China's Land Uses in the Multi-Region Input-Output Framework

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Resource Management
• Economic Geography

Background:

• Finite land resources face competing demands from food, urbanization, and ecosystem services.
• Understanding land use requires analyzing the entire production and consumption chain.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically analyze provincial-level land use in China.
• To examine land use patterns linked to sectoral production and consumption.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a multi-region input-output model for analysis in 2012.
• Examined inter-provincial land use transfers and consumption.

Main Results:

• A highly interactive network of land use transfers exists between Chinese provinces.
• Inter-provincial trade involved 2.3 million km² of land use, 40% of national consumption.
• Agriculture is directly land-intensive; industry is indirectly land-intensive.
• Land-scarce provinces net-import land use through trade.

Conclusions:

• Land use in China is interconnected through trade, with significant implications for resource management.
• Policy interventions are needed for sustainable land use, considering inter-provincial dependencies.