Gradient effect on farmers’ income in the mountain areas and its implication for poverty alleviation strategies: Empirical analysis from the upper reach of Minjiang River, China

Using four types of settlements in the upper reach of Minjiang River as case,we establish structural models in farmers’ income of different settlement patterns based on rural household panel data to reveal the gradient effect on farmers’ income and determinants.The results indicate that:(1) except the resettlement area,the incomes for farmers living in river valley,semi-mountain,and high-mountain settlements present a decreasing trend with the elevation increasing;on the contrary,their nonfarm earnings show an increasing trend with the elevation decreasing;(2) from the effect on farmers’ income,there is a common feature that the nonfarm earnings and farming incomes have significant positive effects,and family size and productive expenditure have significant negative effects.One exception to this is the productive expenditure,which becomes insignificant in the model of resettlement area;(3) from the way of increasing farmers’ income and alleviating poverty,there are great differences for four types of settlements in mountain areas,however,the improvement of agricultural product sales,agricultural production subsidies,the expansion for nonfarm employment,and the control of the family’s size are the most effective approaches for poverty alleviation.     

The Influence of Gender and Other Characteristics on Rural Laborers' Employment Patterns in the Mountainous and Upland Areas of Sichuan,China

This study examines gender differences in rural laborers‘ employment patterns in the mountainous and upland areas of Sichuan, China. The analysis employs both representative survey data of 400 households and geographical data. Multinomial logistic regression models are used to analyze the influences of gender, among other factors, on employment decisions of rural males and females, where the factors considered include personal, household, community natural environmental characteristics. Dividing laborers into four categories, we find that the proportions of males who participating in on-farm, pluriactive, and off-farm work, and unemployment were 24.41%, 28.64%, 46.27%, and 0.68% respectively, while that of females who participating in on-farm, pluriactive, and offfarm work, and unemployment were 43.20%, 13.95%, 30.95%, and 11.90% respectively. As to individual characteristics, age(AGE) and physical condition(PHY) effects appeared to be more pronounced for men, while education(EDU) and marital status(MAR)effects appeared to be more pronounced for women. Regarding household and community characteristics, the effects of the presence in the household of children aged 6-(CHI), number of persons in the household(POP), and labor force(LAB), per capitaincome in village(INCV), and the development status of village enterprises(ENT) on women were greater than that on men. In addition, the presence in the household of elderly individuals aged 65+(OLD) and time to reach the nearest township(TIME) are shown to have opposite impacts on men and women. While the presence in the household of pupils(PUP) and per capital gross value of industrial output(GVIO) was found to be irresponsive to men and women taking pluriavtivity and off-farm job. With respect to natural environments characteristics, the effects on men were opposite of those on women. Unemployment of women was found to be particularly responsive to household characteristics. A multinomial regression approach is undertaken to analyze rural males‘ and females‘ decisions of the four employment patterns considered, an approach that reveals considerable heterogeneity that is concealed by the dichotomous approach employed in most previous studies. The study thus contributes to our understanding of rural employment patterns and gender difference in mountainous and upland areas.     

Changes in Agricultural System as Farmers Adapt to Economic-Social and Climatic Changes in the Min Upriver Rural Areas in Western Sichuan,Southwestern China

Rapid economic growth in China has brought about great economic-social changes in rural areas, having considerable impact on the society in economy and environment. With a per capita possession of about 0.08 ha of cropland, Chinese farmers in rural areas adopt various ways in response to these changes in a bit to maintain their livelihood, wherein the agricultural system is facing one more options possible. To understand how rural communities have used different mechanisms to adapt to the economic and natural changes, we joined a survey in dry valleys of the Min upriver area under Maoxian county of western Sichuan province, southwestern China and visited the local people. Changes in the main crop cultivation have shown up an important means to keep up their household income. Farm households start seeking economic growth through diversified cultivating of cereal and economic crops in five lines, namely cereal, apple monoculture, apple and vegetables, plum and vegetables, mixed fruits and vegetables. These new lines mirror farmers’ flexibility to cope with today’s economic-social and climatic changes. The farming operation has changed all the more from a subsistence on grain to special agricultural products. Economic reforms in the early 1980 s motivated theprogress first in conversion of production from grain to fruits, and the desire to increase family income turned out to be an impetus for the subsequent events. At present, more farmers moving out of the rural areas, uneasy availability of labor force, increased opportunity cost of labors and their wages, increased farm size, and the urgent demand for the agricultural labor force, all these combine into the trend of the agricultural system of China on facing further economic-social reforms and reconstruction of the countryside across China.     

