Understanding "Cropland abandonment" in China: policy text analysis

Cropland abandonment threatens food security while also creating context-dependent opportunities for ecological restoration. In line with the UN 2030 Agenda (SDG Targets 15.3 and 15.5), this study examines how national institutions shape cropland-abandonment governance in China. We compile a corpus of 123 national-level policy documents issued between 1983 and 2024 and conduct systematic policy content analysis. Specifically, we combine quantitative coding of issuing agencies and policy instruments (with inter-coder reliability testing) with keyword-based co-word (keyword co-occurrence) analysis using Jieba and Gephi to map thematic clusters. We identify four stages of policy evolution, with policy activity accelerating after 2012 and remaining high during 2020–2024. The governance structure is dominated by agricultural administrative departments, and the instrument mix is heavily tilted toward regulation and supervision: laws and regulatory constraints appear in 65.04% of documents and administrative oversight in 33.33%. Demand-side and capacity-building tools are rare, with market stimulation and education/training each occurring in only 0.81% of the corpus. Overall, the policy mix shows limited diversification beyond command-and-control approaches, which may weaken long-term, context-sensitive management across heterogeneous landscapes. We recommend strengthening multi-stakeholder participation and rebalancing the instrument mix by expanding supply-side supports (e.g., information services, technology, and infrastructure) alongside environmental instruments, supported by data-enabled monitoring and evaluation. This framework offers transferable insights for other emerging economies seeking to balance rural revitalization, food security, and sustainable land stewardship.