On the land use characteristics and the land consolidation models of rural residential area of the hilly and mountainous regions in Southwest China:a case of Chongqing
西南丘陵山地区农村居民点土地整理模式——以重庆渝北区为例

Land consolidation (LC) in rural residential areas is one of the important measurements or techniques of readjusting rural land use structure and of keeping the balance of arable land The characters of land use for rural residential areas in hilly and mountainous regions of Southwest China are greatly different from that in other regions of China. A survey of hilly and mountainous regions in Chongqing shows the following features of the land use system of rural residential spots: (1) the scale of residential plots is very small, mostly, only one to three families reside in one residential plot; (2) the average density is 30 plots per square kilometers in the Three Gorges region, such as Fengdu county of Chongqing ; (3) the residential plots are greatly scattered and the mean distance of plots is from tens to hundreds meters, and usually no more than 500 meters; (4) land use is so extensive that near 12% of the residential areas is unused This paper presents two feasible models of land consolidation for villages in hilly and mountainous regions of Southwest China, which could be used in various regions according to local characters One is the constructing of new hamlet and the other is the multiple development of agriculture and forestry The former is suitable for the mountainous regions and the latter is feasible in hilly regions where the economy is relatively developed Case study of Xinchun village in Chongqing shows, that the intensive target of land use can be realized through the planning and constructing of new hamlets After the land consolidation, the density of residential plots becomes lower and the area is decreased, and the net area of arable land increases 7 06 hm 2 which is 6 31% of the total area of Xinchun village Conclusions have been drawn as follows: (1) it is necessary that the effects of environment, economy and society are concerned synthetically when the model of LC in rural residential area; (2) it is very important to choose the model of LC of rural residential areas according to local physical conditions and social economic development level in the hilly and mountainous region of Southwest China; and (3) the policy guidelines of local governments and the investment of collective economic organizations play the key roles in the operating of land consolidation project (LCP) for rural residential areas