In facing the situation of food security, the issue of the non-grain production of cultivated land (NGPOCL) in China has attracted more and more attention. To clarify whether rural land transfer promotes NGPOCL in China, this study collected provincial panel data from 2015 to 2020, and constructed multiple econometric models to explore the impact of land transfer on the planting structure of cultivated land. It is observed that an increase in land transfer area does not promote but significantly inhibits NGPOCL at the national level. The research conclusion is still valid after the robustness test of replacing the explained and core explanatory variables and solving the endogenous problems. The heterogeneity analysis suggests that the inhibitory effect is more pronounced in areas with better topography, economy, or grain production conditions. The analysis of the moderating effect shows that the diversification of land transfer modes and directions can mitigate this inhibitory effect, while the signing of land transfer contracts does not show a significant regulatory effect. This paper reveals the effect of land transfer on grain cultivation from a macro perspective. Its conclusions may provide policy implications for the optimization of rural land transfer and curbing NGPOCL in China.

The crop planting structure in the world has shown a trend of “non-grain”, which will shake the foundations of global food security in the long run. As a basic and important production factor, changes in land will have an impact on farmers’ crop planting decisions. In this paper, we take China, a country that is experiencing land transfer, “non-grain” production, and farmer differentiation, as the research area, use the household survey data at the national level, and adopt the methods of Propensity Score Matching (PSM) and multiple regression models to reveal the impact of land transfer-in on the crop planting structure and its heterogeneity among farmers. The results showed that land transfer-in can drive the crop planting structure to tend to be “non-grain” in China. The research conclusion was still valid after the robustness tests of expanding the sample size, increasing the number of control variables, and introducing endogenous problem management. The heterogeneity analysis indicated that the negative impact of land transfer-in on the planting of grain crops mainly exists for large-scale farmers and farmers with agriculture as the main source of income. Based on these findings, the Chinese government should formulate targeted policies to prevent the “non-grain” tendency of crop planting structure after land transfer-in.

The prevention of ecological risks is a critical determinant influencing sustainable development. Driven by rapid socio-economic development, the ecosystems of mountainous cities within agro-pastoral transition zones are increasingly vulnerable to complex disturbances, constituting a significant threat to sustainable development and human well-being. To help achieve sustainable development, it is essential to conduct research on addressing and mitigating ecological risks from the perspective of collaborative management networks in mountainous cities. Taking Zhangjiakou as the study area, this paper employed the land use transfer matrix and standard deviation ellipse methods to analyze the dynamic land use changes. Additionally, using Fragstats 4,2 to calculate the landscape indices with land use data, this paper evaluated the landscape ecological risk (LER) from 2000 to 2020. Furthermore, the social network analysis (SNA) method was utilized to explore the spatial correlation characteristics of the LER. The findings indicate that: (1) Cultivated land and grassland were the predominant land use types in Zhangjiakou. During 2000–2020, Zhangjiakou experienced significant changes in land use, dominated by the transfer among cultivated land, forestland, and grassland. It indicated that the issue of unstable ecological land use continued to exist. Affected by human activities, construction land showed a consistent upward trend, primarily concentrated in the urban built-up areas and areas along the Jing-Zhang Railway. (2) The LER of Zhangjiakou was predominantly characterized by low risk, medium risk, and high risk levels. In the transitional areas and foothills, the LER was relatively higher. During 2000–2020, Zhangjiakou showed a declining trend of LER. This suggested that the ecological protection policies in Zhangjiakou were effective, leading to an improvement in the local ecological environment. (3) The LER in Zhangjiakou demonstrated a spatial clustering pattern that exhibited an upward trend, which was supported by both spatial autocorrelation and the SNA analysis. In the LER collaborative management network, Xuanhua, Qiaodong, Qiaoxi, Wanquan and Zhangbei consistently upheld pivotal roles. Based on the number of inward and outward connections, 16 counties in Zhangjiakou were classified into four categories and three zones accompanied by corresponding recommendations. The findings of this study can serve as a valuable reference for subsequent landscape pattern optimization and ecological restoration in Zhangjiakou.

