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Land
Special Issues
Land Use and Livelihood Change
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Land Use and Livelihood Change

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 May 2023) | Viewed by 20459

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ying Hou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
Interests: land use simula-tion; land use change and eco-environmental effect
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Zhilong Wu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Ecological Civilization, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang 330013, China
Interests: land use/land cover; sustainable livelihood; rural economy and transformation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The nexus between land use and livelihood has been considered a major and important component of human–land relationship. Livelihood, as a basic human activity, is collectively recognized as an individual’s or household’s means of earning a living that directly affects their land use style. In response, land use impacts on livelihood through food production, the environment and residents’ welfare protection, and ecosystem service provisions. However, the interacting mechanisms between land use and livelihood change are highly complex and require further exploration. It is a systematic issue that needs interdisciplinary analyses from geographical, environmental, ecological, economic, and social sciences cross-scales at regional, household, and individual levels.

This Special Issue focuses on the nexus between land use and livelihood, aims to explore the complex interacting mechanisms, and will help to promote the sustainability of human–land system. 

For this Special Issue, we are interested in contributions that link changing livelihood to land uses, through either empirical research or conceptual/theoretical work, examining any key processes, and including, but not limited to, the following topics:

  • Sustainable livelihood security;
  • Livelihood risk and adaptation;
  • Livelihood vulnerability and resilience;
  • Livelihood–land nexus;
  • Livelihood experiments and land-use planning;
  • Rural development and livelihood transition;
  • Ecosystem services and household welfare;
  • Coupled relationships and internal mechanisms;
  • Multidimensional livelihood intervention. 

Dr. Ying Hou
Dr. Zhilong Wu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • livelihood security
  • risk preference
  • household welfare
  • land use/land cover
  • ecosystem service
  • eco-compensation
  • social-ecological drivers
  • cross-scale

Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4985 KiB  
Article
Forage Supply–Demand Assessment and Influencing Factor Analysis from the Perspective of Socio-Ecological System: A Case Study of Altay Prefecture, China
by Zihan Yang, Bo Li, Bo Nan, Yuying Li, Kai Huang, Xu Bi, Yirong Fan and Yao Fan
Land 2023, 12(5), 1079; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land12051079 - 17 May 2023
Viewed by 1035
Abstract
The provision and utilization of grassland resources connect grassland ecosystems and pastoral society. Revealing the mechanism behind the forage supply–demand relationship and balancing forage supply and demand is essential in pastoral socio-ecological systems. Taking Altay Prefecture as the case study, this study quantified [...] Read more.
The provision and utilization of grassland resources connect grassland ecosystems and pastoral society. Revealing the mechanism behind the forage supply–demand relationship and balancing forage supply and demand is essential in pastoral socio-ecological systems. Taking Altay Prefecture as the case study, this study quantified the dynamics of natural forage supply, artificial supplemental forage, and forage demand. The ratio of forage supply to demand was calculated in the traditional grazing scenario and the grazing prohibition and supplemental feeding scenario. The results showed that during 2001–2018, the forage supplied by natural grasslands fluctuated, with the highest and lowest values in 2013 and 2008, respectively. The artificial supplemental forage increased at a higher rate in 2011–2018 than in 2001–2010. The overall trend of forage demand was upward, at approximately 2.98 × 104 t/a. The ratio of forage supply to demand decreased in the traditional scenario with an average value of 0.4717 and increased in the grazing prohibition and supplemental feeding scenario with an average value of 0.8289. The influencing factors were analyzed from the perspective of the interactions between the socio-ecological system elements, and the forage supply–demand relationships were conceptualized based on the social–ecological system framework. This study concludes that natural grasslands cannot entirely meet the increasing forage demand without artificial supplemental forage. The increasing artificial supplemental forage has promoted a balance between forage supply and demand, indicating an optimized grassland utilization pattern. The factors that affect forage supply–demand relationships are interrelated, and a holistic perspective should be adopted when implementing management measures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Livelihood Change)
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22 pages, 577 KiB  
Article
Study on the Impact of Social Capital on Agricultural Land Transfer Decision: Based on 1017 Questionnaires in Hubei Province
by Yinrong Chen, Yanqing Qin and Qingying Zhu
Land 2023, 12(4), 861; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land12040861 - 11 Apr 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1278
Abstract
In building a market for the transfer of land contracting rights, it is crucial to clarify the influencing factors for farmers’ farmland transfer decisions to promote the orderly transfer of farmland. This article investigates the impact of social capital on farmland transfer and [...] Read more.
