Measure，Causes and Effects of Forestland Parcelization：Review and Prospect

ZHU Liefu，LIN Wensheng，KE Shuifa

(School of Agriculture and Rural Development，Renmin University of China，Beijing 100872 China)

Measure，Causes and Effects of Forestland Parcelization：Review and Prospect

ZHU Liefu，LIN Wensheng，KE Shuifa

(School of Agriculture and Rural Development，Renmin University of China，Beijing 100872 China)

Background With the deepening of the collective forest property right system reform in China，the problem of forestland parcelization is widespread．Some researchers questioned that allocating the forest land to individual household leads to forestland parcelization，and they pointed out that parcelization problem has a negative impact on efficiency of management and production．By contrast，some other researchers suggested that forestland parcelization would improve the production enthusiasm of farmers，which would also cause the increase of capital and labor input．It is obvious that we should discuss it again，on account of the above different research conclusions．

Methods This paper reviews the conceptual definition，measure methods，main causes and economic impacts of forestland parcelization by literature summarization，comparative analysis，and induction．Meanwhile，this paper emphatically points out the deficiencies in the existing researches．

Results Above all，from the perspectives of management decentralization and spatial parcelization，the available literatures proposed two definitions about forestland parcelization from the perspectives of management decentralization and spatial fragmentation．The former perspective insisted that forestland parcelization is significant different from forest fragmentation，meanwhile，forestland parcelization is a process of increasing forestland owners number and decreasing the average forestland area；the latter perspective，emphasized that the spatial characteristics of forestland parcelization as fragmentation，decentralization and disconnection，but forestland parcelization can achieve greater economic scale through transaction．Secondly，the single index，multiple index(land quantity，average land area，number of plots per unit area and spatial distribution of plots)and comprehensive index(S index，J index and I index)are used to measure forestland parcelization．It should be noted that，the randomness and uncertainty could be seen in choosing measure methods in forestland parcelization．Thirdly，the natural conditions and human factors are the two origins of forestland parcelization in China．On the one hand，the natural geographical condition is the objective factors affecting the spatial characteristics of forestland parcelization，like as terrain，landform，etc．On the other hand，the human factors of forestland parcelization could be summarized as contracting to households impartially，intergenerational inheritance of forestland，the pressure of population growth and market trading mechanisms，etc．Fourthly，forestland parcelization plays a positive role in increasing management diversity and promoting forestland transaction．However，forestland parcelization has negative effects on investment，efficiency and output of forestry production and farmers’ income．In addition，forestland parcelization always has other negative effects，such as inhibition of policy implement and the forestry technology spreading，posing an obstacle to forest management．

Conclusions and Discussions Human behaviors are the mainly causes for forestland parcelization．Forestland parcelization does more harm than good．In the end，this paper gives a brief review and some research prospects，such as using the theoretical perspective of combination of macro and micro analysis to analyze the causes and effects of forest parcelization，and giving much more details of quantitative analysis．

forestland parcelization；definition of concept；measure methods；main causes；economic impacts

Original Articlein朱烈夫，林文聲，柯水發(fā)．林地細(xì)碎化的測度、成因與影響：綜述與展望．林業(yè)經(jīng)濟(jì)問題，2017，37(2)：1-8．

10.16832/j.cnki.1005-9709.2017.02.001