The Process, Mechanism, and Effects of Rural “Production-Living-Ecological” Functions Transformation: A Case Study of Caiwu Village in Yuanyang County, China

The research on the optimization and transformation of rural “production-living-ecological” functions (PLEFs) is of great significance for rural revitalization and sustainable development. Existing studies predominantly evaluate rural PLEFs at the macro level, with few micro-village case studies, and particularly empirical studies in China’s plain agricultural areas. This study takes Caiwu Village, a rural revitalization demonstration village in Yuanyang County, Henan Province, China, as a typical case. First, we constructed a village PLEF classification system based on micro-scale land use types. Then, methods such as GIS spatial analysis, actor network analysis, and satisfaction fuzzy comprehensive evaluation were comprehensively used to systematically analyze the process, mechanism, and effects of the rural PLEF transformation in Caiwu Village. Our research indicates the following: (1) Caiwu Village has gone through three stages of transformation: traditional agriculture leading, ecological agriculture starting, and agriculture-tourism integration development, indicating a shift from traditional agricultural production functions to modern production-ecological composite functions. (2) The PLEF transformation in Caiwu Village resulted from the synergy of multiple actors, including governments, cooperatives, villagers, and water-soil resources, through administrative recruitment and market recruitment. Finally, (3) there are significant differences in the effects of rural PLEF transformation based on villagers’ perception. Specifically, villagers report the highest satisfaction with ecological function, followed by living function, and the lowest satisfaction with production function. This study provides empirical evidence for understanding the differentiated transformation of PLEFs in villages in plain agricultural areas. The research results can provide decision-making references for optimizing and improving the PLEFs of Caiwu Village and other similar villages.