Integrating landscape pattern indices and morphological spatial pattern analysis to characterize cultivated land fragmentation in Jingning County, China

Cultivated land fragmentation has been detrimental to the food security and sustainable use of lands, especially in mountainous regions of China. This study developed an integrated methodological framework which fused the Cultivated Land Fragmentation Index (CLFI) constructed using landscape pattern indices with Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA) to characterize the quantitative degree and qualitative spatial morphology of cultivated land fragmentation in Jingning County, Gansu Province from 2000 to 2020. By integrating the CLFI with MSPA, fragmentation can be characterised more comprehensively because landscape configuration changes and patch-level morphological changes are captured concurrently. The findings highlighted an overall intensification of fragmentation due to the reductions in cultivated area, although the spatial patterns differed across the county. Topographic gradient analysis and land urbanisation analysis indicated that fragmentation is associated with a combination of topographic and anthropogenic factors rather than elevation alone. Overall, cultivated land fragmentation in Jingning County exhibits quantitative fragmentation of the landscape pattern and qualitative fragmentation of the patch spatial pattern, which is caused by the decrease in the patch area of cultivated land. The results provide a basis for developing targeted remediation approaches for cultivated land sustainable management and high-quality farmland construction.