This study focuses on Hohhot (the capital city of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, northern China), a representative arid-semi-arid town in northern China. Against the backdrop of concurrent rapid urbanization and ecological constraints, it undertakes a systematic investigation into the spatiotemporal evolution and driving mechanisms of ecological asset utilization efficiency, aiming to furnish scientific evidence for sustainable development in ecologically fragile urban areas. Employing a “technology-scale-structure” analytical framework and constructing an “input-output-benefit” evaluation system, this research integrates the super-efficiency slack-based measure (SBM) model with spatial analysis methodologies to conduct multidimensional assessments of ecological asset utilization efficiency across all administrative districts and counties from 2000 to 2020. Empirical results demonstrate an overall upward trajectory in Hohhot’s ecological asset utilization efficiency, with comprehensive efficiency increasing from 1.132 in 2000 to 1.397 in 2020. However, pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency exhibit significant asynchrony, reflecting inherent tensions between technological advancement and scale expansion. Spatially, efficiency distribution manifests substantial spatial clustering and heterogeneity, with identified hotspots demonstrating temporal migration patterns. Peripheral counties exhibit distinct “technological isolation” phenomena and diseconomies of scale. Mechanism analysis reveals that industrial structure optimization constitutes the primary driver of efficiency enhancement, while the catalytic effects of economic development and governmental investment exhibit diminishing marginal returns. Urbanization maintains a moderate influence, transitioning from extensive spatial expansion toward intensive functional upgrading. This study recommends a synergistic enhancement of ecological asset utilization efficiency through strategic pathways, including the following: First, advancing green industrial transformation. Second, establishing regional technology-sharing platforms. Third, implementing systematic ecological compensation mechanisms. Fourth, adopting spatially differentiated governance approaches. These measures are projected to foster coordinated environmental and economic development. This research provides theoretical underpinnings and policy implications for urban ecological asset management in arid and semi-arid regions globally.

Rapid urbanization is widely regarded as a major pathway to rural development through improved market accessibility, infrastructure provision, and urban–rural functional linkages. Yet long-term empirical evidence has not sufficiently tested whether urban proximity enhances or erodes the resilience of rural territorial systems. Drawing on multisource remote sensing imagery, a harmonized nighttime light series, socioeconomic statistics, and key informant interviews spanning 1985–2025, this study reconstructs the spatiotemporal evolution of rural territorial system resilience in Quzhou County, a representative agricultural county on the North China Plain. An integrated element–structure–function framework conceptualizes rural resilience along three dimensions—element support capacity, structural resistance, and functional adaptability—extending the analytical focus from assessing system states to examining underlying mechanisms. The results show that the county-wide mean resilience index declined from 0.4832 to 0.2897, a cumulative decrease of 40%, with a 26.7% decline during 2015–2025 alone. The coefficient of variation across townships followed a nonlinear rise–fall–rise trajectory, indicating widening disparities, brief convergence, and renewed divergence, and reached a study-period maximum of 0.3859 in 2025. The combined area share of the low and relatively low resilience classes increased from 10.89% to 79.27%, whereas that of the high resilience class contracted from 17.50% to 7.82%, remained low, and ultimately fell to zero in 2025. Spatially, townships surrounding the county seat experienced the sharpest declines, contrary to the conventional expectation that proximity to urban centers strengthens rural resilience. Policy interventions yielded only temporary rebounds, and no township achieved systemic recovery during the study period. Instead, the system exhibited interconnected deterioration characterized by resource depletion, structural fragmentation, and functional homogenization. These findings motivate a “proximity paradox” hypothesis in urban–rural integration: when urban expansion erodes the resource base of surrounding rural areas, disrupts their spatial organization, and reduces their functional redundancy, geographical proximity to cities may shift from an enabling condition for resilience to a source of resilience loss. Accordingly, this study proposes a coordinated governance approach integrating the conservation of critical resources, the restructuring of settlements into a three-tier hierarchy, and spatial zoning into four functional categories. This approach provides an empirical basis for overcoming persistent rural decline and implementing differentiated spatial governance in agricultural plains undergoing rapid urbanization.

Public cultural services are traditionally viewed as welfare provisions. However, this perspective overlooks their productive externalities as critical social infrastructure. This study treats China’s National Public Cultural Service System Demonstration Zone program as a quasi-natural experiment to examine its economic performance. The analysis utilizes panel data from 280 prefecture-level cities between 2008 and 2021 and employs a multi-period difference-in-differences model. Results show that the policy successfully increased employment in the cultural sector. This was achieved by enabling flexible labor opportunities through digital platforms and government procurement, rather than through significant growth in formal enterprises. We term this structural divergence De-organized Growth. Mechanism analysis confirms that Fiscal-Digital Synergy drives this phenomenon. Effective collaboration between government funding and digital technology activates cultural consumption on the demand side and facilitates disintermediation on the supply side. Crucially, we identify a nonlinear Digital Exclusion Trap. In this trap, fiscal support is ineffective or even counterproductive in regions falling below a critical digital infrastructure threshold. The findings suggest that the equalized provision of public culture serves as a productive input for achieving UN Sustainable Development Goal 8 regarding decent work. We advocate for a shift in governance paradigms from traditional administration to a strategic purchaser role. This role leverages digital platforms to foster a more inclusive labor market.