In building a market for the transfer of land contracting rights, it is crucial to clarify the influencing factors for farmers’ farmland transfer decisions to promote the orderly transfer of farmland. This article investigates the impact of social capital on farmland transfer and analyzes the moderating effect of marketization of farmland transfer using research data from 1017 farm households in Hubei Province. The results showed that social capital significantly contributes to farmers’ farmland transfer decisions; social networks and social trust have more potent effects on farmland transfer-in than farmland transfer-out and social norms have more substantial effects on farmland transfer-out than farmland transfer-in; and farmland transfer marketization plays a moderating role in the process of social capital’s influence on farmland transfer decisions. In terms of farmland transfer-out, marketization of farmland transfer plays a negative moderating role between social network, social trust, and farmland transfer decision, and a positive moderating role between social norm and farmland transfer decision. In terms of farmland transfer-in, marketization of farmland transfer plays a negative moderating role between social network, social trust, and farmland transfer decision, and no moderating role in social norm and farmland transfer decision. The study concludes that local governments need to strengthen the construction of social norms and the reconstruction of social trust and networks to create a favorable environment for agricultural land transfer while improving the construction of regional agricultural land transfer markets and promoting the development of market transformation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Livelihood Change)
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22 pages, 2516 KiB  
Article
Social Security, Intergenerational Care, and Cultivated Land Renting Out Behavior of Elderly Farmers: Findings from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey
by Jinghua Sun, Peng Cheng and Zhaoxu Liu
Land 2023, 12(2), 392; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land12020392 - 31 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1109
Abstract
In China, the transfer of land management rights has always been a topic of much discussion, as it plays an important role in improving land use efficiency, achieving the optimal allocation of agricultural resources, and protecting farmers’ rights and interests. With the advent [...] Read more.
In China, the transfer of land management rights has always been a topic of much discussion, as it plays an important role in improving land use efficiency, achieving the optimal allocation of agricultural resources, and protecting farmers’ rights and interests. With the advent of an aging society, elderly farmers are becoming the main force of agricultural production, and their land transfer behavior influences the land transfer situation in China. Based on three-period panel data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS), this study uses a binary linear regression model to explore the effects of social security, intergenerational care, and their interactions with elderly farmers’ cultivated land renting out behavior. The results show variability among elderly farmers across different regions of China, as well as a variability in other characteristics that influence cultivated land renting out behavior. It was found that: (1) pension insurance had a significant positive effect on elderly farmers’ cultivated land renting out behavior, while the effect of medical insurance was not significant. Elderly farmers who participated/received pension insurance were 4.3% more likely to choose to rent out farmland, compared to those who did not do so. (2) The frequency of intergenerational care had a significant negative effect on elderly farmers’ cultivated land renting out behavior, while the intensity of intergenerational care had no significant effect. (3) There was an interaction between the frequency of intergenerational care and social security, whereby a high frequency of intergenerational care was found to increase the probability of renting out farmland among elderly farmers with pension insurance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Livelihood Change)
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18 pages, 5296 KiB  
Article
Evolutionary Game Analysis for Grassland Degradation Management, Considering the Livelihood Differentiation of Herders
by Yong Sun, Hongyan Du, Baoyin Liu, Yingluck Kanchanaroek, Junfeng Zhang and Pei Zhang
Land 2022, 11(10), 1776; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land11101776 - 12 Oct 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1321
Abstract
Grassland degradation has become one of the most important ecological and environmental problems in the world, affecting the ecological balance of grassland and the welfare of residents. To reveal the impact mechanism of herders’ livelihood constraints on grassland degradation, and to explore the [...] Read more.
