Urban-Expansion Driven Farmland Loss Follows with the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis: Evidence from Temporal Analysis in Beijing, China

Abstract

Since its Reform and Opening-Up, China has been undergoing an unprecedented urbanization process, primarily manifested by intensive urban sprawl and continuous farmland shrinkage. However, few studies have given heed to the interrelation of these two phenomena at a finer spatiotemporal resolution, and limited researches have well quantified what controls the temporal rates of urban-expansion driven farmland loss. By considering Beijing as a case study, here we quantified the rates, patterns, spatiotemporal dynamics and interactions of urban expansion and farmland loss from 1980 to 2015 using the annual land-use/land-cover data. Additionally, by introducing the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis, we further explored the relationship between urban-expansion driven farmland loss and economic growth. Results showed that rapid urban expansion (1592.57 km2) and extensive farmland loss (1591.36 km2) were observed during the study period. Three urban growth modes coexisted, where the edge-expansion was dominant (780.98 km2, 49.06%), followed by the infilling (675.85 km2, 42.44%) and the outlying (135.72 km2, 8.50%). Urban expansion was identified to be the dominant driver of farmland loss (96.13%), leading to a more spatially irregular and fragmented distribution of the farmland extent. Lastly, an inverted U-shape relationship was verified between urban-expansion driven farmland loss and economic growth, which indicated a shift from extensive to intensive and economizing land-use patterns in the future.