Food provision responses to changes in mountainous terraced and sloping cropland: Implications for land management based on land dynamics and terrain gradient
Agricultural terraces are significant for food provision, environmental stability and sustainable resource management. However, the spatiotemporal evolution of terraces and their influence on food productivity in mountainous landscapes remain poorly understood. Taking the Chinese Loess Plateau (LP)...
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Elsevier
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Geography and Sustainability |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666683925000410 |
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| author | Yu Shi Wei Wei Wendi Wang Paolo Tarolli Liding Chen |
| author_facet | Yu Shi Wei Wei Wendi Wang Paolo Tarolli Liding Chen |
| author_sort | Yu Shi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Agricultural terraces are significant for food provision, environmental stability and sustainable resource management. However, the spatiotemporal evolution of terraces and their influence on food productivity in mountainous landscapes remain poorly understood. Taking the Chinese Loess Plateau (LP) as an example, this study conducted multitemporal mapping of terraces and sloping croplands over three decades (1990–2020), systematically assessing their impacts on food output through terrain gradient analysis. The results indicated that: (1) the terraced area expanded in the past 30 years, particularly across steeper terrain gradients (third to fifth gradients); (2) sloping croplands predominantly occupied gentle slopes (first to second gradients), exhibiting area reduction correlating with urbanization processes; (3) the food provision increased extensively, with yield decreasing from southeast to northwest and regions of high yielding mainly in terraced fields; (4) over time, the variation of food provision correlated positively with the area of sloping cropland at low gradients, while at higher gradients, the expansion of terraces dominated the increase in food provision; (5) spatial clustering analysis revealed significant food productivity associated with high-density terrace distribution across steeper slope gradients. Low yields could be attributed to improper terrace management. This study clarified the impact of long-term terrace patterns on food provision and offered large-scale perspectives for terrace-based agriculture to enhance food security. Furthermore, the findings underscore the imperative of integrated land management in topographically complex regions, informing evidence-based policymaking for rational allocation and optimal utilization of terrace resources. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-97dae32bce3f47de9517b1d03ed740f3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2666-6839 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
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| series | Geography and Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj-art-97dae32bce3f47de9517b1d03ed740f32025-08-20T03:36:26ZengElsevierGeography and Sustainability2666-68392025-08-016410030210.1016/j.geosus.2025.100302Food provision responses to changes in mountainous terraced and sloping cropland: Implications for land management based on land dynamics and terrain gradientYu Shi0Wei Wei1Wendi Wang2Paolo Tarolli3Liding Chen4State Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101408, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101408, China; National Observation and Research Station of Earth Critical Zone on the Loess Plateau in Shaanxi, Xi’an 710061, China; Corresponding author.Department of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padova, Agripolis, viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), ItalyDepartment of Land, Environment, Agriculture and Forestry, University of Padova, Agripolis, viale dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro (PD), ItalyState Key Laboratory of Regional and Urban Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China; College of Resources and Environment, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 101408, ChinaAgricultural terraces are significant for food provision, environmental stability and sustainable resource management. However, the spatiotemporal evolution of terraces and their influence on food productivity in mountainous landscapes remain poorly understood. Taking the Chinese Loess Plateau (LP) as an example, this study conducted multitemporal mapping of terraces and sloping croplands over three decades (1990–2020), systematically assessing their impacts on food output through terrain gradient analysis. The results indicated that: (1) the terraced area expanded in the past 30 years, particularly across steeper terrain gradients (third to fifth gradients); (2) sloping croplands predominantly occupied gentle slopes (first to second gradients), exhibiting area reduction correlating with urbanization processes; (3) the food provision increased extensively, with yield decreasing from southeast to northwest and regions of high yielding mainly in terraced fields; (4) over time, the variation of food provision correlated positively with the area of sloping cropland at low gradients, while at higher gradients, the expansion of terraces dominated the increase in food provision; (5) spatial clustering analysis revealed significant food productivity associated with high-density terrace distribution across steeper slope gradients. Low yields could be attributed to improper terrace management. This study clarified the impact of long-term terrace patterns on food provision and offered large-scale perspectives for terrace-based agriculture to enhance food security. Furthermore, the findings underscore the imperative of integrated land management in topographically complex regions, informing evidence-based policymaking for rational allocation and optimal utilization of terrace resources.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666683925000410TerraceFood provisionTerrain gradientSpatiotemporal effectThe Loess Plateau |
| spellingShingle | Yu Shi Wei Wei Wendi Wang Paolo Tarolli Liding Chen Food provision responses to changes in mountainous terraced and sloping cropland: Implications for land management based on land dynamics and terrain gradient Geography and Sustainability Terrace Food provision Terrain gradient Spatiotemporal effect The Loess Plateau |
| title | Food provision responses to changes in mountainous terraced and sloping cropland: Implications for land management based on land dynamics and terrain gradient |
| title_full | Food provision responses to changes in mountainous terraced and sloping cropland: Implications for land management based on land dynamics and terrain gradient |
| title_fullStr | Food provision responses to changes in mountainous terraced and sloping cropland: Implications for land management based on land dynamics and terrain gradient |
| title_full_unstemmed | Food provision responses to changes in mountainous terraced and sloping cropland: Implications for land management based on land dynamics and terrain gradient |
| title_short | Food provision responses to changes in mountainous terraced and sloping cropland: Implications for land management based on land dynamics and terrain gradient |
| title_sort | food provision responses to changes in mountainous terraced and sloping cropland implications for land management based on land dynamics and terrain gradient |
| topic | Terrace Food provision Terrain gradient Spatiotemporal effect The Loess Plateau |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666683925000410 |
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