<p>Fine-Scale Spatio-Temporal Evaluation and the Socio-Ecological Influences on Agricultural Land Abandonment</p>

In some regions of Japan, agricultural land abandonment is undoubtedly increasing. Yet, it is still unknown how much agricultural land is abandoned in Japan, the relationship between socio-ecological causes of this abandonment, and how much of a concern it is to food security.  Consequently, using fine-scale spatiotemporal analysis of remote sensing data, field observation, ground truthing, and MaxEnt prediction modeling of potential agricultural land decline, the scale of agricultural land abandonment and its underlying factors are methodically shown by this investigation, including potential decline hotspots of agricultural land in Himi City, Japan. The findings indicate that the abandonment rate of agricultural land is 35%. The study area&apos;s northern, northwestern, and certain southern and central regions had the highest rates of abandonment. Land abandonment in agriculture results from a combination of physical, topographic, and demographic drivers; the key factors influencing farmers’ decisions to abandon agricultural land include working-age population size, population aging, elevation, distance from roads, and farming distance from settlements. Currently, the losses caused by agricultural land abandonment in the study area total approximately 858 tons, enough to feed approximately 15,600 people. To ensure sustainable use of agricultural land and enhance crop yield standards, appropriate management officials should give this issue careful consideration. This study advances our knowledge of the connection between socioecological issues and agricultural land abandonment and could serve as a guide for addressing agricultural abandonment and sustainable management.