Spatiotemporal changes of cultivated land use system resilience in the black soil region of Northeast China under food supply security: A case study of Qiqihar City

Abstract

[Objective] The aim of this study was to analyze the connotation of cultivated land use system resilience under food supply security based on the self-organization characteristics of cultivated land use system and the attributes of the resilience process, reveal the spatial-temporal changes and constraints of cultivated land use system resilience in the black soil region, and provide countermeasures for the sustainable use of black soil resources. [Methods] Taking Qiqihar City as the research area and based on an examination of the spatial and temporal changes of cultivated land, this study established a cultivated land use resilience evaluation indicator system around black soil conservation policies and related issues, analyzed the resilience processes and connotation characterization, identified the composition of cultivated land use systems, and used the pressure-state-response (PSR) model to evaluate resilience at the grid scale. It further analyzed the trend of change and spatial variation of cultivated land use system resilience in Qiqihar from 2000 to 2020. Based on the evaluation results, we proposed targeted countermeasures by analyzing the strengths and weaknesses and constraint factors of each resilience class. [Results] (1) Compared to 2000, the spatial distribution of cultivated land expanded in a northeast-southwest direction in 2020, with a decrease in the total area of cultivated land. (2) The overall level of resilience of Qiqihar’s cultivated land use system increased, but the intraregional variation also increased, and the spatial heterogeneity was strong, showing a distribution pattern of “low in the west and high in the east”. The high value areas moved to the east and expanded to the north. (3) The ability of the cultivated land use system to cope with internal and external pressures was significantly enhanced, and the spatial distribution changed with the shift of the agricultural input center. (4) The conditions of the black soil resources, the level of agricultural inputs, and the level of agricultural production were the main constraints to the development of the black soil cultivated land use system. [Conclusion] The overall level of cultivated land use system resilience in Qiqihar was moderately low and spatially varied, and the constraints and development directions of each resilience class differed, therefore black soil conservation and management should be targeted according to the current status of resilience and obstacle factors in each district. The results of this study can provide some theoretical support and practical guidance for the sustainable use of black soil resources and safeguarding food security.

Keywords

• |cultivated land use system|resilience|food supply security|psr (pressure-state-response) model|black soil in northeast china