logical method – for theoretical generalization and formulation of research conclusions. The main models of environmental justice that exist in the world include such as consideration of environmental cases by courts of general jurisdiction, consideration of environmental cases by judges specializing in environmental issues or specialized environmental divisions of courts, consideration of environmental cases by specialized environmental courts. Environmental courts, as specialized judicial authorities, deal with the resolution of environmental conflicts and the protection of the environment and function in particular in countries that are members of the European Union, such as Sweden and Austria. In Ukraine, environmental justice is carried out in the form of civil, economic, administrative and criminal proceedings. At the same time, civil, economic, administrative and criminal cases in the environmental sphere differ among themselves in terms of the type of offense, the subject of the dispute, the composition of subjects, etc. Judicial practice in the environmental sphere covers a wide range of environmental relations, in particular on atmospheric air protection, land protection and use of land resources, subsoil protection and use of minerals, protection of forests and use of forest resources, protection and use of territories and objects of the nature reserve fund, access to environmental information, waste management, etc. Environmental justice in Ukraine may be limited to the functioning of certain specialized environmental units in courts, or involve the formation of a system of specialized environmental courts throughout the country, including a higher specialized court. At the same time, the implementation of environmental justice will be more or less time-consuming and costly (depending on the model chosen for implementation).

Management on Transfer Pricing of Farmland Based on the Supply–Demand Mismatches for Multifunction: A Case Study from China

Realizing the multifunctional value of farmland is essential for regulating the pricing of farmland transfers and stabilizing the rural land market. However, in China, the mismatch between supply and demand leads to improper resource allocation, weakens the explicit value of farmland, and causes unreasonable transfer pricing mechanisms that threaten agricultural production and food security. This study develops an analytical framework to examine the relationship between farmland multifunction and transfer pricing from a supply–demand perspective. An evaluation index system is constructed, considering the physical, value, and material quantities. This study uses the matching index method and bivariate spatial autocorrelation to analyze the supply–demand match of farmland multifunction from 2014 to 2021 and its relationship with transfer prices. Additionally, management methods and strategies for dynamic zoning-based pricing under multifunctional matching trade-offs are proposed. The results show that: (1) There is significant heterogeneity in the supply and demand matching degree of different farmland functions in both space and time. The production and ecological functions of farmland are oversupplied, while the living functions are undersupplied. (2) Different spatial autocorrelation relationships exist between the degree of supply and demand matching of farmland functions and farmland transfer prices. Specifically, the supply and demand matching degrees of the production and living functions show a significant negative spatial correlation with farmland transfer prices. In contrast, the ecological function shows a significant positive spatial correlation with farmland transfer prices, which are continuously strengthening over time. (3) Based on the supply and demand matching situation of different farmland functions and the spatial autocorrelation of farmland transfer prices, nine types of regions are delineated for farmland functions. Among them, the surplus-coordinated development areas have the most cities, accounting for about 40%, with a wide distribution range. This study proposes zoning-based pricing instruments and management strategies. This research provides valuable insights for developing countries seeking to alleviate conflicts in multifunctional land use, enhance the sustainable protection of land resources, and improve land resource assessment frameworks.

Sustainable (balanced) land use development is the basic foundation for the formation of Ukraine’s land system

The article examines the key aspects of sustainable land use as a foundation for the effective development of rural areas and communities. Balanced land use should be viewed through the lens of land management development and the implementation of integrated land resource management. The excessive intensification of agriculture and the rapid expansion of cities lead to the loss of beneficial land functions, causing land degradation. The study assessed the ecological stability of territories and revealed an unsatisfactory state of ecological stability in Ukraine, associated with the high level of land plowing (68.4%). It is noted that preserving and restoring land as a unique natural resource requires active intervention by government bodies to stimulate measures for the protection and restoration of land resources through the implementation of effective environmental initiatives. Due to progressing erosion, approximately 40–50 billion hryvnias are lost annually. It is proposed to develop a conceptual strategy for enhancing the ecological sustainability of land management at the legislative level, as well as during the reform of land relations, with a focus on the ecological reorganization of the land management system in the country, regions, and newly established territorial communities. Ecologically sustainable land use is possible only with the implementation of scientific and technological advancements and the orientation of the economy towards ecological principles at the national, regional, and local levels. Sustainable land use development means not only the effective utilization of land resources but also the creation of an appropriate land institutional structure and a favorable environment for land resource management, as well as the formation of social relations that promote the rational use of ecosystems while maintaining a balance between environmental, economic, and social components. In recent years, the practice of farming under market conditions has confirmed that the productivity and efficiency of agricultural activities primarily depend on the effective use of agricultural land. Modern research presents various approaches to identifying factors that influence the efficiency of agricultural land use. It should be noted that effective land use in agricultural enterprises must be combined with economic efficiency in land management. One of the important ways to achieve this is by enhancing the operation of agricultural producers, as well as improving the mechanism based on the integration of ecological and economic components, which ensure the quality use of agricultural land.

