Traditional Agricultural Areas Research Articles

Coupling of Changing Trends in Population and Construction Land in Traditional Rural Areas and Spatial Patterns in Urban–Rural Development, 2016–2021: A Case Study of Heilongjiang Province, China

Achieving the goal of integrated urban–rural development is to achieve a spatially balanced development of the constituent elements of urban–rural relations in China. Rural populations and land dedicated to construction are the main components of the countryside in traditional agricultural areas; they play an important role in the development of the countryside itself in terms of urban and rural land use and in the formation of urban and rural development patterns. This study analyzes the spatial and temporal changes in rural populations and construction land at the township level, alongside assessing various forms and the extent of coupled development. Herein, we consider the role of urban–rural attractiveness and propose a framework for relationships between urban and rural development based on different forms of coupled development; a model of urban–rural forces is constructed to determine spatial patterns of urban–rural development at the township level that may transpire in the future. Our study shows that the rural population and construction land in the study area are characterized by significant spatial and temporal dynamics, indicating that traditional rural areas are in a process of rapid development and change. The results of our measurements of township-level coupling indicate that there exist four development patterns within urban–rural development: the A-type is most likely to produce new cities or satellite towns in the future and form new urban areas; the B-type is the area most likely to cease and be annexed to other villages or cities to meet building targets; the C-type comprises areas to be focused on in the future to attract populations and strictly control the growth of rural construction land areas (to avoid land transforming into the B-type); and the D-type refers to lands upon which regional township centers may develop in the future, becoming an area devoted to rural revitalization. The A-type and D-type are prioritized for the allocation of construction land, which can be contracted from types B and C. The results of this study have provided important reference for the formulation of population and construction land control policies in accordance with local conditions and the realization of integrated urban and rural development strategies.

The State of Agricultural Development and Industrial Prosperity Pathway and Strategy Design in the Context of Data-Driven and Rural Revitalization

Current advances in materials science are providing a huge variety of novel adsorbents that could be used for the transformation and storage of low-temperature heat, such as the heat generated by renewable energy sources.Achieving industrial prosperity is a key step in building an all-round well-off society and realizing agricultural modernization. In the process of industrial prosperity, there are also many problems: firstly, the long-term traditional farming in China has led to the information blockage and ideological constraint of most farmers in China, so that they are slow to accept new things and new ideas; secondly, due to the "one long and one short" characteristic of long growth cycle and short storage cycle of agricultural products, it is difficult for rural transportation and deep processing of agricultural products. Secondly, because of the "long and short" nature of the long growth cycle and short storage cycle of agricultural products, the demand for rural transportation and deep processing of agricultural products is high. This study is based on the problems related to sustainable agricultural development in traditional agricultural areas. The main purpose of this study is to clarify the sustainable development status of agricultural systems under different agricultural development paths in traditional agricultural areas, to establish a methodological system for studying regional agricultural development paths, to explore the optimal path for sustainable regional agricultural development, and orderly management of sustainable agricultural development in traditional agricultural areas, so as to promote the sustainable development of traditional agricultural areas with economic prosperity, social stability and ecological health. The experimental results prove that the optimized SGA algorithm has carried out good system dynamics modeling for the typical traditional agricultural area - the problem of choosing the agricultural development path, and the comprehensive evaluation of the simulation results.

Migration choices for farming households in rural areas: Why new countryside locations are important for the inhabitants of traditional agricultural areas in central China

AbstractIn the urbanisation stage of bilateral urban–rural interaction, China is adopting various policies to achieve rural revitalisation and provide diverse destinations to which farmers can migrate. Most previous studies have focused on urban destinations; thus, new countryside locations are not as well understood in this context. This study focused on first migration practices to examine new countryside destinations for farmers in China. This study established a conceptual framework to explain the diverse migration destination options based on three aspects: human capital, economic characteristics, and social characteristics. Based on survey data from farming households in a traditional agriculture area in Xinxiang, a multiple logit model was used to examine why new countryside destinations were adaptive first migration destinations. The results indicated that farmers were influenced by land capital and low initial household incomes. Specifically, many farmers were attracted to new countryside locations close to their original villages because of the need for cultivated land and farming, thus providing a logical first move in the rural–urban migration process. Poorer households were willing to first improve their living conditions in this way. This suggests that new countryside construction can help achieve rural revitalisation.

