The Impact of Protective Policies on Farmers’ Black Soil Conservation Behaviors: Empirical Insights from Sanjiang Plain, China

Understanding the logic of farmers’ black soil conservation behaviors and promoting these actions are crucial measures for enhancing soil quality and ensuring national food security. This article uses survey data from 676 farmers in typical black soil areas of the Sanjiang Plain, China, employing binary logistic regression and mediation effect models to empirically examine the impact of protective policies on farmers’ black soil conservation behaviors and the mediating effect of their perceptions. The results indicate: (1) Protective policies have a significant positive effect on farmers’ black soil conservation behaviors. (2) Farmers’ perception of black soil conservation plays a crucial mediating role in the impact of policy guidance on conservation behaviors. Protective policy not only directly influences farmers’ behaviors but also indirectly promotes conservation actions by shaping farmers’ sense of responsibility and awareness of obligations. (3) There are variations in the mediating effects of farmers’ cognition based on different types of cultivated land and operational scales. Therefore, efforts should be made to strengthen the promotion and implementation of black soil protection policies and subsidies to enhance the sustainability and effectiveness of conservation practices. Greater emphasis should be placed on policy advocacy to raise farmers’ sense of responsibility and awareness of the importance of black soil conservation. Additionally, the diverse needs of different types of farming households should be considered, and a range of measures should be implemented to encourage active participation in black soil conservation.