Land system science under the goal of food security: Progress and implications

Land system science is dedicated to addressing complex socio-economic and ecological challenges and developing sustainable land use solutions. Food inherently serves as a critical link between human societal systems and natural systems. Ensuring food security is not only a key component of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals but also a crucial task for China's agricultural production transformation and people's livelihoods improvement. This study systematically analyzes the research topics and key advancements in land system science related to food security goals. The findings reveal that, due to the land's position at the intersection of multiple interests associated with sustainable social development, the non-linear transformations and complex feedback mechanisms within land systems endow land system science with four prominent characteristics: interdisciplinarity, systematicity, sustainability, and complexity. In the realm of food security, land system science has achieved notable successes, encompassing five core research areas: land use strategies, land use transitions, land use telecoupling mechanisms, land use demand modelling, and the optimization of land management systems. These studies present the transformative trend towards emphasizing the significance of cross-spatiotemporal spillover effects, adopting systematic and holistic perspectives, and underscoring the sustainable development goals. Future research should be grounded in the logical foundation of food "flow spaces" and the food value chain, employing systems thinking to develop sustainable land use solutions and strengthen land system science in the areas of integrated research on multi-element coupling and interdisciplinary theoretical innovations, so as to contribute to the realization of food security goals.