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Spatial regulation produces different advantages in areas with different land resource endowments. It also affects the welfare of stakeholders in different regions. Existing studies mainly focus on the "visible" welfare "windfalls" and "wipeouts" caused by spatial regulation, yet pay little attention on the "invisible" effects. This article selects Tianyang County (a key development zone) and Tiandong County (a restricted development zone) as its principal research areas. These areas have been divided as part of China's major function oriented zone (MFOZ) planning. The MFOZ represents the most significant and broad exercise in spatial regulation. These regions located in Baise City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. After applying Sen's feasibility capability theory as the foundation on which to build a theoretical framework, this article calculates and compares the changes in farmers' welfare before and after losing land in the key development zones (weak spatial regulation) and the restricted development zones (strong spatial regulation) by using a fuzzy mathematics method. The impact of spatial regulation on the "invisible" welfare of land-lost farmers is then analyzed. The results show that: (1) differences in spatial regulation produce "windfalls" in the total welfare of land-lost farmers in the key development zones, but "wipeouts" in the restricted development zones; (2) the "visible" welfare of economic income for land-lost farmers are "windfalls" in the key development zones, but are "wipeouts" in the restricted development zones; (3) the "invisible" welfares of social security, development opportunities, living conditions and psychological conditions are "windfalls" for land-lost farmers in the key development zones, but are "wipeouts" in the restricted development zones; (4) the "invisible" welfare of living environments for land-lost farmers are "wipeouts" in the key development zones, but are "windfalls" in the restricted development zones. This study thereby provides evidence-based insights which can enable countries to formulate spatial regulation systems that promote balanced development among regions, and to fully consider the "invisible" welfare compensation of land-lost farmers as part of land expropriation compensation policies. • This paper applies Sen's feasibility capability theory as the foundation on which to build a theoretical framework, and calculates and compares the changes in farmers' welfare before and after losing land in the key development zones (weak spatial regulation) and the restricted development zones (strong spatial regulation) by using a fuzzy mathematics method. The impact of spatial regulation on the "invisible" welfare of land-lost farmers is then analyzed. • This paper makes the following two contributions. Firstly, there is no prior research on the "invisible" welfare "windfalls" and "wipeouts" caused by spatial regulation. This paper reveals that spatial regulation not only directly affects the "visible" welfare, in terms of the economic income, of land-lost farmers, but also indirectly affects their "invisible" welfare. Therefore, this article aims to enrich research on the direct and indirect multi-dimensional welfare impact of spatial regulation on stakeholders. Secondly, the current welfare compensation policies for land-lost farmers formulated in different areas of spatial regulation do not fully take into account the issue of invisible multi-dimensional welfare compensation, such as social security, development opportunities, living conditions, living environment, and psychological conditions. The research underlying this paper can therefore provide valuable data and insights which can help countries to formulate a spatial regulation system that will promote balanced development among regions, and can also provide a reference point for governments to improve welfare compensation policies for land-lost farmers by including invisible multi-dimensional welfare compensation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the cultural context of "guanxi" in China, it is particularly challenging to develop a framework capable to capture the complexity and adaptability of farmers facing conflicts between wetland conservation and livelihood development. In this paper, we integrate agent-based model (ABM) and field experimental methods to develop a hybrid simulation experiment model for wetland conservation behavior, in order to reveal the driving forces of land change and understand the dynamic change process of farmers' behavior. Through a field experiment and a questionnaire survey of farmers around the Shankou Mangrove Ecological Nature Reserve (SMENR) in Guangxi, China, the intention of different types of farmers to adopt wetland conservation behavior was assessed from different angles, constructing a rational choice theory (RCT) framework and ABM proxy behavior rules. The results showed that after 5 years, the adoption rate of farmers' wetland conservation behavior reached 100% under the assumption of bounded self-interest, but only about 80% under bounded rationality. This confirms that herd is more conducive to promoting farmers' wetland conservation behavior. Decision makers should consider the importance of bounded rationality and bounded self-interest interaction, foster farmers' sense of belonging and responsibility toward wetlands, and guide farmers to participate in the ecological protection and sustainable use of wetlands. [Display omitted] • Herd is more conducive to promoting farmers to protect wetlands. • The fastest take-off can be achieved at a threshold of about 20%. • Livelihood patterns lead to differences in willingness to protect wetlands. • Sense of belonging and responsibility is important for wetland conservation. • Combining experimental economics and ABM can improve the accuracy of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]