Cultivated land quality evaluation and management zoning considering the attribute of "resource-asset-capital" in mountainous areas of Yunnan Province of China

Abstract: "Resource-asset-capital" attributes can be used to promote the efficient utilization and allocation of cultivated land against the market-oriented economy. Taking a typical Xundian County in mountainous areas of Yunnan Province as a study area, the quality evaluation and zoning management were made using the attributes connotation of "resource-asset-capital" and multi-source data of cultivated land. The targeted measures of local cultivated land management were also proposed for each zone using the local autocorrelation, according to the spatial agglomeration of quality evaluation. The results show that: 1) The resource attribute of cultivated land referred to the specific agricultural activities for the products from the cultivated land under certain natural conditions, such as light, temperature, water, soil, and heat. The asset attribute of cultivated land was that the cultivated land resources in social relations were able to bring benefits, thereby determining the ownership through the legal system. The capital attribute of cultivated land was that the cultivated land was traded and circulated in the market to obtain high profits. The resource, asset and capital attributes presented the influence on each other, indicating the only way for the value of cultivated land resources. 2) There were great differences among the geographical distribution and spatial pattern of resource, asset and capital quality of cultivated land. The resource quality of cultivated land showed less variation and more stable geographical distribution, compared with asset and capital quality. Furthermore, the resource quality of cultivated land in the study area presented a "high in the east and west and low in the middle" trend in spatial patterns. However, the asset and capital quality of cultivated land in the study area showed a "gradient decreasing towards the urban center" and a "high in the southeast and low in the northwest" pattern, respectively. 3) Taking the administrative village as the basic research unit, four areas were divided using the comprehensive spatial agglomeration, including the market-oriented pilot zone, market-oriented cultivation area, efficient upgrading area, and remediation concentration area. Differentiated management measures were also proposed for each zone. It is necessary to formulate and implement policies and regulations for the easy entry of high-quality cultivated land resources into the market for the market-oriented pilot zone. Further, the property rights system and the income distribution can be improved to ensure the rational circulation of cultivated land resources for the market-oriented cultivation area. The finding can provide a scientific reference for the protection and development of cultivated land management in the mountainous areas of Yunnan province.