Quantifying determinants of cash crop expansion and their relative effects using logistic regression modeling and variance partitioning

Cash crop expansion has been a major land use change in tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. Quantifying the determinants of cash crop expansion should provide deeper spatial insights into the dynamics and ecological consequences of cash crop expansion. This paper investigated the process of cash crop expansion in Hangzhou region (China) from 1985 to 2009 using remotely sensed data. The corresponding determinants (neighborhood, physical, and proximity) and their relative effects during three periods (1985–1994, 1994–2003, and 2003–2009) were quantified by logistic regression modeling and variance partitioning. Results showed that the total area of cash crops increased from 58,874.1 ha in 1985 to 90,375.1 ha in 2009, with a net growth of 53.5%. Cash crops were more likely to grow in loam soils. Steep areas with higher elevation would experience less likelihood of cash crop expansion. A consistently higher probability of cash crop expansion was found on places with abundant farmland and forest cover in the three periods. Besides, distance to river and lake, distance to county center, and distance to provincial road were decisive determinants for farmers’ choice of cash crop plantation. Different categories of determinants and their combinations exerted different influences on cash crop expansion. The joint effects of neighborhood and proximity determinants were the strongest, and the unique effect of physical determinants decreased with time. Our study contributed to understanding of the proximate drivers of cash crop expansion in subtropical regions.