The quality of cultivated land has been seriously degraded due to the overuse of chemical fertilizer in China. Land conservation technologies (LCTs) have been proven to effectively address land degradation and improve land productivity. In this study, a multivariate probit model is applied to empirically analyze the correlation effects and determinants of the application of LCTs application using cross-sectional data collected on 690 large-scale grain producers from the Jiangsu and Jiangxi provinces in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

The dramatic growth of the world’s population is increasing the pressure on natural resources, particularly on soil systems. At the same time, inappropriate agricultural practices are causing widespread soil degradation. Improved management of soil resources and identification of the potential agricultural capability of soils is therefore needed to prevent further land degradation, particularly in dryland areas such as Egypt. Here, we present a case study in the El-Fayoum depression (Northern Egypt) to model and map soil suitability for 12 typical Mediterranean crops.

Global climate change and its influence on human migration have caused heated debates. There is no consensus about the role of environmental change in shaping migration decisions. To amass more evidence and develop a deeper understanding of the relations between the environment and migration, this paper seeks to evaluate the importance of various drivers (economic, social, political, demographic, and environmental drivers) and determine the internal mechanism in the decision process.

Grassland biomass is the embodiment of grassland productivity, and the material basis for the maintenance of the grassland ecosystem. Grassland is the main vegetation type in the Mongolian Plateau. Grassland changes in the core region of the China–Mongolia–Russia Economic Corridor of the Belt and Road Initiative have an important impact on regional ecology, environmental conservation, and sustainable development.

Agroforestry represents a solution to land degradation by agriculture, but social barriers to wider application of agroforestry persist. More than half of all cropland in the USA is leased rather than owner-operated, and the short terms of most leases preclude agroforestry. Given insufficient research on tenure models appropriate for agroforestry in the USA, the primary objective of this study was to identify examples of farmers practicing agroforestry on land they do not own.

The increasingly serious problem of land degradation has a direct impact on the ecosystem and sustainable development in Mongolia. The influence of land degradation on the main China–Mongolia–Russia traffic arteries is currently unclear and poses a risk to the construction of transportation infrastructure. In this study, for the first time, we obtained land cover data from 1990, 2010, and 2015, at a 30 m, resolution based on the Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Landsat Operational Land Imager (OLI) images along the China–Mongolia railway (Mongolia section).

Despite numerous studies suggesting a path-dependent relationship between transport–land use policies and urban structures, particularly on the emergence of car-oriented development, this connection has rarely been explained with spatial evidence. To address this gap, this paper investigated the historical and spatial urban transformation of Greater Jakarta from three different time periods to understand today’s extensive use of and dependence on private vehicles.

Built-up land sprawl is the most intuitive manifestation and main cause of cultivated land pattern change. Understanding spatiotemporal change and its driving factors in the impact of built-up land sprawl on cultivated landscape eco-security under the urbanization gradient can reveal the nature of cultivated landscape ecological risk caused by urban sprawl and promote the scientific implementation of urban planning and cultivated land protection policies.

In recent years, with the unceasing acceleration of China’s urbanization and rapid development of the country’s economy, cropland abandonment has become an ongoing issue, especially in mountainous areas. Mapping abandoned cropland using remote sensing technology is still challenging due to the difficulties in distinguishing abandoned cropland from fallowed land. In addition, there are few credible approaches to map timing and recultivation of abandoned cropland.

The traditional livestock industry in Inner Mongolia has evolved rapidly in response to social and economic transformations during recent decades, resulting in substantial impacts on the rural economy and livelihoods of pastoralists. Improved understanding of these changes and potential drivers may help foster strategies to sustain the pastoral system of this region.

The quality of cultivated land has been seriously degraded due to the overuse of chemical fertilizer in China. Land conservation technologies (LCTs) have been proven to effectively address land degradation and improve land productivity. In this study, a multivariate probit model is applied to empirically analyze the correlation effects and determinants of the application of LCTs application using cross-sectional data collected on 690 large-scale grain producers from the Jiangsu and Jiangxi provinces in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Exploiting the full potential of the realizable triple cropping system (RTCS) is one of the most effective methods for increasing land productivity, thus promoting food security. However, insufficient attention is paid to the spatial distribution of the RTCS in China. Here, a method is developed to assess the RTCS in China, considering terrain, climatic conditions, crop climatic-ecological suitability, and the spatial changes in the RTCS between 1951 and 2010.