Trinity protection and evaluation of farmland ecosystem in the Central Plain of Liaoning, Northeast China

Farmland is an essential natural resource, and in recent times, farmland protection has become an issue of increasing global concern. Trinity protection of farmland quantity, quality, and ecological conditions (FQQEC) is a systematic hierarchical concept that encompasses the innovative application of theory and technology toward the transformation from traditional to modern farmland protection. In this empirical study, which focuses on the Central Plain of Liaoning, China, we sought to assess the spatial agglomeration of FQQEC by utilizing spatial autocorrelation analysis and dividing the farmland trinity protection zone based on spatial overlay analysis. The results revealed that the distribution of the spatial agglomeration of FQQEC showed distinct correlations of high-high (36.2%, 24.2%, and 9.7% of the total area for farmland quantity, quality, and ecological conditions, respectively), low-low (19.5%, 12.6%, and 11.6% coverage), high-low (0.6%, 1.2%, and 0.7% coverage), low-high (0.4%, 0.4%, and 1.3% coverage), and non-significant (43.3%, 61.4%, and 76.7% coverage) types, and the rank order of the degree of spatial agglomeration was farmland quantity > farmland quality > ecological conditions, which also represented the diverse distribution and utilization characteristics of FQQEC. On the basis of these findings, trinity protection zoning of farmland was established through different permutations and combinations of H-, L-, and non-significant types, and finally grouped into four primary and ten secondary categories. Collectively, our results indicate that wherever possible, it is essential to enhance the desirable impacts of the H type and eliminate the detrimental impacts of the L type in the FQQEC, based farmland consolidation, including the establishment of high-standard and permanent farmland, and adopting sustainable agricultural practices.