Alternative vegetation trajectories through passive habitat rewilding: opposite effects for animal conservation

ContextPassive habitat rewilding after rural abandonment can affect wildlife differently depending on the type of habitats that it generates.ObjectiveEvaluate and compare the effects of two alternative vegetation trajectories that occur through passive habitat rewilding in Mediterranean ecotone areas (crop-scrub and crop-pine forest transitions) on the long-term population dynamics of animal species.MethodsWe used the spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca), a characteristic long-lived species of cultural landscapes, as study species. We applied a spatially explicit and individual-based model (STEPLAND) to simulate the movement and demographic processes in a long-term period, by comparing an “impact scenario” (i.e., historical land-use changes) to a “control scenario” (no land-use changes).ResultsThe two landscape scenarios resulted in different population trends. In the crop-scrub scenarios (control and impact), population densities increased similarly over time. However, the crop-pine forest scenario negatively affected population density throughout the simulation period, and showed a time-lag response of three decades. The extinction risk was 55% with a time-lag response of approximately 110 years.ConclusionsOur study highlights the need to analyse the legacy effects on long-lived ectotherms, using them as a proxy to understand the future effects of dynamic landscapes created by “passive habitat rewilding”. Our results showed how traditional agriculture in Mediterranean ecotone areas may generate “ecotone effects” (i.e. increase in demographical parameters), but also population extinction on long-lived ectotherms. Therefore, we consider it relevant to maintain traditional agricultural areas in Mediterranean landscapes, especially in ecotone areas associated with pine forests (generating mosaics with open habitats).

Evolution of Crop Planting Structure in Traditional Agricultural Areas and Its Influence Factors: A Case Study in Alar Reclamation

This research provides a comprehensive analysis of the spatiotemporal evolution of the regional cropping structure and its influencing factors. Using Landsat satellite images, field surveys, and yearbook data, we developed a planting structure extraction model employing the classification regression tree algorithm to obtain data on the major crop cultivation and structural characteristics of Alar reclamation from 1990 to 2023. A dynamic model and transfer matrix were used to analyze temporal changes, and a centroid migration model was used to study spatial changes in the cropping structure. Nonparametric mutation tests and through-traffic coefficient analysis were utilized to quantify the main driving factors influencing the cropping structure. During the period of 1990–2023, the cotton area in the Alar reclamation region expanded by 722.08 km2, while the jujube exhibited an initial increase followed by a decrease in the same period. The primary reasons are linked to the cost of purchase, agricultural mechanization, and crop compatibility. In the Alar reclamation area, cotton, chili, and jujube are the primary cultivated crops. Cotton is mainly grown on the southern side of the Tarim River, while chili cultivation is concentrated on the northern bank of the river. Over the years, there has been a noticeable spatial complementarity in the distribution and density of rice and cotton crops in this region. In the Alar reclamation, the main factors influencing the change in cultivated land area are cotton price, agricultural machinery gross power, and population. Consequently, implementing measures such as providing planting subsidies and other policy incentives to enhance planting income can effectively stimulate farmers’ willingness to engage in planting activities.

The resilience of rural human settlements system and its key factors in traditional agricultural areas of the Loess Plateau: Taking Jiaxian county in Northern Shaanxi as an example

The resilience of rural human settlements system and its key factors in traditional agricultural areas of the Loess Plateau: Taking Jiaxian county in Northern Shaanxi as an example

Contributions and Resistances to Vulnerability of Rural Human Settlements System in Agricultural Areas of Chinese Loess Plateau since 1980