Urban Spatial Restructuring in Transitional Economy —— Changing Land Use Pattern in Shanghai

For almost three decades, China has been undergoing significant transition from a planned economy to a market economy. Fast-paced economic growth and urbanization, interacting with market-oriented reforms in land re- sources allocation, have caused profound spatial restructuring of Chinese cities. This paper examines urban expansion and land use reconfiguration in Shanghai’s central city from 1979 to 2002, with a special focus on the effect of the adoption of the land-leasing system in 1988. The empirical research, which employs GIS-based spatial analysis tech- niques to explore land use data for multiple years, indicates fundamental changes in the spatial characteristics of urban development in Shanghai after this important land policy reform.     

Sustainable Intensification of Cultivated Land Use and Its Influencing Factors at the Farming Household Scale: A Case Study of Shandong Province,China

Promoting the sustainable intensification of cultivated land use(SICL) has become crucial for ensuring a sufficient supply of grain and important agricultural products, as well as for the sustainable use of resources. Taking widely used areas of Shandong Province in China as examples, an analytical scale and level framework for SICL is constructed in this study. It measures the level of SICL through material flow analysis, constructs Tobit models to analyze the influencing factors of SICL at the farming household scale,and analyzes the transition mechanisms of SICL. The results show that the overall level of SICL in Shandong Province is low, and the spatial distribution is uneven. There are relatively more farmers participating in unsustainable intensification than in medium or low levels of SICL, with farmers working at a high level of SICL making up the smallest proportion. The factors that determine the level of SICL at which farmers work vary significantly. More male farmers operate at a low SICL level than female farmers, while females outnumber males at a high SICL level. This is mainly related to the regional distribution of age and population. Meanwhile, with larger cultivated land areas, there is a lower degree of land fragmentation, with a higher level of SICL corresponding to a smaller distance to the nearest town closer within 1–5 km from the town center. We can see the level of SICL and its processes themselves are closely related to time and space scales. Based on the above analysis, it is necessary to clarify the standard processes of SICL to adapt them to local conditions. This includes instructing managers on how to improve resource utilization, increase the sustainable development of cultivated land and establish a comprehensively efficient and functional SICL mechanism. The sustainable intensification of cultivated land use and its specific application in the new era are conducive to enriching the frontier theories and methodology of sustainable development, and are of great significance to the advancement of green agriculture and the decision-making of rural high-quality development.     

Impact of labor transfer on agricultural land use conversion at rural household level based on Logit model

Since land and labor force are primary resources to be used and controlled by rural households, the allocation of labor forces will influence land uses, and further lead to land use conversion. The present study used the Binary Logit model to investigate the influence of labor force transfer, characteristics of rural households, location, and land market on agricultural land use conversion at rural household level. This study was conducted based on 329 valid questionnaires, which were obtained in Changshu, Rudong, and Tongshan counties, respectively representing the southern, middle and northern areas of Jiangsu Province. The results showed that land market participation, location, zonal difference and labor transfer had strong influences on agricultural land use conversion. The participation of land market had a strong positive effect on land use conversion, especially for the farmland converted to the fishpond. The nearer to the county seat, the more conversion of land use occurred. Particularly, the labor force transfer caused by wage employment decreased this conversion probability, while the labor transfer caused by self-employment led to more conversion; and the increasing of income from labor transfer increased the conversion. Moreover, land use conversions demonstrated zonal difference, which were more in Rudong and Changshu counties than in Tongshan County, and the factors influencing this conversion were different in the three regions.     

