A multidimensional assessment and analysis of farmland fragmentation in the southeast coastal area of China

Farmland fragmentation is a typical feature of arable land use in the economies dominated by smallholder production mode, and scientific evaluation of farmland fragmentation is an effective and crucial process to find and solve problems. Farmland fragmentation, as a kind of long-standing physiographic landscape and agricultural economic phenomenon under the comprehensive effect of human-land-property rights, not only contains the scale status and spatial distribution of cultivated patches but also is featured with farming and tenure right. However, the theoretical interpretation of the multidimensional characteristics of farmland fragmentation was insufficient, and it was rare to evaluate the farmland fragmentation based on plot scale. To this end, an evaluation framework of farmland fragmentation with four dimensions and 12 indicators was constructed in this paper. Moreover, regarding Minqing County located in China's southeast coast as a case, empirical research was thus conducted. The findings indicated that the physical properties of farmland patches were depicted through scale fragmentation. Spatial fragmentation represented the spatial distribution of farmland patches. Farming fragmentation revealed agricultural production and management differences while tenure fragmentation embodied the tenure rights segmentation induced by the land distribution system. Farmland fragmentation consolidation was an effective way to solve these issues, and some differential tactics should be conducted in accordance with the path of zoning types-obstacle factors-consolidation directions-treatment measures.

Automated summary

Farmland fragmentation is a common characteristic of smallholder-dominated economies, and evaluating its impact is crucial for problem-solving. This study developed an evaluation framework for farmland fragmentation and conducted empirical research in Minqing County, China. The findings revealed that scale fragmentation described the physical properties of farmland patches, spatial fragmentation represented their spatial distribution, farming fragmentation indicated differences in agricultural production and management, and tenure fragmentation reflected the segmentation of land rights caused by the land distribution system.