The coupling characteristics and influencing factors of the "homestead-cultivated land system" in the Three Gorges Reservoir Region of China: A farmer perspective

Homesteads and cultivated land are crucial elements of the rural territorial system. Their coupling characteristics and changing patterns are essential for understanding the evolution of rural human-land systems and for developing coordinated rural development strategies. This study takes Huilong Village and Pingba Village in the TGRR, employing methods such as GIS spatial analysis, comprehensive index evaluation, coupling coordination degree model, and geographic detector model. The analysis focuses on the coupling characteristics and influencing factors of the “HCS” in these villages and proposes optimization strategies to provide scientific guidance for village planning, selection of high-quality rural development paths, and strategy design. The main findings are as follows: (1) The spatial distribution of homesteads and cultivated land in typical villages exhibits clear traffic directionality. The spatial coupling of the “HCS” demonstrates significant convergent evolution and adjacent distribution characteristics. (2) The utilization coupling of the “HCS” in Huilong Village and Pingba Village is predominantly high, with 98.72% and 94.62% of farmers, respectively, being highly coupled. However, the degree of coupling coordination is mostly barely coordinated. (3) The primary factors influencing the coordinated development of the “HCS” in the study area include the utilization conditions of homestead and cultivated land, labor status, and economic status. These factors can be categorized into four types: labor factor restrictions, nonagricultural development disturbance, agricultural development, and lagging farming conditions. Differentiated development strategies are proposed for each type. This research enhances the understanding of the coupling between homestead land and cultivated land, offering valuable insights for regional village planning, high-quality development path selection, and government decision-making.