A dataset of 1 km-grid cultivated land fragmentation in China (2020)

Cultivated land fragmentation is a quantitative description of cultivated land fragmentation, which not only affects the structure and function of cultivated land ecosystem, but also is not conducive to improving the utilization efficiency of cultivated land resources and the scale effect of grain production. In this paper, based on the grid data of the 2020 annual change survey, the 1 km grid farmland fragmentation data set of China in 2020 was obtained by grid space calculation of three landscape indicators, such as patch density index, separation index and landscape farmland type separation index. Strict quality inspection and quality control are carried out in the data processing stages such as farmland map reading, kilometer grid fragmentation calculation and comparison verification, which ensures the correctness, integrity and comparability of the data. This data set can be used to study the protection of cultivated land resources and the sustainable development of agriculture.

Assessment of sustainable development capacity of resource-based cities based on ecological carrying capacity —taking Zigong City, Sichuan Province, China as an example

In this paper, the ecological footprint model is used to analyze the ecological carrying capacity of resource-based cities, and the ecological profit and loss state is calculated to evaluate their sustainable development ability. Taking Zigong City of Sichuan Province as an example, Research has shown that the ecological carrying capacity of Zigong City has been increasing year by year from 2006 to 2012 and from 2015 to 2021. There was a sharp decline from 2013 to 2014. The ecological and economic diversity index and the development capacity of the ecological and economic system showed an upward trend from 2006 to 2021. However, from 2006 to 2020, the ecological sustainable development index of Zigong City was below 0.2, indicating a serious unsustainable state. In 2021, it was in a moderately unsustainable state. According to the protection of cultivated land resources, forest resources, grassland resources, water resources, energy utilization and building land involved in Zigong City's sustainable development ability, the corresponding suggestions are put forward.Considering the economic, environmental and social aspects, this paper propose a path for sustainable development ability of resource-based cities.

Incentive adjustments and land leasing behavior shifts: A quasi-natural experiment of off-office audits

Incentive adjustments to promote the rational utilization of natural resources by local governments, China has proposed a new policy called Off-Office Audit of Natural Resource Assets (OANRA) targeting local leaders. However, how this policy affects incentives for land use behavior remains understudied. Treating the policy pilot as a quasi-natural experiment, based on the staggered DID method and micro-level land leasing data, we investigate how OANRA changes local government land leasing behavior. The study finds that after the implementation of OANRA, the scale of local land leasing significantly decreased, with a further acceleration nearing the end of the term. This may be attributed to OANRA alleviating fiscal and political incentives that drive land leasing impulses. More directly, the regulatory effect of OANRA reduces non-compliant land leasing by local officials. Interestingly, OANRA also unexpectedly induces officials to become lazy, deterring some compliant land leasing. Our findings provide insights into understanding incentives for land use behavior and better incentivizing local officials to properly utilize and protect land resources.

Comparative assessment of land use land cover at different temporal scales in Imphal-Iril river catchment, Manipur, India

ABSTRACT Land use land cover (LULC) assessment is essential for monitoring naturally available land resources through spatio-temporal changing pattern to protect land resources sustainably. The primary objective is to identify the changing pattern in LULC over last 10 years in Imphal-Iril catchment. Multi-spectral datasets of Landsat 7 and 8 were used for five different time periods (2011, 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019). Supervised classification method was employed to generate the classified LULC maps using the maximum likelihood classifier approach in ArcGIS 10.3. In this assessment, five major land use classes have been classified as vegetation, agriculture, settlement, barren land and water body, and the dominant land cover is vegetation. The classified images obtained from this technique were checked for their accuracy using statistical kappa co-efficient and overall accuracy. According to this study, settlement and barren areas have been significantly increased by 72.25% (39.03 km2) and 22.60% (118.29 km2) during the last 10 years, whereas areas assigned to agriculture, vegetation and water bodies have decreased by 27.26% (72.16 km2), 7.59% (73.22 km2) and 60.39% (11.94 km2), respectively. LULC map for the year 2030 was also predicted using MOLUSCE model in QGIS. The results of this assessment will be significant to the policy implicates for sustainable LULC management in the region.

