Study on evaluation of regional cultivated land quality based on resource-asset-capital attributes and its spatial mechanism

Abstract In the context of rapid urbanization, changes in human demand and agricultural technology progress have deeply expanded the cultivated land attribute dimensions. Thus, evaluating the regional cultivated land quality with different attributes and studying its spatial mechanism is of great theoretical and practical significance. Based on the analytical framework of resource-asset-capital attributes of cultivated land quality, multi-source data were used to evaluate the quality indexes of 5332 cultivated land plots with different attributes in Quzhou county. Then, some spatial analysis models were applied to explore the spatial distribution features of these three quality attributes. The results showed that 1) in the analytical framework of resource-asset-capital attributes of regional cultivated land quality, the resource quality meant the natural production capacity of cultivated land. However, asset quality and capital quality indicate the ability of cultivated land to bring wealth, rights and surplus profits to humans. 2) Considerable gaps existed in the evaluation results of different quality attributes in Quzhou. The proportions of good, medium, and lower quality cultivated land in the total cultivated land area of resource quality was 40.35%, 23.78% and 35.87%, the proportions were 40.35%, 23.78% and 35.87% in the asset quality area and 30.87%, 28.48% and 40.65% in the capital quality area, respectively. 3) The spatial patterns of the three quality attributes all showed obvious positive autocorrelation, with numerical values of 0.705 3, 0.846 4 and. 0.969 0 in resource, asset and capital quality, respectively. The cultivated land quality in southwest Quzhou was relatively high, while that in central Quzhou was poor. 4) The distribution of cultivated land resource quality was more even than that of asset and capital quality, while the spatial structures of asset and capital quality have better stability and continuity than that of resource quality. According to the different quality attribute characteristics, various suggestions were provided to improve the efficiency of cultivated land quality construction and to promote sustainable development in Quzhou county.