Topographic heterogeneity,rural labour transfer and cultivated land use: An empirical study of plain and low-hill areas in China

The relationship between rural labour transfer and cultivated land use has always been a hot topic in academic field and government management. Here, by using the large-scale survey data of 1,868 farmers from 37 villages in Jianghan Plain and the low-hill areas in southeastern Hubei province, we investigated the relationship between rural labour force transfer and decision-making in cultivated land use from the perspective of terrain heterogeneity. The findings indicate that under different terrain conditions, there are significant differences in the decision-making of farmers concerning cultivated land use, leading to different land use efficiencies in different areas. Specifically, rural labour force transfer enhances land use efficiency in plain areas; however, it does not affect that in the low-hill areas. In addition, we found that in the plain areas, improving the quality of rural household labour can increase the cultivated land use efficiency, while in low-hill areas, enhancement of geographical accessibility is the key to improving land use efficiency.