Analysis of farmland consolidation implementation status in China based on Ward hierarchical clustering

Abstract: Analyzing implementing characteristics and spatial pattern of land consolidation scientifically is of great theoretical and practical value for improving land consolidation scientific decision-making. In order to make sure the implementation status of farmland consolidation in China and its gap with planning objectives, based on the data acquired from the dataset of consolidation project management from 2006 to 2012, this paper analyzes the implementation status of farmland consolidation at county level by three indices i.e. the intensity, the potential and the difficulty of engineering. Then the Ward hierarchical clustering method is used to produce a comprehensive regionalization of farmland consolidation implementation in China. Finally combined with the established national planning objectives, a quantitative analysis is made macroscopically on the farmland consolidation implementation status in China from 2006 to 2012. The conclusions can be summarized as the following: 1) In terms of the implementation status based on itemized index, the North China Plain, the Sanjiang Plain, the Yellow River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta and other traditional agricultural regions are the main consolidation areas with high intensity during the study period; the consolidation areas with high potential are mainly in semi-humid and semi-arid region, including Inner Mongolia and pastoral areas along the Great Wall, Qinggan agricultural and pastoral areas, the Loess Plateau, etc; the consolidation areas with high difficulty are mainly located in the Loess Plateau, Qilian Mountain region, Qinba Mountains, Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and other more complex terrain regions. 2) The implementation status of farmland consolidation in China during the study period can be divided into five types consisted of "medium high - low - medium" (ClassⅠ), "medium - medium low - medium" (Class Ⅱ), "medium high - medium high - medium high" (Class Ⅲ), "low - medium - high" (Class Ⅳ) and "high - medium low - medium" (Class Ⅴ). The Class Ⅲ is the most concentrated type, mainly distributed in Shanxi, Gansu and China's other western provinces, and characterized by higher implementation levels of the intensity, the potential and the difficulty of engineering; then ClassⅠand Ⅱ follow, and they are mainly distributed in some areas where natural resources and agricultural production conditions are appropriate, such as the Northeast Plain, the North China Plain, the Middle-lower Yangtze Plain, the Sichuan Basin. This class shows relatively high intensity, low potential and medium difficulty of implementation characteristics. While Class Ⅳ and Ⅴ are small numbers and scattered, Class Ⅳ is mainly distributed in Shanghai, Guangdong and other coastal developed areas and western plateau mountainous, and its characteristics on the performance are lower intensity, medium potential and higher difficulty; Class Ⅴ is mainly distributed in the hilly area of southwestern Zhejiang, Chengdu Plains, agricultural and pastoral areas of northern Inner Mongolia, and its intensity, potential and difficulty of engineering are all at medium and lower levels. 3) In terms of the coordination between implementation status and consolidation planning, there is a certain deviation in the specific implementation of major tasks containing key areas of farmland consolidation, demonstration counties of well-facilitated capital farmland and major consolidation projects of capital farmland. As far as the comparison of consolidation implementation in the different areas be concerned, which is characterized as the economic development, grain production and land consolidation activities, the regional difference is not very significant, and key points of farmland consolidation are still not highlighted. The findings suggest that the guiding role of national land consolidation planning should be strengthened to standardize the provincial farmland consolidation projects; especially in the key areas, the project arrangement and investment of farmland consolidation should be optimized at spatial pattern and implementation structure.