Grassland degradation has become one of the most important ecological and environmental problems in the world, affecting the ecological balance of grassland and the welfare of residents. To reveal the impact mechanism of herders’ livelihood constraints on grassland degradation, and to explore the comprehensive management methods to ensure herders’ livelihoods and grassland ecological restoration, this paper constructed an evolutionary game model considering local governments and herders. It is found that the ideal stable equilibrium game can be achieved when certain conditions are met, that is, when the local governments actively regulate and herders moderate grazing, the grassland degradation caused by overgrazing can be reduced. The livelihood differentiation of herders significantly affects the stable equilibrium state of the evolutionary game. The local government’s regulation is the key to promoting moderate grazing of herders. The effect of incentive measures on the moderate grazing of herders is limited, while punishment measures can significantly restrict the excessive grazing behavior of herders. Policy support for household livelihood differentiation can effectively motivate herders to moderate grazing and achieve their survival and development needs to a greater extent through a non-grazing livelihood. The research results help decision-makers to formulate policies to combat grassland degradation, and promote the improvement of herders’ lives. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Livelihood Change)
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20 pages, 3164 KiB  
Article
Study on the Coupling and Coordination Relationship between Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) and Regional Economic System: A Case Study of Jiangxi Province
by Hualin Xie, Zhe Li and Yu Xu
Land 2022, 11(9), 1540; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land11091540 - 11 Sep 2022
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2216
Abstract
The Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) is an important way to assess the state of the ecosystem and to clarify the coupling and coordination between the ecosystem and the economic system, which can be a scientific basis for achieving the synergistic development of economic [...] Read more.
The Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP) is an important way to assess the state of the ecosystem and to clarify the coupling and coordination between the ecosystem and the economic system, which can be a scientific basis for achieving the synergistic development of economic society and ecological civilization. In this paper, 11 prefectural cities in Jiangxi Province are taken as research areas. Based on the data of land use, normalized difference vegetation index, net primary productivity, soil, meteorology, elevation and statistics, the study accounts for the GEP in Jiangxi Province in 2010 and 2020 based on a biophysical model, and analyzes the changes of its ecosystem’s state. Based on the economic data obtained from the Jiangxi Statistical Yearbook, a regional economic index system was established; the levels of GEP and the regional economy were measured with the help of entropy-weight-TOPSIS method, and the interaction mechanism and coupling coordination dynamics between them were explored based on the coupling coordination degree model. It was found that during 2010–2020, the GEP in Jiangxi Province increased by 0.35%, and the value of material goods and cultural services increased by 49.57% and 414.03%, respectively, but the value of regulating services decreased by 9.89%; the main coupled and coordinated development characteristics of ecosystem and economic system in Jiangxi Province developed from basic coordination-economic lagging to moderate coordination-ecological lagging, and the coupled coordinated development continues to improve, but the development of gross ecosystem product lags behind the level of economic development. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Livelihood Change)
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14 pages, 10195 KiB  
Article
Analysis of the Influences of Ecological Compensation Projects on Transfer Employment of Rural Labor from the Perspective of Capability
by Jing Gong, Hongyan Du and Zhi Wang
Land 2022, 11(9), 1464; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land11091464 - 02 Sep 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1125
Abstract
As an environmental policy that directly brings economic benefits to farmers, ecological compensation should achieve the dual goals of ecological environmental protection and rural poverty reduction. With the implementation of various ecological compensation projects, a large number of studies began to focus on [...] Read more.
