Agricultural Land Degradation in China

Abstract

China is a major agricultural country in the world. Since the 1980s, China’s food problem has been basically solved, and 22% of the world’s population has been fed and nursed with 9% of the world’s arable land. However, due to the large population with relatively little land, the per capita arable land area is only 0.08 hm2, less than one-fourth of the world average. The hilly areas account for about two-thirds of the total land area, and the middle and low yield fields account for two-thirds of the total arable land area. There is a severe shortage of water resources. China’s per capita water resources are only about 2,200 m3, listed as one of the 13 water-deficient countries in the world. In recent years, the environment and cultivated land quality have attracted government attention and related research. Several policies were created to promote farmland system protection, agricultural production, quality of agricultural products, and land degradation prevention and control. However, what is the environmental condition of agricultural-producing areas in China? How does this kind of condition influence the quality and safety of agricultural products? This chapter summarises the main factors affecting China’s farmland degradation from six aspects: soil compaction and erosion, overgrazing, slash-and-burn agriculture, salinity, agrochemical use and soil contamination, and microplastics.