The vulnerability evolution of human settlements system on the micro-scale is a direct indicator of the local impact of global environmental change. Traditional agricultural areas are most vulnerable to climate and market changes. Due to the lack of historical statistics, micro-scale quantitative studies on the historical evolution of vulnerability are extremely scarce. From the perspective of the socio-ecological system, this study conducted field investigations along with quantitative assessment and an ethnographic approach to explore the vulnerability change of rural human settlements system since 1980 in Jia County, an agro-pastoral interlocking area. The study found that the vulnerability of natural, dwelling and social systems has continued to decrease, while human system vulnerability increased. At present, the RHSS is characterized by the poor quality of the river, a depressed rural population and a large gap between the rich and poor as weaknesses, and is characterized by sandstorm disaster reduction, more robust rural roads, adequate water for domestic use and high social security as strengths. Results revealed that ecological projects, increased precipitation, market changes, urbanization siphoning and farmer behaviors are key drivers to the vulnerability change since 1980. The study findings can be directly applied to rural revitalization strategies, vulnerability mitigation and adaptive management practices in China. In addition, the vulnerability evolution under multiple perturbations can provide guidance for settlement planning and construction in traditional agricultural areas among developing countries under global changes.

How to effectively improve the ecosystem provisioning services in traditional agricultural and pastoral areas in China?

The provisioning services of ecosystems are fundamental for people's livelihoods, health, and survival, yet provisioning services are highly dependent on land use/cover change (LUCC), especially in fragile alpine ecosystems. In the Qilian Mountains, one of China's traditional farming and pastoral areas, changes in provisioning services are related to regional well-being. This study focuses on the multi-scale evolution, driving factors, and sustainable development strategies for providing farmland and grassland ecosystem services from 2000 to 2020. The results showed an overall upward trend in the value of providing services by grassland and cropland ecosystems over the past 20 years, increasing by US $249 million and US $67.35 million, respectively. The economic benefits of livestock products provided by grassland and agricultural products from farmland accounted for 70.5% and 29.5% of the total income of farmers and herdsmen, respectively. However, in the past 10 years, the contribution of grassland and farmland ecosystems to provisioning services has decreased by 0.2% and 1.7% respectively. The reduction of contribution will directly affect the capacity to provisioning services, which is not conducive to regional development. It is found that human factors such as policy system change, urbanization process and ideological change are the main driving factors for the change of supply services in traditional agricultural and pastoral areas, and climate change has played a certain role in promoting. In order to effectively improve the ability of traditional agricultural and pastoral areas to provide services, we put forward the development strategy of “Ecological Husbandry + Precision Agriculture (EHPA)”. and promote the “Production, Learning, Scientific research and Practical application” of ecosystem services from the five aspects of ecological space, industrial layout, ecological industrial development, ecological technology and ecological policy system, so as to improve the ability of ecosystem provisioning services.

Drivers of diversity of arable plant communities in one of their european conservation hotspots

The changes of agriculture led to deep transformations of arable plant diversity. The features of arable plant communities are determined by many anthropic, environmental, and geographic drivers. Understanding the relative importance of such drivers is essential for conservation and restoration purposes. In this work, we assessed the effects of agronomic, climatic, geographic, and landscape features on α-diversity, β-diversity, and composition of winter arable plant communities across continental Italy, a European hotspot of arable plant diversity. Using redundancy analysis and variation partitioning, we observe that the selected groups of variables explained a restrained to moderate proportion of the variation in diversity and composition, depending on the response (5.5–23.5%). We confirm previous evidence that climate and geographic location stand out in determining the features of arable plant communities in the country, followed by the type of rural area. The surrounding landscape has a subordinate influence but affects both α and β-diversity. The α-diversity is higher in traditional agricultural areas and in landscapes rich in woody vegetation, while it is lower in warmer areas. Species composition is determined by climate, latitude, and the type of rural area, but not by landscape. Total β-diversity is mainly explained by climate and latitude, and subordinately by the agricultural context and landscape. Its components are explained by latitude and climate (replacement) and agricultural context and climate (richness difference). The local contribution to β-diversity of single sites suggested a good conservation status of the studied communities. We discuss the implications of our findings in the light of conservation and restoration of vanishing arable plant communities.

