Ecosystem Deterioration, Adaptation Pathways and Resilience Under Inclusive Land Governance in Degraded Chinese Landscapes

ABSTRACT This study examines how farmers respond to ecosystem deterioration in degraded farming areas in rural China and how these responses influence local ecosystem resilience. A structured survey of 480 smallholder households was used to measure perceived ecosystem deterioration, short‐term exploitative coping, ecosystem‐based adaptation practices, inclusive land governance, and local ecosystem resilience on seven‐point scales. Hierarchical regression was used to test mediation and moderation hypotheses. The results show that stronger perceived deterioration leads to more short‐term exploitative coping but does not clearly increase ecosystem‐based adaptation or directly improve resilience. Short‐term exploitative coping lowers local ecosystem resilience, while ecosystem‐based adaptation raises it. Both coping paths link perceived deterioration to resilience in opposite ways. Inclusive land governance weakens the link between perceived deterioration and exploitative coping, while strengthening the link to ecosystem‐based adaptation. Overall, the findings show that governance plays an important role in guiding farmer responses towards climate‐resilient land management.