As an environmental policy that directly brings economic benefits to farmers, ecological compensation should achieve the dual goals of ecological environmental protection and rural poverty reduction. With the implementation of various ecological compensation projects, a large number of studies began to focus on the impact of ecological compensation projects on rural labor transfer employment. However, most of the existing studies focus on a specific project and fail to consider a comparative analysis of different types of projects. Therefore, this study used the survey data of 1279 rural laborers in the Yanqing District of Beijing to analyze the impact of different types of ecological compensation projects on the transfer employment of rural labor from the perspective of self-development capacity. The results show that post-based ecological compensation projects provide a low quality of posts and weaken the initiative of participants to further expand their employment channels. Land-based projects downsize agricultural production and reduce the agricultural production activities of participants, without significantly increasing their likelihood of transfer employment. In the long run, the current implementation of ecological compensation projects may cause problems regarding labor surpluses and land restoration. This study has certain practical application value and practical guiding significance for further improving the design of ecological compensation mechanisms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Livelihood Change)
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20 pages, 1758 KiB  
Article
The Impact of Farming Households’ Livelihood Vulnerability on the Intention of Homestead Agglomeration: The Case of Zhongyi Township, China
by Yao Qian, Qingyuan Yang, Haozhe Zhang, Kangchuan Su, Huiming Zhang and Xiaochi Qu
Land 2022, 11(8), 1322; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land11081322 - 16 Aug 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1654
Abstract
It is important to clarify the impact of livelihood vulnerability level on farmers’ willingness to cluster their homesteads in order to promote the intensive use of homesteads and rural revitalization. This paper constructs a framework for the influence of farmers’ livelihood vulnerability on [...] Read more.
It is important to clarify the impact of livelihood vulnerability level on farmers’ willingness to cluster their homesteads in order to promote the intensive use of homesteads and rural revitalization. This paper constructs a framework for the influence of farmers’ livelihood vulnerability on their intention of homestead agglomeration, then assesses the livelihood vulnerability of farmers based on 211 questionnaire data points, and analyzes the influence of farmers’ livelihood vulnerability on their intention of homestead agglomeration through binary logistic regression. The results showed that the vulnerability of farmers’ livelihoods had a significant negative effect on the intention of homestead agglomeration, and the more vulnerable farmers’ livelihoods were, the more significant their tendency to gather residential land. In addition, from the three-dimensional perspective of “exposure-sensitivity-adaptability”, exposure and sensitivity have a negative effect on farmers’ intention to agglomerate, while adaptability has a significant positive effect. Therefore, this paper argues that the vulnerability of farmers’ livelihoods can be improved by reducing exposure and sensitivity and increasing adaptive capacity to enhance farmers’ willingness to cluster their homesteads, thus providing some theoretical support for the preliminary work of homestead layout optimization in rural spatial governance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Livelihood Change)
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17 pages, 4097 KiB  
Article
Spatial Divergence Analysis of Ecosystem Service Value in Hilly Mountainous Areas: A Case Study of Ruijin City
by Hualin Xie, Zhenhong Zhu and Zhe Li
Land 2022, 11(6), 768; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land11060768 - 24 May 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1408
Abstract
The southern hilly mountains are rich in natural resources and are one of the important ecological security barrier zones in China. However, the disturbance of the ecosystem caused by human activities has led to a differentiated character of spatial ecosystem services. Such spatially [...] Read more.
The southern hilly mountains are rich in natural resources and are one of the important ecological security barrier zones in China. However, the disturbance of the ecosystem caused by human activities has led to a differentiated character of spatial ecosystem services. Such spatially differentiated characteristics have not been well studied, and thus are bound to limit our ability to manage ecosystems sustainably. Taking Ruijin City, a typical hilly mountainous area in southern China, as an example, this paper evaluates the ecosystem service values (ESV) of Ruijin City from 2000 to 2020 by using equivalent factor method combined with GIS technology. On this basis, spatial autocorrelation analysis is used to identify unique heterogeneous units of ESV. The results show that the overall ESV of Ruijin City from 2000 to 2020 showed a trend of slow increase in the first decade and a significant decrease in the second decade. The ESV in Ruijin City has a high degree of spatial divergence, showing the distribution characteristics of low value in the central region and high value in the marginal region. With the acceleration of urbanization, the ESV in the central region of Ruijin City decreases significantly from 2010 to 2020. Therefore, for the high value areas of ecosystem services, attention should be paid to the balanced development of economy and ecology. For low-value areas, it is necessary to strengthen the control of the ecological environment, protect sensitive areas with serious loss of ecosystem services, change the development model, and improve the supply capacity of ecological products. The government should calculate green Gross Domestic Product (GDP) based on the evaluation results of ESV, and formulate a green GDP evaluation system in the performance evaluation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Livelihood Change)
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26 pages, 6005 KiB  
Article
Study on the Coupling System of Grain-Grass-Livestock of Herbivorous Animal Husbandry in Agricultural Areas: A Case Study of Najitun Farm of Hulunbuir Agricultural Reclamation in China
by Chengji Han, Guogang Wang and Hongbo Yang
Land 2022, 11(5), 691; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land11050691 - 06 May 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 2138
Abstract
With the population growth and the upgrading of residents’ food consumption structures, the consumption demand for herbivorous animal products will maintain relatively rapid growth. However, restrictive factors for the development of herbivorous animal husbandry in pastoral areas have increased, and how to undertake [...] Read more.