Spatial and temporal variability of farm size in China in context of rapid urbanization

During the last 30 years,China has witnessed rapid economic growth and dramatic urbanization,with about 1.2 × 107rural people migrating annually into urban areas.Meanwhile,especially since 1995,the rural population has been declining,which is closely linked to land circulation and the increase in farm size in many villages.Increasing scale of farming operations is often regarded as a key to avoiding the abandonment of farmland and to increasing the income of rural farmers.However,until now,there has been little research on the spatial and temporal variability of farm size at the national level in China.Using data from the national agricultural census and rural household surveys,this study examines the characteristics of land use circulation and the consequent changes in the area of farmland per household.The results show that: 1) 12.2% of rural households were involved in land circulation at the national level.The highest amounts of land circulation have occurred in those provinces where the farmland per capita is more than 0.2 ha or less than 0.1 ha;2) over 80% of households operate less than 0.6 ha of farmland;3) the proportion of mid-sized farms(between 0.2 ha and 0.6 ha per household) has decreased while the smallest and the largest farms have increased.This bears some similarity with the phenomenon known as the ′disappearing middle′,referring to the changes in farm size.This study establishes a framework for interpreting the factors affecting the changes in farm size in China,which include two promoting factors(urbanization and agriculture) and four hindering factors(agricultual land system,household registration,stable clan system,and farmland loss).     

Current situation and influencing factors of pluriactivity in mountainous and hilly rural areas of Sichuan province, China

In this study,the current situation of pluriactivity in mountainous and hilly rural areas of Sichuan province was analyzed using representative sample survey data and natural factor data calculated based on 30 m-resolution DEM and GIS.Moreover,using logistic regression model,a quantitative analysis was conducted on factors influencing pluriactivity in terms of individuals,households,communities and natural environmental conditions.The results showed that,(1) only 17.77% of rural laborers in mountainous and hilly areas of Sichuan province were engaged in pluriactivity.Geographically,pluriactivity was mainly chosen according to the "proximity principle",and was concentrated in construction and service industries;(2) the following factors have a significant influence on whether rural laborers in hilly areas engage in pluriactivity:gender,number of years of education,marriage,number of laborers and time to towns.Those with little influence include:age,health,family size,arable land per capita and per capita income,whether there are elderly people over 75 years and children less than 3 years.According to the main factors affecting pluriactivity,the government should enhance vocational skills training for rural laborers in mountainous and hilly areas,especially for female laborers,further improve transport accessibility and encourage rural laborers,especially female laborers to move into pluriactivity to increase the income of farm households.     

Revisiting the Relationship Between Urbanization and Economic Development in China Since the Reform and Opening-up

The relationship between urbanization and economic development has become a hot topic in the scientific community due to its great practical significance,and economic and social value.However,this relationship continues to change dynamically.In the new stage of urbanization,it is urgent to reveal the causal relationship quantitatively and diagnose the future direction systematically.Based on this,this paper calculates the contribution rate of China’s urbanization to economic development from 1978 to 2019 and uses the panel data cointegration test method to explore the causal relationship between urbanization and economic development in China.The study has three principal results.First,the contribution rate of urbanization to economic growth has maintained the overall growth trend from1978 to 2019,but the growth rate of urbanization’s contribution to economic growth has been relatively low since 2012.It is an important reason that the real estate sector has moved into a new stage of transformation.Second,the cointegration test shows that economic development is a significant factor in advancing urbanization and the urbanization is the product of economic development.Urbanization has a positive feedback effect on economic development,but this effect does not pass the 5%significance level test.The impulse response function shows that the impact of urbanization on economic development is relatively small and stable,indicating that it is limited that the boost of economic development by land-centered urbanization.Third,China’s urbanization and economic development have both shown rapid growth for some time,but their relationship is still the low level of coordination,which has also led to a downward trend in the contribution of new-type,people-oriented urbanization to economic growth in recent years.In the future,China’s urbanization and economy need to maintain relatively medium-low speed growth in the medium-long term,and we should boost the coordinated development of urbanization and economy from low level to high level.     

