Research on the Decoupling of Agricultural Planting Carbon Intensity and Food Security in Hunan Province, China

Faced with the dual challenges of intensifying global climate change and tightening food security, achieving a balance between food security and agricultural carbon sequestration and emissions reduction has become a focal point of academic inquiry. This study quantifies agricultural carbon intensity and food security levels in Hunan Province from 2002 to 2023. By employing the Tapio decoupling model, the Logarithmic Mean Divisa Index (LMDI) method, and spatial analysis techniques, it systematically examines the decoupling relationship and driving mechanisms between agricultural carbon intensity and food security in Hunan Province. The results indicate that agricultural carbon intensity exhibits a spatial pattern of “high in the east, low in the west,” while food security levels decline from the eastern plains to the western mountainous regions. The decoupling trajectory is broadly characterized by a transition from predominantly weak decoupling toward strong decoupling; since 2016, prefecture-level cities exhibiting strong decoupling have accounted for 92.9% of all cases, displaying spatial characteristics of “overall improvement, an uneven process, and regional asynchrony.” Agricultural energy intensity, energy structure, and rural labor force size serve as positive drivers of decoupling between agricultural carbon intensity and food security, whereas agricultural economic development and per capita cultivated area exert a restraining effect. Developing differentiated emissions reduction strategies to target these key factors is essential for advancing the coordinated development of low-carbon agriculture and food security.