Trade-off and synergistic relationship of land use function and zoning in coastal saline-alkali area: A case study of Huanghua, Hebei, China

Analyzing the multi-functional evolution of land use can help solve the confusion in the relationship between land use functions and unreasonable land use structure. From the perspective of ecological security, we integrated multi-source data on the basis of quantitative evaluation of various land use functions, and used the method of combining band set statistical model and bivariate local Moran's I to measure the dynamics of trade-off and synergy relationship between land use functions in Huanghua, Hebei from 2000 to 2018, and divided land use functional areas. The results showed that production function (PF) and life function (LF) showed the alternate evolution of the trade-off and synergy relationship, which mostly occured in the central urban areas such as the southern region. The PF and ecological function (EF) was mainly based on the synergistic relationship, which mostly occured in the traditional agricultural areas in the west region. The degree of synergy between LF and water conservation function (WCF) first increased and then decreased, with obvious regional differences in the degree of synergy. LF and soil health function (SHF)/ biological diversity function (BDF) was dominated by trade-off relationship, which mostly occured in western saline-alkali land and coastal areas. The performance of multiple EF was the mutual transformation of trade-offs and synergies. The land space of Huanghua could be divided into six types of areas, agricultural production area, urban development core area, urban and rural optimized development area, renovation and improvement area, nature reserve area, and ecological restoration area. There were differences in the dominant mode of land function and optimization strategies in each area. This research could provide scientific refe-rence for clarifying land function relationship and optimizing land spatial development pattern.

Incorporating agricultural practices in digital mapping improves prediction of cropland soil organic carbon content: The case of the Tuojiang River Basin

Accurate mapping of soil organic carbon (SOC) in cropland is essential for improving soil management in agriculture and assessing the potential of different strategies aiming at climate change mitigation. Cropland management practices have large impacts on agricultural soils, but have rarely been considered in previous SOC mapping work. In this study, cropland management practices including carbon input (CI), length of cultivation (LC), and irrigation (Irri) were incorporated as agricultural management covariates and integrated with natural variables to predict the spatial distribution of SOC using the Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) model. Additionally, we evaluated the performance of incorporating agricultural management practice variables in the prediction of cropland topsoil SOC. A case study was carried out in a traditional agricultural area in the Tuojiang River Basin, China. We found that CI was the most important environmental covariate for predicting cropland SOC. Adding cropland management practices to natural variables improved prediction accuracy, with the coefficient of determination (R2), the root mean squared error (RMSE) and Lin's Concordance Correlation Coefficient (LCCC) improving by 16.67%, 17.75% and 5.62%, respectively. Our results highlight the effectiveness of incorporating agricultural management practice information into SOC prediction models. We conclude that the construction of spatio-temporal database of agricultural management practices derived from inventories is a research priority to improve the reliability of SOC model prediction.

Identifying the Spatial–Temporal Pattern of Cropland’s Non-Grain Production and Its Effects on Food Security in China

Non-grain production of cropland (NGPCL) is a common phenomenon in the process of rapid urbanization in order to meet the diversified food demand and prosperity of the rural economy. However, excessive NGPCL will threaten grain production. How to control the moderate development of NGPCL in order to achieve the balance between food security and rural development has become a salient issue. In this study, we constructed a framework to measure NGPCL, revealed the spatial-temporal pattern of NGPCL, and then analyzed its influencing factors from the perspective of the human-land relationship. The results indicate that, firstly, the overall degree of NGPCL in China experienced an increase from 0.44 to 0.51, while the gap among cities was consistently enlarging, with the range value increasing from 0.74 to 0.91. Secondly, the spatial pattern of NGPCL was high in the northwest and southeast, and low in the northeast and central regions. The southern economic developed area exhibited the highest increase, while the Inner Mongolia, northwest China, and traditional agricultural areas experienced a decreasing trend in NGPCL. Thirdly, the spatial agglomeration of NGPCL has been intensified, with the Gansu-Xinjiang Desert plateau, southeast coastal economic belt, and urban agglomeration areas exhibiting a "high-high" agglomeration, while the traditional agricultural areas exhibited "low-low" agglomeration. Fourthly, NGPCL is positively correlated with the urbanization rate, land fragmentation, landscape diversity, land price, and grain production policy, while it is negatively linked with the agricultural employment rate, agricultural machinery level, and cultivated land per capita. The findings of this research are not only deepen the understanding of NGPCL, but are also of great significance for policy makers in order to propose targeted control measures.

