Typology of farms and spatial patterns on the North China Plain to support crop–livestock integration

The benefits of integrated crop–livestock systems (ICLS) have been widely discussed, but their application remains limited. The effects of agricultural characteristics and spatial distribution in a landscape on the development of ICLS are not well understood. This study aimed to better understand the current specialization of farming systems to support ICLS development, by capturing the diversity of farms and their spatial distribution patterns. It developed a spatially explicit farm typology and map of the proportion of types throughout the study area, using a 300-households survey data set from Quzhou, a typical agricultural production county on the North China Plain. Also, it identified six distinct farm types characterized by the degree of specialization, management and farm size. Environmentally and socioeconomically oriented variables were used to further quantify farm types. Three features in these farm types were identified as being relevant in the context of ICLS, that is overuse of fertilizer, the decoupling of crop and livestock production, and a strong dependence of specialized livestock farms on feed import. Farm types were unevenly distributed across the study area, indicating regional specialization and a spatial decoupling of crop and livestock production. The paper discusses driving forces behind the different farm types and their implications for ICLS. New guiding policies are needed to limit strong regional specialization and facilitate ICLS to ensure a balanced crop-to-livestock ratio and distribution at a subregional scale. Overall, this study may help to contextualize future ICLS designs to local conditions and support agricultural transition policies and rural development on the North China Plain.