Spatial evolution and locational determinants of high-tech industries in Beijing

Using datasets on high-tech industries in Beijing as empirical studies, this paper attempts to interpret spatial shift of high-tech manufacturing firms and to examine the main determinants that have had the greatest effect on this spatial evolution. We aimed at merging these two aspects by using firm level databases in 1996 and 2010. To explain spatial change of the high-tech firms in Beijing, the Kernel density estimation method was used for hotspot analysis and detection by comparing their locations in 1996 and 2010, through which spatial features and their temporal changes could be approximately plotted. Furthermore, to provide quantitative results, Ripley′s K-function was used as an instrument to reveal spatial shift and the dispersion distance of high-tech manufacturing firms in Beijing. By employing a negative binominal regression model, we evaluated the main determinants that have significantly affected the spatial evolution of high-tech manufacturing firms and compared differential influence of these locational factors on overall high-tech firms and each sub-sectors. The empirical analysis shows that high-tech industries in Beijing, in general, have evident agglomeration characteristics, and that the hotspot has shifted from the central city to suburban areas. In combination with the Ripley index, this study concludes that high-tech firms are now more scattered in metropolitan areas of Beijing as compared with 1996. The results of regression model indicate that the firms′ locational decisions are significantly influenced by the spatial planning and regulation policies of the municipal government. In addition, market processes involving transportation accessibility and agglomeration economy have been found to be important in explaining the dynamics of locational variation of high-tech manufacturing firms in Beijing. Research into how markets and the government interact to determine the location of high-tech manufacturing production will be helpful for policymakers to enact effective policies toward a more efficient urban spatial structure.     

Dynamics of Coastal Land Use Patterns of Inner Lingdingyang Bay in the Zhujiang River Estuary

To satisfy the growing of land demand from economic development,a large scale of land reclamation from sea has been carried out in Inner Lingdingyang Bay in the Zhujiang(Pearl)River estuary in recent years.As a result,the tidal flat and the water channels became narrow,the frequency of floods increased,and the environment was un-dermined.Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey(GMGS)conducted an integrated project for marine geo-environ-ment and geo-hazards survey in 2003.With the integration of multi-temporal remote sensing images of 1977,1978,1988,1996,and 2003,GIS spatial analyzing approach and GPS technique,as well as field data and other background data of the region,this research investigated the comprehensive characteristics and the drivers of coastal land use dy-namics and shoreline changes in Inner Lingdingyang Bay.The results reveal that the reclaimed coastal land was mainly for agriculture and aquaculture in early years,but now they are used for construction sites of harbors and in-dustries,especially high-tech industry.     

Classification and Gradation of Cultivated Land Quality in Bishan County of Chongqing, China

The conflicts among food security, economic development and ecological protection are the “sticking point” of undeveloped southwestern mountainous areas of China. The objectives of this study are to identify appropriate inte- grated indicators influencing the classification and gradation of cultivated land quality in the southwestern mountainous area of China based on semi-structure interview, and to promote the monitoring of cultivated land quality in this region. Taking Bishan County of Chongqing as a study case, the integrated indicators involve the productivity, protection, ac- ceptability, and stability of cultivated land. The integrated indicators accord with the characteristics of land resources and human preference in southwestern mountainous area of China. In different agricultural zones, we emphasize different indicators, such as emphasizing productivity, stabilization and acceptability in low hilly and plain agricultural integrative zone (LHP-AIZ), protection, productivity and stability in low mountain and hill agro-forestry ecological zone (LMH-AEZ), and acceptability in plain outskirts integrative agricultural zone (PO-IAZ), respectively. The pronounced difference of classification and gradation of cultivated land, regardless of inter-region or intra-region, is observed, with the reducible rank from PO-IAZ, LHP-AIZ to LMH-AEZ. Research results accord with the characteristics of assets management and intensive utilization of cultivated land resources in the southwestern mountainous area of China. Semi-structure interview adequately presents the principal agent of farmers in agricultural land use and rural land market. This method is very effective and feasible to obtain data of the quality of cultivated land in the southwestern mountainous area of China.     