Agricultural Production Space Suitability in China: Spatial Pattern, Influencing Factors and Optimization Strategies.

The paper uses the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), spatial autocorrelation analysis, and geographic detectors to reveal the spatial pattern of agricultural production space suitability in China, explores the impact mechanism of agricultural production development, and explores the optimization and promotion strategies for the development of regional agricultural production in various regions in the future. The results show that the resource and environmental carrying capacity, and the agricultural production space suitability under the direction of China's agricultural production function, show a 'polarization' development trend in space, with high levels in the southeast and low levels in the northwest, with significant spatial agglomeration. The factors influencing the suitability of agricultural production have significant spatial differentiation laws in the Nine Agricultural Areas of China. Climate change factors are the dominant factors affecting the areas with poor resource endowment and traditional agricultural areas in the northwest. Factors that reflect the level of urbanization are the main factors that affect the agricultural production space suitability in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and South China. China's agricultural production spatial suitability areas can be divided into nine types of suitable geographical areas. In the future, the impacts of climate change and urbanization on agricultural production space should be considered, and strategies should be taken, according to local conditions, in different regions to improve their suitability.

Spatial Differentiation and Tradeoff-Synergy of Rural Multifunction at the County Scale in Anhui Province in the China's Traditional Agricultural Areas.

The study of rural multifunction interaction has ignored the spatial differentiation characteristics, so it is necessary to reveal in-depth the spatial interaction relationship of rural multifunction interaction on the basis of type division and pattern recognition at the county scale. Taking Anhui as a case study, based on the county scale, the paper constructed an index system of rural multifunction evaluation, and comprehensively applied the improved entropy method, spatial autocorrelation model, and Spearman correlation coefficient to study the temporal-spatial characteristics and tradeoff–synergy relationship of rural multifunction from 2000 to 2020. The results showed that (1) the overall rural production function at the county level in Anhui showed an upward trend, showing a spatial pattern of “low in the south and high in the north”. The rural life function was gradually weakened, showing the characteristics of gradual decline from suburban to exurb. The rural ecological function increased, showing a high value distribution in areas with rich mountains and hills or a dense water network. (2) The spatial concentration of HH (High-High) and LL (Low-Low) positive correlation types of rural production, life, and ecological function was significant during the study period. The negative correlation types of HL (High-Low) and LH (Low-High) had low spatial agglomeration and showed discrete distribution. (3) There was a spatial synergistic relationship between rural production and life function at the county scale in Anhui Province. The tradeoff–synergy relationship between rural production and ecological function and between rural life and ecological function showed a trend of synergistic–tradeoff fluctuation. The spatial difference of the rural multifunction tradeoff–synergy relationship was significant during the study period. (4) In the future, we should change the situation that the expansion of rural production function compresses rural life and ecological function, and promote rural life and ecological function to promote the benign and coordinated development of rural multifunction at the county scale in traditional agricultural areas.

Increasing Spatial Mismatch of Cropland-Grain Production-Population in China over the Past Two Decades

Identifying the spatiotemporal coupling characteristics of cropland-grain production-population is essential for the rational utilization of cropland and the evaluation of national and regional food security. Based on the grain production statistical data, GlobeLand30, and WorldPop data in the years 2000, 2010, and 2020, the spatiotemporal changes in China’s cropland area, grain production, and population and their coupling characteristics over the past two decades were detected at the grid level using the models of barycenter fitting and coupled dynamic analysis. The results showed that spatial change of cropland area in China was roughly characterized by the increase in the northwest and the decrease in the southeast; while grain production was characterized by an increase in the north and a decrease in the south, and population was roughly characterized by an increase in urban areas of the southeast coastal regions and a decrease in traditional agricultural areas. The barycenter of cropland area and that of grain production moved toward the northwest and the northeast, respectively, which mismatch the spatial pattern of hydro-thermal conditions of cropland resources in China and thus result in the increased risk of the national grain production system. Meanwhile, the barycenter of grain production and that of population continued to move in opposite directions overall, and the distances between their barycenters increased from 119.65 km in 2000 to 455.16 km in 2020, indicating that the phenomenon of ‘north-to-south grain diversion’ is intensifying. Our results highlight that the spatial mismatch of cropland-grain production-population in China has increased over the past two decades.

