Population is the main driver of land-system and environmental change. However, population is usually treated as a variable that only considers the population number, and multi-dimensional population structure is largely ignored. There has been a systematic transition of population structure in the past several decades, including changes in household structure, increasing aging populations, increasing divorce rates, and increasing human migration. All of these changes have direct or indirect impacts on land use and environmental issues. Here, taking China as an example and using statistical analysis, namely the Mann–Kendall trend test and a land-use-transition matrix, we examine the relationship between household dynamics and land-use change in China by examining changes in household structure and land-use changes in China between 1980 and 2020. The results show the following three groups of findings. (1) The number of households increased by 130.95% from 1980 to 2020, while the population only increased by 42.83%; the size of households decreased from 4.41 to 2.62 in China from 1982 to 2020; and the household dynamics varied from province to province, which is affected by urbanization rate and economic development. (2) Birth rates, divorce rates, population aging, and migration all affect household structure, which directly or indirectly affect changes in land-use systems. (3) The changes in China’s land use are interlinked and interact with changes in household structure, which is evident in the increase in Residential land use and the abandonment of arable land. The rising household number increased the area of urban and rural settlement, leading to the fragmentation of cultivated land and the reduction of ecological land. To regulate land-use change for sustainable development, future land-use planning should take into account the effect of household dynamics and should reduce the negative effects of household dynamics on land systems and environmental change.

Related studies analyzing the spatial structure of soil moisture from both horizontal and vertical directions, as well as the spacing interval distances of soil moisture sampling points in typical karst demonstration zones, are relatively rare. This study applied classical statistics, geostatistics, and “3S” technology to analyze the spatial structure, influencing factors, and spacing interval distances of soil moisture sampling points in the Guohua Demonstration Zone. The results showed that Moran’s I indices of soil moisture at different soil depths in the Guohua Demonstration Zone presented positive spatial correlation, and the spatial distribution of soil moisture at different soil depths showed a distinct spatial clustering pattern, with few spatially isolated zones. The spatial autocorrelation distance for soil moisture at 5 cm and 10 cm soil depths was 2400 m, while the autocorrelation distances for soil moisture at 20 cm and 30 cm soil depths were 2200 m and 2000 m, respectively. The spatial range value for soil moisture at a soil depth of 20 cm in the Guohua Demonstration Zone was the largest (Range = 6318.0 m), while the spatial range value for soil moisture at a soil depth of 30 cm was the smallest (Range = 646.0 m). The minimum value (threshold: 646.0 m) between the spatial autocorrelation distance and the spatial range of soil moisture at different soil depths in the Guohua Demonstration Zone could serve as an appropriate spacing interval distance of soil moisture sampling points. Soil moisture at different soil depths in the Guohua Demonstration Zone was primarily influenced by rock desertification, vegetation cover, soil layer thickness, and elevation. The synergistic effect of “rocky desertification + vegetation”, “rocky desertification + soil thickness”, and “vegetation + soil thickness” had a greater influence on soil moisture. Through high-density soil moisture sampling points in typical karst areas, the study results strengthened the application research on soil moisture in typical karst areas, providing scientific references for studies on the spatial structure, influencing factors, and appropriate spacing interval distance of soil moisture sampling points in karst areas.

Forest transition theory posits that socioeconomic development in a country or region may cause its forestland to shift from net loss to net gain. However, forest transition may also occur under various policies, resulting in forest gains in some regions but deforestation in other regions. We used the telecoupling framework to address this crucially important issue that has rarely been examined. Using time series satellite images and statistical yearbook data from 2000 to 2020, this study seeks to understand land use change patterns, the corresponding regional spillover effects, and driving forces behind such patterns in Zhejiang Province, China. The results show that large-scale continuous deforestation has taken place since 2000, causing a total loss of forestland by 186,014 ha. In parallel with this forest loss and a slight decrease in arable land, urban construction land has soared by 169.45%. We found that developed municipalities such as Hangzhou witnessed increases in urban land at the expense of large-scale deforestation in underdeveloped municipalities such as Lishui. We believe that this cross-region land change pattern may arise from the Balance of Arable Land System (BALS) policy that seeks to achieve a goal of no net loss of cropland. Whatever land use policy—such as the BALS policy—must strike a good balance between competitive land uses that have different objectives such as residents’ living, ecology, and production. In addition to enriching the forest transition theory, this study provides a solid basis for future land use decisions in developing regions or countries.

Population is the main driver of land systems and environmental change. However, the population is usually treated as a variable that only considers the population number, and the multidimensional population structure is largely ignored. There has been a systematic transition of population structure in the past several decades, such as the changing household structure, the increasing aging population and divorce rate, and human migration. All these have direct or indirect impacts on land use and environmental issues. Here, we will take China as an example to examine the relationship between household dynamics and land use change in China by exam-ining changes in household structure and land use change in China between 1980 and 2020. The results show:1) the number of households increased by 130.95% from 1980 to 2020, while the population only increased by 42.83%. The size of households decreased from 4.41 to 2.92 in China from 1982 to 2020. The household dynamics vary from province to province, which is affected by urbanization rate and economic development. 2) Birth rates, divorce rates, population aging, and migration all affect household structure, which directly or indirectly affects changes in land use systems. 3) The changes in China's land use are interlinked and interact with changes in household structure, evident in the increase in residential land use and the abandonment of arable land. The rising household number increased the area of urban and rural settlement, leading to the fragmentation of cultivated land and the reduction of ecological land. To regulate land use change for sustainable development, future land use planning should take into effect of household dynamics, and reduce the negative effects of household dynamics on land systems and environmental change.