Farmland productivity and its application in spatial zoning of agricultural production: a case study in Zhejiang province, China

The spatial distribution of farmland productivity is important for reducing the loss of productive farmland and developing sustainable agro-ecosystems in China. This study calculated theoretical, realizable and practical productivity for farmland, taking Zhejiang province as a case. It analyzed their statistical characteristics and spatial distribution, explored the factors influencing productivity and classified the agricultural production zones based on the three indicators for spatial clustering using a fuzzy cluster algorithm. The results indicated there existed a significant difference among the three types of productivity, the theoretical productivity exceeded the realizable productivity by 17.69 % and the realizable productivity exceeded the practical productivity by 20.31 %; their spatial distribution patters were similar, with the highest productivity in the north–central plain region and the lowest in the southwestern mountainous region. Although the land in the study area has been cultivated intensively, the potential to increase production is still enormous, which was up to 593 × 10⁷ kg and 556 × 10⁷ for total theoretical and realizable potential, respectively. The theoretical productivity was affected more by the farmland quality, the realizable productivity more by terrain and socioeconomic factors. The whole province was classified spatially into four agricultural production zones based on the calculated three indicators with three types of productivity data: modern high-efficiency agriculture development zone, characteristic agriculture development zone, ecological agriculture development zone and ocean organic agriculture development zone. Each zone is best used for different purposes and requires different protection and management strategies. Such spatial zoning is essential for stabilizing agricultural production, ensuring food security and promoting the sustainable use of farmland.