Function Evolution of Oasis Cultivated Land and Its Trade-Off and Synergy Relationship in Xinjiang, China

Cultivated land (CL) performs irreplaceable manifold functions in social stability, economic development, and ecological security, which is also essential for the accomplishment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 Agenda. China is the world’s most populous country, and it has important reference significance for the realization of the multi-function synergistic management of CL in China by revealing the evolution characteristics of cultivated land functions (CLFs) and the interaction between CLFs. However, the research to date has tended to focus on the eastern coastal areas and the central traditional agricultural areas of China. This study focuses specifically on Xinjiang, the main area of the arid region of northwest China. The connotations of social, economic, and ecological functions of oasis cultivated land (OCL) in Xinjiang were first discussed from a system theory perspective. Then, an evaluation index system of CLFs was constructed. On this basis, the evolution characteristics of CLFs and the interaction between CLFs in Xinjiang from 1990 to 2018 were quantitatively evaluated. Findings suggest that: (1) the economic function of the OCL in Xinjiang is strengthening, while the ecological function is degrading and the social function remains stable. Overall, the evolution of CLFs in Xinjiang was first dominated by ecological and social functions and then became economic-function-oriented; (2) the synergistic relationship between CLFs is weakening and the trade-off relationship is increasing over time. The trade-off effect between the economic function and other functions of OCL is strengthened gradually due to the OCL-use activities dominated by the economic function. This study not only enriches the regional content of CL multi-function research but can also provide reference for decision-making for the sustainable utilization and multi-function synergistic management of OCL in Xinjiang, China.

Rural Transformation Driven by Households’ Adaptation to Climate, Policy, Market, and Urbanization: Perspectives from Livelihoods–Land Use on Chinese Loess Plateau

Regional rural systems respond to global environmental change with multi-dimensional transformation. However, in the widespread traditional agricultural areas, rural transformation is often seen as invisible and sometimes remains hidden by official statistics of urbanization and industrialization at a regional level. The study implemented field survey and ethnography methods, exploring the trajectory and driving paths of rural transformation in traditional agricultural areas. The findings indicate that the dominant livelihood experienced a transitional trajectory from traditional farming to jujube-oriented and then to a non-farming livelihood. Furthermore, the land use showed an eco-transformation from farmland to forest land, and from cultivated land gradually to uncultivated land. We also find that the household behaviors actively or passively adapted to environmental effects, such as climate change, market change, urbanization impact, and policy regulation, and then drove non-agricultural transformation and eco-transformation in traditional agricultural areas. Based on these findings, the study confirms that there is a clear rural transformation in traditional agricultural areas, and reveals that the Loess Plateau turned green from bottom to top. Finally, the study calls to take the road of green transformation, and proposals are presented in terms of ecology, livelihood, and industry.

Influence of Optimal Land Use Allocation on Phosphorus Loss in the Process of Rainfall and Runoff

