This multidisciplinary book examines the interactions between agriculture, farmland use and the environment in the farming regions of China through the frame of “theoretical explanations-spatial pattern and process analysis-mechanism analysis-simulation of future trajectories-policy recommendations”. Developing a general framework building on complex adaptive system theory, it provides the means to understand the changing agricultural practices and farmland use, and its environmental responses. Then, it explores the process of agricultural transformation in China via the lens of rural population, farmland use, and agriculture-related industry, as well as investigates the dynamics and performances of multifunctional agriculture. Taking a system perspective, this book, then, presents a rich blend of national and regional scale statistical analysis on the nexus between agriculture, farmland use and environment, combining quantitative and qualitative data and adding sophisticated critical and theoretically-informed analysis. It also interrogates the what contributes to the environmental consequences and the ways in which those effects manifest. In order to predict the future trajectory of the evolution of their interactions, a system dynamics approach was employed to describe relationships among variables in complex agricultural system. Finally, this book formulates a range of sustainable agricultural policy recommendations. Together these elements make for an authoritative and important volume, which will foster a broader understanding of the subject matter of sustainable agriculture and farmland use, and how they are related to the environment.
Yingnan Zhang is an Assistant Professor and Ph.D. supervisor at the School of Public Affairs, Zhejiang University, where he leads the Land Policy and Rural Development Group. His research examines rural commodification and sustainability challenges from multiple perspectives--ranging from local to global scales and through policy and institutional lenses--with a current focus on the dual role of government in land policy implementation and its socio-ecological implications. He has led multiple national and interdisciplinary research projects on agricultural development and rural transformation in China, producing a substantial body of scholarship that includes over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and three books or book chapters on topics such as sustainable land management and rural development. Several of his publications have been recognized as ESI Highly Cited Papers. In recognition of his academic excellence, he has received numerous awards and fellowships, including the President's Award of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He also serves on the editorial boards of Humanities and Social Sciences Communications and Environmental Research: Food Systems.
Hualou Long is Professor of Human Geography at the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Distinguished Professor in the field of Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education of PRC at Guangxi University, and Leading Scientific and Technological Talent of the Ministry of Natural Resources of PRC. He is also the Chair of the Commission on Agricultural Geography and Rural Development of the Geographical Society of China, the Chair of the Working committee on Youth of China Land Science Society, and the Steering Committee Member of the IGU Commission on the Sustainability of Rural Systems. He received a Ph.D. degree from Peking University in 1999. His research interests are China's rural restructuring, urban-rural development, land use transition, and sustainable land use. Currently, he is serving as the associate editor of both
Journal of Rural Studies and
Habitat International. He has been selected as Highly Cited Researcher in the field of Social Sciences from Clarivate since 2019. For his outstanding contributions to Human Geography, he was elected as Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS) in 2023.
