*4.4. The Landscape Fragmentation of Paddy Field and Dryland Emphasize the Importance of Land Consolidation*

This study states that paddy field and dryland both tended to be dispersed, fragmented, and complex in shape, but compared with paddy field, dryland was more aggregated and showed a stronger change towards complex and fragmented shapes.

Similarly, previous studies showed that Heilongjiang had increased fragmentation in terms of the paddy field landscape [14,52]; landscape fragmentation and the heterogeneity of dryland and paddy field were intensified in Guangdong Province [21]. Moreover, the paddy field in the Jinjing River of Hunan [19] and the paddy field and dryland in the Dongting Lake area [22] showed increased fragmentation and dispersed distribution. These findings are consistent with the conclusions of this paper. Inversely, the decrease in landscape fragmentation of dryland in the Horqin region [53], the fluctuating fragmentation of paddy field and dryland in the Loess Plateau [54], and the decline in the fragmentation of dryland and paddy field decreased in the Karst area of Chishui City [55] and Zhoushan Island [56]. These conclusions are partly different in this study. As a result, the landscape characteristics of paddy field and dryland have zonal differences, but both show fragmentation, irregular shape, and complex distribution. Therefore, increasing the concentration

level and contiguity of land plots and strengthening the infrastructure of water, roads, and forests via targeted land consolidation projects should be the major measures used to alleviate the inefficiency of arable land production caused by the unpredictable landscape characteristics of paddy field and dryland.