Application of Precision Farming in Horticulture: A Comprehensive Review

With the ever-increasing global population and diverse challenges caused by climate change, horticultural productivity must increase in an ecofriendly and sustainable way. Precision farming, also known as precision agriculture may play an important role to improve this situation by a data-driven farm management system that aims to identify, analyze, and manage variability within fields for optimal profitability, sustainability, and land resource protection. It involves applying the right treatments at the right time and location within a field. In horticulture, precision farming plays a crucial role in resource-efficient management as well as reducing significant labour requirement, including techniques like fertigation, greenhouse cultivation, soil and leaf nutrient-based fertilizer management, and more. This comprehensive review paper explores the application of precision farming in horticulture, emphasizing its potential impact on crop management, environmental health, and economic sustainability.

Legal terminology in environmental and land law: theoretical-legal analysis

The article examines the peculiarities of the formation of legal terminology in the field of environmental and land law and proves the feasibility of its improvement in connection with the adaptation of the norms of national law to the law of the European Union. The article states that today in Ukraine there is significant environmental pollution, climate change, land deterioration, which significantly worsened in connection with the military aggression of the Russian Federation and caused a particularly dangerous ecological situation in the country. The article proves that the implementation of the principles of the right of citizens to a safe environment, ensuring human safety, protection and rational use of land, forest, water and subsoil resources is not possible without a clear definition of legal prescriptions enshrined in the law. The article states that one of the important aspects of the language of law is legal terminology, which makes it possible to formulate the content of a legal document. The article defines the concepts of “terminology”, “terminology”, “legal terminology”. It is noted that it is not appropriate to equate the concepts of “terminology” and “terminological system”. It has been investigated that despite the presence of established terminology in environmental law, the presence of terms in need of improvement is observed in this field, namely: “ecological law” and “environmental law”. It has been proved that for the purpose of further codification of environmental law, it seems appropriate to use the term “environmental law” as an established term of EU legislation. It has been analyzed that today the language of the law in the field of land relations is gaining importance, which is due to the formation of the land market in Ukraine and the need to adapt the norms of land law to EU law. It is noted that in land law there is a problem of identifying the terms: “land”, “land plot”. It was noted that the legal terms related to the formation of the land market in Ukraine need improvement and detailing. It was concluded that legal terminology in the field of environmental and land law is one of the important aspects of the development of the language of law. The issue of improving legal terminology in the field of environmental and land law is one of the necessary steps that will contribute to the unification and harmonization of the legal norms of the specified fields in the context of adapting the norms of national law to EU law.

The Legal Regulation of Use and Protection of Mineral Resources in the Pre-Caspian Regions in the Context of the Green Economy Tasks

Introduction: nowadays, there is a transition from the traditional methods of use and protection of natural resources to technologies driven by Russia’s movement towards sustainable development. One of the means to achieve the goals of sustainable development is the greening of all types of economic activities (the transition to a green economy), including the emergence of new challenges in the field of the use and protection of mineral resources. A legal framework has already been established to ensure the rational use and protection of mineral resources, but a number of gaps in the federal and regional legislation still remain. The purpose of the study is to reveal the features and possible directions of ecologization of the subsurface use within the territory of the three Pre-Caspian regions. Methods: the following methods were used when writing the paper. The analysis method made it possible to identify the main features of the category “protection of mineral resources” and the effectiveness of its protection in the Pre-Caspian regions; the synthesis was used to generalize the typological features of the ecological and legal categories used in the paper; the analogy method made it possible to identify the practical features of the use and protection of mineral resources in three Pre-Caspian regions. The comparative law method made it possible to study the foreign experience of digitalization of management, which can also be used in regulating the subsurface use in Russia. The formal and legal method made it possible to identify the features and specifics of the statutory regulation of the use and protection of mineral resources during the transition of the Russian Federation to a green economy. Results: active mining (including oil and gas) is taking place in the three Pre-Caspian regions, and the regional mineral resources laws have been adopted. In these laws, the main attention is paid to the provision of local mineral resources for use, while the regional features of protection of mineral resources are very poorly represented. Three Pre-Caspian regions are characterized by federal problems in the field of subsurface use, including the absence of specially protected areas with mineral resources, the inability to involve the mineral resources in civil circulation, the insufficient digitalization of management processes in the provision of the mineral resources for use, the problems of economic stimulation of rational use and protection of mineral resources, as well as the compensation for damage caused during the use of the mineral resources. Conclusions: the Astrakhan region, the Republics of Dagestan and Kalmykia, as the regions with access to the Caspian Sea, have similar problems in the field of the use and protection of mineral resources, which require reflection in their regional legislation. When working it out, it is necessary to take into account the international regime of the Caspian Sea waters, the unique environmental and economic conditions for the use and protection of land and mineral resources in the coastal zones.

