Environmental Studies and Forestry

Fallow priority areas for spatial trade-offs between cost and efficiency in China

S. Zeng, F. Chen, et al.

This research, conducted by Siyan Zeng, Fu Chen, Gang-Jun Liu, Estelle Raveloaritiana, and Thomas Cherico Wanger, unveils a groundbreaking multi-criteria optimization algorithm aimed at identifying fallow priority areas in China. With the potential to yield significant pollution control and environmental benefits, the study emphasizes that fallowing the top 20% of prioritized regions could save China billions, paving the way for sustainable agricultural advancements.

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Abstract

This study uses a multi-criteria optimization algorithm to identify fallow priority areas in China based on soil pollution, groundwater overexploitation, land quality, and ecological protection redlines. The analysis, considering five spatial scenarios and three objective functions, reveals that fallowing the top 20% of priority areas could achieve up to 98.7% of pollution control benefits and 64.7% of environmental protection benefits. Effective fallow prioritization could reduce implementation costs by up to 509.3 billion USD, representing 13.6% of China's 2021 budget, promoting sustainable land use and freeing up funds for other agricultural goals.

Publisher

Communications Earth & Environment

Published On

May 26, 2023

Authors

Siyan Zeng, Fu Chen, Gang-Jun Liu, Estelle Raveloaritiana, Thomas Cherico Wanger

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