MaxEnt-Based Evaluation of Cultivated Land Suitability in the Lijiang River Basin, China

The Lijiang River Basin (LRB) is a karst ecosystem that presents unique challenges for agricultural land planning. Evaluating cultivated land suitability based on natural factors is critical for ensuring food security in this region. This study was based on the cultivated land distribution data of the LRB in the China Land-Use and Land-Cover Chang dataset, selecting 22 restriction factors across five dimensions: climate, topography, soil, hydrology, and social conditions, and the suitability of cultivated land (paddy fields and drylands) in the LRB was evaluated using the MaxEnt model to further identify the main restricting factors affecting the spatial distribution. The research showed that (1) For paddy fields, high-suitability areas covered 2875.05 km2, medium-suitability 1670.58 km2, low-suitability 3187.25 km2, and non-suitable 9368.46 km2. The main restriction factors were distance to villages, slope, surface gravel content, soil thickness, soil pH, and total phosphorus content. (2) For drylands, high-suitability areas covered 3282.3 km2, medium-suitability 2260.93 km2, low-suitability 4536.27 km2, and non-suitable 6836.85 km2. The main restriction factors were soil thickness, distance to roads, surface gravel content, elevation, soil pH, and soil texture. This research can provide a scientific basis for the layout of food security and planning agricultural land use in the LRB.