In order to explore the impact of optimized land use allocation on phosphorus loss in the runoff process of a small watershed in the Three Gorges Reservoir area, a traditional agricultural model catchment area (CG) and a catchment area after optimized land use allocation in the Shipanqiu watershed in Zhong County, Chongqing (EG) were selected as the research object, sampling at the outlets of the two catchment areas, respectively, to monitor the runoff process and different forms of phosphorus in rainfall events and to analyze the influence of land use configuration on the law of phosphorus loss. The results showed that:① in the 10 monitored rainfall and runoff processes, the ρ[total phosphorus (TP)] of EG was lower than that of CG, and the ranges of the two were 0.09-0.75 mg·L-1 and 0.13-2.82 mg·L-1, respectively. Compared with that of CG, EG significantly reduced the peak value of TP. ② The average EMC of TP, total dissolved phosphorus (TDP), dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP), and particulate phosphorus (PP) in the process of rainfall and runoff was lower than that of CG, and EG and CG showed significant differences in EMC of TP, TDP, and DIP (P<0.05); the main form of phosphorus loss in the two catchment areas in the process of rainfall and runoff was TDP, but the average TDP/TP of EG was larger. ③ The output load of EG was 45%, 43%, 57%, and 47% lower than that of the TP, TDP, DIP, and PP in CG. The output load of EG and CG of various forms of phosphorus was significantly correlated with the total runoff (P<0.01). In addition, the slope of the linear fitting of various phosphorus forms in the CG catchment area to the total amount of runoff was 1.66 to 1.75 times that of EG. The output load of various phosphorus forms of CG was more sensitive to runoff than that of EG, and the output per unit area in the process of rainfall and runoff was more sensitive than that of EG. The amount of sand could have caused the difference in phosphorus concentration and output load more than the output per unit area. Optimizing land use configuration can effectively reduce the loss of various forms of phosphorus and provide a reference for the prevention and control of phosphorus loss in small watersheds in the Three Gorges Reservoir area.

Evolution of hydrochemistry and isotopic characteristics in shallow alluvial aquifers of Poyang Lake Basin, Eastern China

Abstract The hydrochemical characteristics of shallow groundwater and the factors affecting them were analyzed using descriptive statistical analysis, Piper trilinear charts, Gibbs charts, and ion ratios, to help improve the groundwater quality of the Poyang Lake Plain. The results showed that the groundwater was weakly acidic, with an average pH of 6.27. was the main ion component, with high stability in the study area. The chemical ions in groundwater were mainly controlled by rock weathering, and Ca2+ and Mg2+ originated from the dissolution of carbonate, silicate, or evaporite. Cation exchange was an important driving factor in the formation of groundwater chemical components in the study area. The shallow groundwater and surface water in the region around Poyang Lake are replenished by precipitation, but both are more affected by evaporation. The large d-excess value indicated that the groundwater was greatly affected by water–rock interactions. The main source of is chemical fertilizer and levels were less affected by domestic sewage, which may be because the study area is a traditional agricultural area. Rock weathering, leaching, and human activities were the main driving factors for the evolution of the chemical characteristics of the groundwater in the study area. These results provide a technical reference and the basis for regional collaborative efforts to control groundwater and surface water pollution.

Withdrawal and Transformation of Rural Homesteads in Traditional Agricultural Areas of China Based on Supply-Demand Balance Analysis

Idle and abandoned rural homesteads not only waste land resources, they also affect the quality of life of farmers and occupy land that could be used for agricultural production and ecological space. Analysis of the supply–demand relationship of rural homesteads is an important prerequisite for the implementation of rural homestead withdrawal and transformation, which is important for improving rural residential quality and land-use efficiency, promoting sustainable development and the classified revitalization of rural areas. Based on high-resolution remote sensing images of typical villages in traditional agricultural areas, a participatory evaluation method was used to analyze the supply–demand balance of rural homesteads and to propose countermeasures for their withdrawal and transformation. The results showed that: 1) rural homesteads have gradually realized the separation of living space and production space, the living function has gradually been enhanced, the production function has gradually weakened, and the ecological aesthetic function has emerged. 2) Farmers’ demand for rural homesteads is driven by various factors, including social and economic development level, lifestyle and livelihood. 3) There are a large number of idle or abandoned rural homesteads in traditional agricultural areas, with great withdrawal potential. The difference between the supply and demand of rural homesteads in use is obvious. The supply of living space of adobe house and mud-brick houses is less than the demand for them, and there is mixed use of space. The supply of production space for brick houses is less than the demand; in general, the supply of buildings is greater than the demand. 4) For rural homesteads still in use, exit and transformation strategies should be formulated according to the relationship between supply and demand, construction quality, spatial independence, and the wishes of farmers. The withdrawal and transformation of rural homesteads based on the balance between supply and demand is in line with the reality of rural development and the Chinese government’s strategy of national rural revitalization.