Determinants of Adaptation to Climate Change:A Case Study of Rice Farmers in Western Province,Iran

The decisions made by agricultural households to adjust to climate change(CC)in Iran are not well known.This study is intended to investigate the influence of perceptions and socioeconomic,institutional features on farmers’adaptation decisions about CC,which constitute the hypothetical statements of the study.We undertook a survey of 200 farm householders from 31 villages of Ilam Province,situated in the western Iran,as randomly selected.The result discloses that the proposed discriminant model matches the dataset well,with a strong effect size of partial eta-squared(η²=0.38).The analysis further signals that adapters are younger and more welleducated than non-adapters.Adapters are also knowledgeable about CC risks and institutional policy barriers.The adapters have subsidiary work,better access to credit,and have good contacts with expansion agents and specialists.The paper concludes that government authorities should provide farmers with the enriched capabilities and competencies enabling them to adapt to CC.     

Spatiotemporal Pattern of Cultivated Land Pressure and Its Influencing Factors in the Huaihai Economic Zone,China

Cultivated land pressure represents a direct reflection of grain security. Existing relevant studies rarely approached the spatiotemporal pattern of cultivated land pressure or the spatial heterogeneity of its influencing factors from the level of economic zones.Taking the Huaihai Economic Zone(HEZ), China for case analysis, this study investigated the spatiotemporal pattern of cultivated land pressure in diverse periods from 2000 to 2018 based on a modified cultivated land pressure index and sp...     

Improving Indigenous Technologies for Sustainable Land Use in Northern Mountainous Areas of Vietnam

More than 30 ethnic groups are now living in northern mountainous regions, Vietnam, mainly relying on shifting cultivation with the fallow period being shortened from time to time. Naturally, soil fertility reduces from cycle to cycle, entailing the reduction of productivity. Large areas of moderately sloping lands suitable for upland agriculture have become bare after many cultivation-fallow cycles. The soils there have been severely degraded with more toxicity, low porosity, low water retention capacity and poor floral diversity. Normally, these lands cannot be used for food crop cultivation. So farmers in uplands have to rely on slash-and-burn practices for their livelihood. As there is no more forest with good soil in medium slopes, farmers go to cut forests in watershed, high slope lands and old forests up to the mountains‘ top. There are ecologically and environmentally very sensitive areas, so their destruction will inevitably cause hazardous consequences in the whole basin. Meanwhile,cultivation in these areas has low economic efficiency and sustainability because the crop yield may decrease very fast due to severe erosion as the higher the slope, the more serious erosion. Consequently living standards of highland farmers remain low and unstable. Sustainable farming on these lands in the perspective of a seriously deteriorated ecology and environmental is not an easy task. There have been many projects trying to help mountainous farmers get out of their vicious circle. However, due to different reasons, the results gained are low, and in some cases,things ceased to move after the projects phased out. During past few years, based on the farmer experiences, the Vietnam Agricultural Science Institute has cooperated with local and international partners to implement different projects in order to solve the problems by developing simple, easy and cheap cultivation technologies, which can be accepted and applied by local poor farmers for sustainable agricultural production. The first results of our activities offered good opportunities for sustain food production, improve soil health, recharge of aquifers,and enhanced household income for better rural lively hoods in the upland eco-regions of northern Vietnam.     

An integrated spatial planning of the mountainous landscapes for ski sports in a case area at the eastern Türkiye

Mountainous regions have disadvantages in economic development because of harsh physical and climatic conditions. However, winter tourism activities are one of the key components for supporting economic development in the highlands. Establishing a ski resort area supports direct and indirect employment in a region, and it stops immigration from mountainous regions to other places. This research aimed to assess the potential ski areas using a multi criteria evaluation technique in the Van region ...     