Land Use Change and Ecological Security Evaluation in Haikou City

With the continuous development of society and the acceleration of urbanization, profound changes have occurred in the utilization of land resources. Unreasonable land use and development pose serious threats to land ecological security, leading to a series of ecological security issues that constrain regional sustainable development. This study takes Haikou City as the research object and utilizes remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) technologies to analyze the changes in land use in Haikou City from 2002 to 2022. Simultaneously, a land ecological security evaluation system is constructed based on the "Pressure-State-Response" (PSR) model. The weights of the indicators are determined by combining the Entropy weight method and the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The TOPSIS (technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution) method is then applied to evaluate the land ecological security index. The results indicate that during the period from 2002 to 2022, the cropland and impervious areas in Haikou City exhibited significant growth trends, while the areas of grassland, water, barren land, and forest decreased. Despite this, the comprehensive ecological security index of Haikou City showed an overall fluctuating upward trend, reaching its optimal state in 2022, with the land ecological security level improving from "Minor Warning" to "Relatively Safe". These research findings provide scientific evidence for adjusting land use policies and formulating relevant measures, and also serve as an important reference for promoting the sustainable utilization and ecological security protection of land resources in Haikou City.

Risk Of Eviction And Women’s Technology Adoption: Some Evidence From Southwestern Nigeria

ABSTRACT: In the presence of tenure insecurity that many women face in developing societies because of patriarchal norms, farmers may not adopt farm technologies because there is no assurance of reaping the benefits. This article examines how the risk of eviction affects women’s fertilizer use and adoption of early maturing seed varieties. For the empirical analysis, I employ individual-level data that was collected from 180 women rice farmers in southwestern Nigeria with a multistage sampling technique and analyse the data with both econometric methods that address possible endogeneity issues and those that do not. I analyse the relationship between the risk of eviction and fertilizer use with the Two Stage Least Squares (2SLS) and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) methods and analyse the relationship between the risk of eviction and the adoption of early-maturing seed varieties with the Two Stage Conditional Maximum Likelihood (2SCML) and probit methods. I find women who are cultivating family-allocated, husband-allocated and purchased plots to be significantly less likely to have fears of eviction than those who are cultivating fixed-rent plots, even as the risk of eviction have different effects on fertilizer use and on the adoption of early-maturing rice varieties respectively. While it makes the women spend less on fertilizer, it makes them more likely to adopt early maturing seed varieties. These would suggest that the women are responding to the unfavourable production environment from tenure insecurity with lower investments in soil fertility and shortened time horizons towards minimizing their losses in the event of eviction. The results also suggest that the women may invest in soil fertility if the operating environment becomes more favourable with better tenure. The policy implications of the findings are thus evident. Women are evidently not averse to adopting farm technologies by default; to thus improve adoption rates of farm technologies, policymakers should adapt technologies to local socioeconomic conditions, while exploring how to make tenancy contracts and the social norms that underpin customary tenure systems more amenable to granting women tenure security. These would help protect land resources from degradation, make agricultural incomes sustainable, and facilitate socio-economic development.

