Cropland Abandonment in China's Southwestern Regions: A Study on Sustainable Food Systems

China has faced severe cropland abandonment due to socioeconomic transformations and policy adjustments, particularly in its southwestern mountainous regions. A recent study from China University of Geosciences has shed light on the status and determinants of cropland abandonment in these areas. Using multilevel regression analysis, the study found that approximately 10.4% of cropland in typical mountainous areas of Southwestern China has been abandoned. The results reveal complex hierarchical driving mechanisms for cropland abandonment, with plot-level land quality, household-level part-time farming and agricultural labor density, and village-level per capita cultivated land area as key determinants.

Key Takeaways:

• The study found that about 10.4% of cropland in typical mountainous areas of Southwestern China has been abandoned.
• The abandonment rate demonstrates an inverse correlation with elevation, a parabolic relationship with cultivation distance, and positive correlations with declining land quality and increasing slope gradient.
• Plot-level land quality emerged as the most critical explanatory factor for cropland abandonment, with a coefficient of 0.623.
• Household-level factors such as degree of part-time farming and agricultural labor density per unit area also significantly impacted cropland abandonment, with coefficients of 0.350 and -1.011 respectively.
• Village-level analysis identified per capita cultivated land area as the primary determinant of cropland abandonment, exhibiting a significant negative correlation with a coefficient of -1.166.
• The study highlights the necessity for differentiated land management strategies that account for scale-specific characteristics in mountainous regions.
• The research was conducted by Hao Yu and his team from China University of Geosciences, with Zhongqiu Zhao and Qiao Yang as additional authors.

Statistics:

• 10.4% of cropland in typical mountainous areas of Southwestern China has been abandoned.
• The abandonment rate is inversely correlated with elevation.
• The relationship between cultivation distance and cropland abandonment is parabolic.
• Land quality and slope gradient are positively correlated with cropland abandonment.
• Per capita cultivated land area exhibits a significant negative correlation with cropland abandonment at the village level.

Sources:

• Drivers and mechanisms of cropland abandonment in typical mountainous areas of Southwestern China. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 2025, 9. (Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems - https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/sustainable-food-systems#)
• NewsRx. China University of Geosciences Researchers Discuss Findings in Sustainable Food Systems (Drivers and mechanisms of cropland abandonment in typical mountainous areas of Southwestern China). Agriculture Week. July 24, 2025; p 113.