Decoupling Effect of Ecological Destruction of Cultivated Land and Agricultural Economic Growth in China

Abstract

[Objective] The decoupling effect between cultivated land ecological destruction and agricultural economic growth in China were analyzed in order to provide scientific basis for understanding the coordinated development of cultivated land ecology and agricultural economy in China. [Methods] Using survey data from 31 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020, the entropy weight method and the TOPSIS method were used to evaluate and analyze the ecological damage degree of cultivated land for each province. The Tapio decoupling model was introduced to study the decoupling effect of ecological destruction of cultivated land and agricultural economic growth in China. [Results] In the early days, the growth of the agricultural economy in China’s provinces mostly came at the expense of the ecological health of cultivated land. There were certain differences between the ecological destruction of cultivated land and the growth of the agricultural economy between different regions. Shanghai, Zhejiang, Tibet, Chongqing, Fujian, and other regions had a high correlation between the ecological destruction of cultivated land and agricultural economic growth and development, among which Shanghai was always in an ideal state of strong decoupling, while Tibet, Chongqing, Fujian, and Zhejiang were in a state of decoupling without a negative decoupling effect. Overall, the correlation between cultivated land destruction and agricultural economic growth in most provinces had gradually increased over time, but the problem of non-coordination in some areas had been more prominent. It is, therefore, necessary to rectify this situation as soon as possible for provinces such as Qinghai, Hunan and Xinjiang (having five periods of negative decoupling), and Yunnan, Henan and Gansu (having three periods of negative decoupling). [Conclusion] It will be necessary to further promote the coordinated development of cultivated land ecology and the agricultural economy by firmly adhering to the ecological redline of cultivated land, and to firmly and effectively promote the development of cultivated land protection.

Keywords

• provinces of china
• extent of ecological destruction of arable land
• agricultural economic growth
• tapio decoupling model