ТЕОРЕТИЧНІ ОСНОВИ СТАЛОГО ЗЕМЛЕКОРИСТУВАННЯ ЯК ОБ'ЄКТА ПУБЛІЧНОГО УПРАВЛІННЯ

Background . Land use is essential in many environmental and socio-economic problems of society. The main form of land management is public management. Public management (or administration) in the field of rational management, use, and protection of land means that the state, in the person of its competent bodies, establishes certain rules and regulations regarding the organization of the use of all land resources of the country and its individual parts (categories of land, types of land use and etc.). Public administration lays the foundations of relations that should serve the protection, preservation, and careful use of land resources and be committed to the principle of sustainable development. The essence of the formation and development of sustainable land use is that all its subjects are included in this process. They must understand that it is necessary to abandon land redistribution if it is not necessary. Since the policy of sustainable land use is gaining more and more attention and importance both in the world and in Ukraine, the purpose of the article is to research and analyze the theoretical foundations of sustainable land use as an object of public management. The research object was sustainable land use. Methods . This publication is based on the use of general and special research methods. The analysis was used to clarify the condition of land management in Ukraine, and synthesis was used to summarize the obtained evidence in order to develop recommendations. The systematic approach was used to study the challenges in the field of modern land use. The normative-value method made it possible to consider the issue of restoring sustainable land use in the postwar period in a multi-level management system. Results . The analysis of sustainable land use made it possible to define the concept of sustainable land use, identify the factors affecting such land use, and consider the stages of the formation of sustainable land use in the multi-level management system. In particular, certain hierarchies of levels of sustainable land use administration were established, namely conceptual, ideological, political, and economic. Each level determines the conceptual mechanisms of actions in relation to land resources. Among the factors of influence on sustainable land use, those due to economic, natural, ecological, legal, technological, and social nature were distinguished. However, urbanization and cultural worldviews have also influenced the sustainable use and management of land resources. At the same time, understanding the jurisdiction of public managers, setting clear goals, developing initiatives for these goals, monitoring and evaluating progress, reporting, and cooperating and partnering were determined as the relevant stages of forming sustainable land use in a multi-level management system. Сonclusions . Thus, sustainable land use requires the involvement of all parties interested in land use, taking into account their needs and supporting the broader cultural, economic, environmental, legal, political, technological, and social frameworks. In addition, the state needs to increase the category of nature conservation lands by creating parks, nature reserves, etc. At the legislative level, it is necessary to establish the principle of land use for the purpose of carrying out economic activities only on developed lands where there is a housing stock and developed infrastructure.

Assessment of the development of erosion processes using the stereophotogrammetric method

Soil is the most important resource on earth, the need for its rational use is fixed in many regulatory and legal sources of the Russian Federation, it is necessary to control the use of land resources, prevent pollution and soil degradation; for these purposes there are measures carried out to monitor the state of the soil cover. All these actions allow for a more rational allocation of funds from the use of land resources, as well as ensure the safety and compliance with environmental standards for the protection of land resources and the environment [2]. This article considers the issue of using three-dimensional models to assess the development of erosion processes on lands suitable for agricultural use, which are a strategic resource. The study of the erosion hazard of lands is of great importance in the modern world, where there is an active change in the natural environment under the influence of human activity. Soil erosion is a serious problem that can lead to the loss of land fertile layer, lower yields, and increased risk of natural disasters. In this regard, the assessment of land erosion hazard is an urgent task that requires an integrated approach and the use of modern methods and technologies [1].

Analysis of spatial and temporal changes and driving forces of arable land in the Weibei dry plateau region in China

Arable land is the lifeblood of food production, it is of great significance to promote the protection of arable land and ensure national food security by accurately understanding the change law of cultivated land and its driving mechanism. This study takes the Weibei dry plateau region of China as an example, explores its spatial and temporal change characteristics through the center of gravity shift and land use shift matrix, and couples the geographic probe model to reveal the driving mechanisms affecting arable land change. The results show that in the past 25 years, the total arable land area in the Weibei Dry Plateau Region of China has decreased by 5.58%, and the stability of arable land resources in the whole region has weakened. The center of gravity of arable land shifts to the northeast, and the standard deviation ellipse of arable land mainly undergoes the change process of "increase (1995–2015)-decrease (2015–2020)", and the spatial distribution of arable land tends to be dispersed. In the LISA frequency mapping, the proportion of stable constant and low-frequency areas is as high as 89.58%, and the spatial pattern of cultivated land is relatively stable. Medium and high frequency areas. The transformation mode is mainly "low-low" aggregation, "low–high" aggregation is not significant, and the decline of cultivated land in the study area is more obvious. In the past 25 years, a total of 1017.26 km2 of arable land was converted to construction land. The explanatory power of the influencing factors varies in each period (0.299 to 0.731), with total agricultural machinery power has the strongest explanatory power of 0.694, 0.592, and 0.731, respectively. The interaction between slope and annual average temperature and other factors being the highest, both greater than 0.8. Through the construction of LISA frequency mapping, combined with the center of gravity model and standard deviation ellipse, the spatial evolution trend of regional arable land is more comprehensively and dynamically grasped. By using the geodetector model, the driving mechanism of the changes of arable land is revealed comprehensively, which provides a theoretical basis for the scientific management and effective protection of arable land resources and a basis for decision-making.