With the population growth and the upgrading of residents’ food consumption structures, the consumption demand for herbivorous animal products will maintain relatively rapid growth. However, restrictive factors for the development of herbivorous animal husbandry in pastoral areas have increased, and how to undertake herbivorous animal husbandry in agricultural areas has become the focus of widespread social concern. This study is based on survey data of Najitun Farm of Hulunbuir Agricultural Reclamation in China. Through field investigation and computer simulation technology of system dynamics, a development system of herbivorous animal husbandry in agricultural areas was established with the development of herbivorous animal husbandry at the core, and the balance of grassland-livestock and the combination of planting-breeding as the constraint. Moreover, the system designs the development strategy compared with the development of system inertia—strengthening and optimizing herbivorous animal husbandry and optimizing the structure of grain, economy, and the feed planting industry, and simulates the above three scenarios, respectively. The study found that without any development strategy, the inertia trend is subject to the influence of factors such as the scale of female livestock, epidemic diseases, and breeding level, so it is difficult to realize the sustainable development of the industry in the next five years. However, expanding the scale of breeding alone will occupy too much environmental capacity, and there will be a shortage in the supply of grass for a long time. According to the scheme of optimizing the structure of the grain, economy, and feed planting industry, it will not only provide feed sources for grass-feeding livestock of about 58,200 sheep units, but also realize the total agricultural output value of USD 7.02 million by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan, which is 1.89 times of the inertia trend. At the same time, the nutrient demand of grass crops has alleviated 20.42% of the environmental pressure. Based on the results of this study, it is proven that herbivorous animal husbandry has a broad development potential in agricultural areas, and at the same time, it contributes to decisions of developing herbivorous animal husbandry in agricultural areas. This study has important theoretical and practical significance for expanding the industrial space and building a new type of planting-breeding relationship. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Livelihood Change)
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17 pages, 1048 KiB  
Article
Labor Endowment, Cultivated Land Fragmentation, and Ecological Farming Adoption Strategies among Farmers in Jiangxi Province, China
by Jie Zhang, Meiqiu Chen, Chang Huang and Zhaohao Lai
Land 2022, 11(5), 679; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/land11050679 - 03 May 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3679
Abstract
A deeper understanding of the factors that influence the ecological farming adoption strategies of farmers can help in developing effective adaptation measures to mitigate the degradation of cultivated land quality and ecological degradation. This study used a stratified random sampling technique to select [...] Read more.
A deeper understanding of the factors that influence the ecological farming adoption strategies of farmers can help in developing effective adaptation measures to mitigate the degradation of cultivated land quality and ecological degradation. This study used a stratified random sampling technique to select 1488 households in Jiangxi Province, while the double-hurdle model was used to analyze the influence of labor endowments (LEs) and cultivated land fragmentation (CLF) on ecological farming decision-making. The results indicate that LEs and CLF play important roles in farmers’ decision-making with regard to ecological farming. To be more specific, the total household population and CLF have negative effects on adoption willingness, while the number of laborers has a positive effect. For the degree of adoption, the total household population has a negative effect, while the number of laborers and part-time employment have positive effects. In addition, farmers’ ecological farming behavior is also influenced by factors such as education, agricultural income, cooperatives, and agricultural subsidies. Overall, farmers have a high willingness to adopt ecological farming, but the degree of actual adoption is low. This is not conducive to the promotion of ecological farming techniques and the sustainable development of agriculture in China. The study proposes that the government should further improve financial investment and provide relevant technical services. In addition, a temporary work platform should be set up for farmers to encourage them to find other work during the agricultural low season. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Livelihood Change)
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