Assessing the coordination of ecological and agricultural goals during ecological restoration efforts: A case study of Wuqi County, Northwest China

While the Chinese Grain for Green (GFG) policy has reduced the area of cultivated land in several regions in China, the program's effects on Per Unit Area Productivity of Cultivated Land (PAPCL) are not clear. As the positive or negative contributions of GFG to PAPCL can vary with context, it is of great theoretical and practical significance to study the correlations between the program and crop yields in order to determine the best balance between environmental benefits and food security. In this study, Wuqi County in China's Shaanxi Province was selected for a case study. Multi-source data were integrated in the Geographic Information System platform, and geographical weighted regression was then performed to spatially analyze the effects of the GFG on the improvement of PAPCL (GoP); with GoP as the dependent variable, we further analyzed the role of environmental variables in promoting the contribution of GFG to the improvement of PAPCL. Our findings are as follows: (1) GFG can better contribute to the PAPCL improvement in the villages with higher elevation, poor infrastructure, and denser populations, and thus, GFG could be further implemented in these areas. (2) In the area where GFG performed well, agricultural machinery and agricultural chemicals can be utilized less frequently, as they have similar effects on the improvement of PAPCL, but the increase of forest-based diseases and insect pests is possible. (3) The intensity of the GFG itself is negative compared to the GoP, which indicates that the implementation of the GFG in the study area may be excessive in improving the PAPCL.