Analysis of factors influencing terrace abandonment based on unmanned aerial photography and farmer surveys: A case study in Jianhe, Guizhou

AbstractStudying the abandonment status of mountain terraces and its determinants, as well as exploring opportunities for the sustainable use of mountain terraces, are of great significance for the protection of regional cultivated land resources. The present study analysed eight typical villages in Jianhe County, Guizhou Province, China, as examples. A combination of high‐resolution remote sensing images and farm household survey data were used to explore the abandonment of terraces in mountainous areas. A multi‐level logistic model was constructed to analyse the determinants of terrace abandonment based on three levels: plot, household and village. The results show that serious terrace abandonment occurred in the study area, with 33.78% of all terraces having been abandoned. The plot and household levels were important in influencing terrace abandonment by farmers. At the plot level, terrace abandonment is more likely to occur on small plots found at a long distance from residences with poor irrigation conditions and collapsed ridges. At the household level, households where the head had a relatively high level of education and households with relatively small agricultural labour forces and lower degrees of mechanisation had a higher probability of their terraces being abandoned. At the village level, a relatively high risk of terrace abandonment was found in villages relatively close to an administrative centre, with a low land transfer rate and a low rate of forest coverage. In conclusion, carrying out land consolidation projects and improving agricultural infrastructure in mountainous areas are important means to achieving the sustainable use of terraces.

Multidimensional Valuation and Spatial Differentiation of Cultivated Land Resources at the County Scale: A Case Study of Guangxi, China

Revealing the multidimensional value of cultivated land resources, improving calculation methods, and exploring their spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors are crucial for the enhancement of natural resource accounting systems and the protection of cultivated land resources. This study takes Guangxi, China, as an example and constructs a comprehensive multidimensional value evaluation system for cultivated land resources at the county scale. The income capitalization method, substitution market method, and value equivalent correction method were applied to calculate the economic, social, and ecological values of cultivated land resources in 111 counties in 2020. Furthermore, spatial autocorrelation analysis was employed to study their distribution characteristics and influencing factors. The results show that: (1) In 2020, the total value of cultivated land resources in Guangxi was USD 2859.3 billion, with the economic, social, and ecological values were USD 1674.2 billion, USD 417.7 billion and USD 767.3 billion USD, respectively. (2) The economic and social value of cultivated land per hectare at the county scale in Guangxi demonstrates similar spatial distribution patterns. High-value counties exhibit a strip-like distribution along the eastern edge, following a north–south orientation, while low-value counties form clusters in the central and western regions. (3) There is a significant spatial clustering effect of all values of cultivated land resources in local space, with “high-high” and “low-low” clustering. (4) The level of economic development in counties has a negative impact on the ecological value of cultivated land resources, while it has a positive impact on their social value. (5) Natural conditions, agricultural infrastructure conditions and agricultural development approaches are the key factors affecting the value of cultivated land resources.

Agriculture land resources protection through strategic environmental assessment: Case study in Parigi Moutong, Central Sulawesi-Indonesia

Linking development activities with the conservation of food land resources has become a very important issue in sustainable development. However, the facts show that the damage or loss of food land resources continues even at an increasing rate. This trend is further exacerbated by policies on land conversion and over-exploitation of natural resources, as well as the absence of information on the importance of the land. Consequently, there will be changes in the ecosystem and the optimal function of the land. Protection of food and land resources must start with policy-making and be followed by development program planning. The problem of this research is how the conversion of agricultural land into residential areas and shrimp pond areas in Parigi Moutong Regency, describes how the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) as an instrument of protection of agricultural land resources in Parigi Moutong Regency, Central Sulawesi. Agricultural land resources are one of the important aspects of the food security program that should be considered in SEA. The development of urban centers or expansion of settlements and large-scale land clearing for plantations or mining often harm food land resources. Therefore, development plans and programs must be properly designed through prediction, evaluation, and mitigation of possible negative impacts. This research found that the involvement of stakeholders such as; local government, council members, academics, businesses, and NGOs as well as the community can generate some issues and strategies related to the loss or damage of agricultural land resources due to development activities and design alternative recommendations for improvement in Parigi Moutong District.