Modeling Adaptive Optimization of Cultivated Land Multifunctionality in the Yangtze River Delta, China

Abstracts: The utilization of cultivated land and its evaluation has gradually transitioned from a singular focus on food production to encompassing socio-economic development, maintenance of ecological functions, and enhancement of landscape experience. Cultivated land multifunctionality has thus become a key area of agricultural land systems research. Especially the over-intensified utilization of cultivated land, lacking comprehensive consideration of utilization, supply, and demand, impairs the adaptive capacity of cultivated land multifunctionality. The resulting soil nutrient imbalance, decline in biodiversity, and homogenization of landscapes undermine its sustainable contribution to human well-being.

This study integrates land use, socio-economic data, remote sensing monitoring, and point-of-interest data to develop an adaptive optimization model for cultivated land multifunctionality. Based on a quantitative assessment of the utilization, supply, and demand of cultivated land multifunctionality, three supply-demand matching scenarios serve as the foundation for modeling. In the scenario with supply exceeding demand, the supply and demand indices define the lower and upper thresholds. In the supply-demand balance scenario, the range of balanced values is used as the threshold. In the scenario where demand exceeds supply, the supply index establishes the lower limit of the threshold. Through this modeling process, five utilization characteristics of cultivated land multifunctionality are identified: potential type, transition type, stabilization type, critical type, and surpass type. Among these five types, the potential type indicates that resources are underutilized, the surpass type signifies that the utilization of cultivated land multifunctionality has surpassed resource and environmental constraints, while the other three types are in a relatively safe state. Their spatial attribution informs the development of a composite zoning scheme for cultivated land multifunctionality, designed to support its adaptive optimization. An empirical study in the Yangtze River Delta, China, explores the spatial differentiation patterns, utilization characteristics, and optimization strategies of cultivated land multifunctionality.

The findings indicate that cultivated land multifunctionality in the Yangtze River Delta is characterized by uneven utilization levels, robust supply capacity, and relatively lagging demand conditions. Influenced by the spatial heterogeneity of utilization, supply, and demand, the utilization characteristics—analyzed using the supply-demand matching relationship as the threshold—indicate persistent challenges of cultivated land multifunctionality. Specifically, the agricultural production function reveals dual challenges of surpass and potential types coexisting, the social security function is predominantly of the potential type, the surpass type of ecological maintenance function accounts for 32.1% of the region, and the cultural landscape function generally remains within a safe range. Building on this analysis, the study proposes a composite zoning scheme that integrates dominant and refined zoning approaches. In this zoning, the agricultural production function necessitates reduced inputs of production factors in major grain production areas, while agricultural productivity can be appropriately enhanced in ecological protection areas. The ecological protection function must be constrained within the limits of the resource and environmental carrying capacity. The social security function requires further exploration to strengthen its contribution to rural socio-economic development. Lastly, the cultural landscape function is expected to operate effectively.