Hollow Villages and Rural Restructuring in Major Rural Regions of China: A Case Study of Yucheng City, Shandong Province

The agricultural land resources of China are relatively limited because of its large population.Therefore,balancing the land use for industrialization,urbanization,and food security is a big challenge.In recent years,rural hollowing in China has resulted in numerous of abandoned rural houses,and the areas with abandoned houses need to be restored into agricultural land with effective land consolidation techniques.This study used the method of benefit-cost analysis and the data collected through field surveys conducted in Yucheng City in the northwest of Shandong Province in March 2009,to examine how hollow villages (HVs) to be created and how to solve the problem.The qualitative and quantitative analyses indicate following results.1) The situation of HVs is becoming increasingly severe under rapid industrialization and urbanization in Yucheng City.2) Poor infrastructure in rural areas and incomplete urbanization are the main factors that have led to the rural hollowing in many major rural regions of China.3) In order to resolve the problem caused by HVs and increase agricultural land,reconstructing rural communities in the countryside is necessary.4) A new mechanism in the provision of compensation funds by developed regions to the villages in less-developed regions must be established.

The Influence of Different Land Use Manners on Soil Aggregate Characteristics of Consolidation and Returning to Field in Hollow Village of Hilly Area

The research aimed to explore the influence of different land use manners on soil aggregate,and provide scientific basis for improving soil stability and production performance of consolidation and returning to field in hollow village of hilly area. After consolidation and returning to field in hollow village of hilly area of Chengcheng County,Shaanxi,5 kinds of land use manners were set for 1-year plantation test,and they were corn( C treatment),wheat( W treatment),vegetable( V treatment),medicinal material( M treatment) and control( no plantation: CK treatment). Soil aggregate distribution,mean mass diameter( WMD),geometric mean diameter( GMD),aggregate failure rate( PAD),unstable aggregate number( ELT) and fractal dimension( D) at 0-40 cm of soil layer were measured and analyzed by dry and wet sieving methods. The results showed that( i) soil aggregate number and size at 0-40 cm of soil layer by each treatment were all significantly better than CK treatment,and > 0. 25 mm of aggregate content by dry sieving method( DR0. 25) and >0. 25 mm of aggregate content by wet sieving method( WR0. 25) at 0-40 cm of soil layer in each treatment showed declining trend with soil layer depth increased;( ii) MWD and GMD sequences of each treatment at 0-40 cm of soil layer by dry and wet sieving methods were both W treatment > C treatment > M treatment > V treatment > CK treatment,and C treatment was conducive to increasing large aggregate content of surface soil,while W treatment was conducive to increasing large aggregate content of lower soil;( iii) the analysis by wet sieving method showed that PAD and ELT at 0-40 cm of soil layer in each treatment both showed similar " Z" shape trend,and each treatment was significantly lower than CK;( iv) D sequence at 0-40 cm of soil layer in each treatment was C treatment < W treatment < M treatment < V treatment < CK treatment. D showed good linear relationship with> 0. 25 mm of aggregate content at 0-40 cm of soil layer by dry and wet sieving methods,and they were respectively R2= 0. 74 and R2= 0. 67. Corn and wheat plantation after consolidation and returning to field in hollow village was conducive to improving large aggregate content at 0-40 cm of soil layer,increasing the stability of soil layer and improving soil structure.

Withdrawal Intention of Farmers from Vacant Rural Homesteads and Its Influencing Mechanism in Northeast China: A Case Study of Jilin Province

The effective use of land in Northeast China is of great significance for ensuring national food security and regional rural revitalization.In this study,based on the survey data collected from Jilin Province,Northeast China,we analyzed the vacancy rates of rural homesteads in suburban,outer suburban,and remote villages,as well as the withdrawal intention of rural-settled farmers,urbansettled farmers,and farmers with urban and rural dual residency from vacant homesteads.From the perspective of farmers’perceptions,this study constructed a theoretical framework of the influence mechanism of their withdrawal intention and analyzed such mechanism by constructing a structural equation model.The results indicated that:1)rural homestead vacancy rates increased with distance from the village to the city.2)rural-settled farmers showed a low withdrawal intention for vacant rural homesteads,followed by urban and rural dual-residence farmers,and urban-settled farmers showed the highest withdrawal intention.3)the relative importance of the factors influencing withdrawal intention is in the following order:policy awareness>interest perception>living environment perception>family characteristics.Finally,this study discussed the reformation of the homestead system and rural homestead transition in Northeast China,which can provide policy support to increase the potential of cultivated land and promote sustainable rural development and urban-rural coordination.