Income inequality and growth from functional orientation and spatial policy: Case study of Tibet,China

Economic inequality and poverty are problemsexperiencedbymanycountries.Considerable attention has been paid to these issues in recent times.Studies on economic inequality have been characterized by geographical disparities and a lack of consideration of functional orientation.As one of the most typical and featured mountainous areas in Western China,Tibet demonstrates both the necessity and urgency of conducting studies on income inequality and growth issues.This paper proposes to address these problems by exploring the temporal and geographical variations in income inequality in Tibet,thereby revealing the differences in functional zones.Spatial Markov chains and panel regression analysis were applied to identify the spatial-temporal dynamics of income disparity.The results of this study show that(1)the overall income inequality in Tibet shows an expanding trend in the period 2005–2010 and a converging trend in the period 2010–2015,and there is a large disparity in income inequality between functional zones;(2)Tibetan farmers and herdsmen may face great difficulties in achieving substantial growth in the near future;(3)frontier counties,cultivated land,and grassland areas have negative impacts on income growth,while cordyceps counties,GDP per capita,agricultural product proportion,transfer payments,the ratio of nonagricultural employment to the total employment,the length of the average schooling year,and the slaughter rate of cattle and sheep have positive impacts;and(4)functional orientation has made great differences to income inequality and its mechanism.In light of these results,evidence-based policies have been formulated to boost average household income and narrow income inequality in Tibet.     

Land Use Change During 1960-2000 Period and its Eco-environmental Effects in the Middle and Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River： a Case Study in Yiliang County, Yunnan, China

Land use/land cover change (LUCC) is a focus of the research of global environmental changes.The middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River,which are the most ecologically fragile mountainous area in China as well as one of the areas in China with most notable LUCC, have been on the Chinese Government‘s list of priority areas for ecological restoration. This paper is to reveal the trend of LUCC and the ecological degradation arising from it, and to provide a basis for the future sustainable use of land resources in the region based on a detailed analysis of Yiliang County. Based on the county‘s land use/cover maps in 1960, 1980 and 2000 drawn with the aid of aerial photograph interpretation, field investigation and GIS based spatial-temporal data analysis, LUCC during 1960-2000 period and the ecological degradation arising from it were analyzed. Using the Markv model, the paper brings out a forecast of what the county‘s LUCC would be like if the county‘s current land use continues, as well as the reasons and countermeasures for restoring degraded ecosystems.     

Causes of land loss in Tuvalu,a small island nation in the pacific

Studies on land loss in Tuvalu reveal the following findings. Although both sea level rise and coastal erosion can cause land loss in the tropic Pacific oceanic islands, their mechanisms are different. When sea level rises, the low elevation coastal zone submerges and the erosion datum plane rises, the beach process progresses normally as always, resulting in no beach sediment coarsening. When the sea level is stable, coastal erosion removes finer sediment from reef flat, beach and land, resulting in beach sediment coarsening. The human-induced coastal erosion in the tropic Pacific oceanic islands has the following features. 1) Erosion occurs or intensifies immediately after inappropriate human activities. 2) It occurs near the places having human activities and places related to the above places in sediment supply. 3) It often occurs on original prograding or stable coasts (on lagoon coasts for atolls) because there are more coastal engineering projects and other human activities on such coasts. 4) It is chronic, covering a long period of time. The coastal geological events in Tuvalu islands do not accord with the features resulted from sea level rise but do accord with the features resulted from coastal erosion, particularly from human-induced erosion. The land loss in Tuvalu is mainly caused by inappropriate human activities including coastal engineering and aggregate mining, and partly caused by cyclones. Moreover, all recent measurements (satellite altimetry,thermosteric sea level data and tide observations) so far have not been able to verify any sea level rise around Tuvalu islands.