Site selection of land consolidation along the transportation using integrated occupation and reclamation of cultivated land

Abstract: A balance between the occupation and replenishment of arable land can be urgent in the rapid economic growth. It is very necessary to promote the integrated construction of occupation and reclamation of cultivated land, due to the large area of arable land occupied by transportation in China in recent years. However, most previous studies of land consolidation have focused mainly on the suitability evaluation of temporary land and land reclamation design, without considering the overall plan of the land use along the transportation. The purpose of this study is to determine the site selection of land consolidation projects along the transportation using the integrated occupation and replenishment of cultivated land. Specifically, the determination framework contained four steps. Firstly, the regional scopes of land consolidation along the transportation were identified using the figure layering and the distance operation, according to the trend of the transportation. Secondly, the evaluation units of the land comprehensive potential were determined, according to the regional land use and village planning. Thirdly, the potentials of the evaluation units were measured by the combined weights and multi-index comprehensive evaluation from four aspects (the soil factors/the quality factors, the topographic factors, the farming conditions, and the planning conditions), in order to increase and improve the quality of cultivated land. Fourthly, the plots of land consolidation were then selected by the four-quadrant method, according to the potential and connectivity of the evaluation units. A case study was selected as the site selection of land consolidation projects along the Chongzuo-Aidian Expressway in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of southwest China. The results showed that: 1) Three levels were classified for the new cultivated land potential, including the high, middle, and low. Specifically, the area of high potential covered 57.57 hm2, mainly concentrated in the village of Anma, Siming, Zhili, and Mingjiang. The areas of medium and low potential were 134.60 and 180.97 hm2, respectively. 2) Three levels were also divided for the quality improvement potential of cultivated land. The areas of high, medium, and low potential covered 403.53, 438.77, and 486.40 hm2, respectively. 3) The plots of regional land comprehensive were determined using the technical framework, including the 84 plots for the new cultivated land project, and the 79 plots for the land consolidation project. 4) There were much larger areas with great potential for higher quality cultivated land, but limited areas with the potential for new cultivated land. Therefore, it was suggested that the replenishment of newly cultivated land needed to be diversified in the study area during this time, but not limited to the unused land. Thus, it can be widely expected to support the appropriate increase in the cultivated land improvement projects along the transportation. Consequently, the actual demands were fully achieved to balance the occupation and replenishment of cultivated land along the Chongzuo-Aidian Expressway. In conclusion, the finding can provide strong technical support and practical references for the land comprehensive using integrated occupation and replenishment along the transportation.