Potential of land consolidation of hollowed villages under different urbanization scenarios in China

There exists great potential of rural land consolidation in China due to the aggra- vated hollowed villages against the background of rapid rural-urban transformation. The pa- per aims to investigate the potential of rural land consolidation within four urbanization sce- narios： Complete urbanization, Semi-urbanization, Urbanization in batches and prospective urbanization in 2020. Research findings show that, （1） the potentials of rural land consolida- tion in complete and semi-urbanization are 809.89×104 hm2 and 699.19×104 hm2 respectively while rural consolidation rates are 50.70% and 43.77%. As for the urbanization in batches and urbanization in 2020, the potentials are 757.89×104 hm2 and 992.16×104 hm2. （2） Beside Tibet and Ningxia, rural consolidation rates in most provinces are between 40% and 60%, and the land increase rates are between 3% and 12%. Significant correlation between potential of rural land consolidation and the degree of hollowed villages is also found. （3） Evident differ- ences of potential of rural land consolidation exist across provinces. Rural consolidation rates in the East and Central provinces are higher than that in the West provinces. Villages in the developed areas have higher consolidation rates than those in the less developed areas, and villages in the plain areas tend to have higher consolidation rates than those in the moun- tainous areas.

The process and driving forces of rural hollowing in China under rapid urbanization

Rural hollowing is a recent geographic phenomenon that has received significant attention in China, which is experiencing rapid urbanization. It has led to the wasteful use of rural land resources, and imposed obstacles on the optimization of land use and coordinated urban-rural development. Rural hollowing has various forms of manifestation, which refers to the neglect and vacancy of rural dwellings, both of which can lead to damage and ultimate abandonment of rural dwellings. Damaged dwellings have different degrees of destruction, ranging from slight, moderate to severe. The evolutive process of rural hollowing in general has five stages, i.e., emergence, growth, flourishing, stability, and decline. Based on the combination of both regional economic development level and its physiographic features, the types of rural hollowing can be categorised as urban fringe, plain agricultural region, hilly agricultural region, and agro-pastoral region. Especially, the plain agricultural region is the most typical one in rural hollowing, which shows the spatial evolution of rural hollowing as a ＂poached egg＂ pattern with a layered hollow core and solid shape. Furthermore, the driving forces behind rural hollowing are identified as the pull of cities and push of rural areas. In particular, this paper identifies contributors to rural hollowing that include rural depopulation in relation to rapid urbanisation and economic change, land ownership and land use policy, and institutional barriers.

Spatial restructuring and land consolidation of urban-rural settlement in mountainous areas based on ecological niche perspective

With the socio-economic development associated with urbanization, the urban-rural relationship has changed across the world. In China, due to the urban-rural dual structure, these changes turn out to be more complicated. Spatial restructuring are suggested as the main strategies and spatial supporting platforms for urban-rural development. However, the theory still lacks solid methodology and support from systematic empirical studies. This study seeks an adequate scientific methodology and discusses the difference of urban-rural transformation in plains and mountainous areas. A case in Shanghang County, China, demonstrates: 1) The compound ecological niche model can be a suitable approach in urban-rural restructuring, especially in mountainous areas. 2) The urban-rural development area with highly inappropriate, slightly appropriate, moderately appropriate, and highly appropriate areas are 1273.2 km2(44.69%); 906.1 km2(31.80%); 509.4 km2(17.88%); and 160.1 km2(5.62%), respectively. 3) The "deserting villages" in mountainous areas play positive synergistic roles in urbanization, in contrast to the "hollowing villages" common in plain areas. 4) The central town-village will become the most important settlement in mountainous areas. Therefore, we suggest more attention should be paid to environmental capacity in the construction of central town-villages. This study significantly extends the understanding of "hollowing village" theory and regional planning.