Spatio-temporal differentiation of agricultural regional function and its impact factors in the Bohai Rim region of China

The agricultural regional function is an important scientific problem in agricultural geography research, and it is also the important practical issue related to the national food security and sustainable development of regional agriculture. Taking the Bohai Rim region of China as an example, this paper identified the agricultural regional function as four types including agricultural products supplying function (APF), labor employment and social security function (LEF), ecological conservation function (ECF), and cultural heritage and recreational function (CRF) and their spatial pattern and evolution process were explored. The study also identified the agricultural regional type and the impact factors affecting the four functions using cluster analysis method and spatial econometric model. The results indicate that: Firstly, the degrees of spatial concentration of the APF, LEF and CRF were low, while that of the ECF was high. The spatial distributions of the four functions presented obvious regularity. Secondly, the APF enhanced largely, its center of gravity was further concentrated in plain agricultural areas. The high value areas of the LEF shifted from inland to coastal areas. The ECF of hilly areas further highlighted. Advantage areas of the CRF were concentrating in the municipal districts and their surrounding counties. Thirdly, the leading counties of the APF were distributed in central and southern plains of Hebei province, the impact plain of northwest Shandong, the Jiaolai plain and the west of Liaohe plain. The leading counties of LEF were distributed in piedmont plain of Yanshan and coastal plain of Hebei province, Jiaodong Peninsula and the Yellow River Delta region. The leading counties of the ECF were distributed in Bashang plateau, mountainous region of Yanshan, hilly area of eastern and western Liaoning province, and the surrounding areas of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration. The leading counties of the CRF were distributed in the surrounding areas of central- south Liaoning urban agglomerations, Beijing- Tianjin- Hebei metropolitan region and Jinan metropolitan area. Comprehensive counties were distributed in the Huang-Huai plain and hilly areas of centralsouth of Shandong province. Fourthly, natural factors possessed a significant impact on the formation of the three functions including APF, LEF and ECF, while social and economic factors on the impact of the four functions were quite different. The study reveals the regularity and influence mechanism of the evolution of agricultural regional function, which can provide theoretical basis for scientific guidance of regional division of labor, strengthening of leading function, highlighting regional value and promoting regional coordinated development. © 2019, Science Press. All right reserved.