Objective The aims to reveal the driving mechanism of cultivated land restoration policies on the optimization of land structure and the enhancement of production potential, and to provide a scientific basis for the flexible management and control of cultivated land in mountainous counties.

Method Taking Xixia County, Henan Province as the research area, based on the land use data from 2005 to 2020, combined with multiple periods of remote sensing images and land survey data, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to construct a cultivated land potential evaluation system covering 13 indicators such as climate, soil and topography. According to 4 principles of land type classification, a top-down classification system was adopted to classify land types. Quantitatively analyze the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of land type structure and production potential in Xixia County from 2005 to 2020.

Result The land types in Xixia County are classified into 3 levels: there are 14 first-level land categories, 299 second-level land subcategories, and 570 third-level land units. In terms of land types, Xixia County is mainly characterized by low-altitude gentle slopes and medium-altitude steep slopes. In terms of soil subtypes, old loess, thick-layer purple soil and thin-layer yellow sandstone soil are the main types. In terms of land units, small rivers/shallow groundwater and medium-sized rivers/deep groundwater are the main types. Spatially, cultivated land continues to retreat towards the edge of towns, and the ecological space is compressed in a band-like pattern. Meanwhile, high-potential cultivated land is concentrated along river valleys and the main canals of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, forming an agricultural high-yield area centered on the central plain. In terms of time, the production potential grades of cultivated land have changed from "relatively dispersed - concentrated improvement". From 2005 to 2010, the potential of cultivated land deteriorated and the medium and high grades decreased. From 2010 to 2015, it entered a plateau period with gradual changes. High-potential cultivated land rose sharply from 2015 to 2020. From 2005 to 2020, the cultivated land in Xixia County concentrated from the periphery to the core in space and optimized from sloping land to flat land in type. Overall, it demonstrated a three-stage evolution path of "de-marginalization - structural stability - intensive improvement".

Conclusion The land consolidation policy has effectively promoted the improvement of cultivated land quality. In the future, it is necessary to establish a flexible protection mechanism for cultivated land based on land type zoning.