Green Transformation Mechanisms and Cluster-Based (Pianqu) Development of Agricultural Specialized Villages in Ecologically Fragile Areas: A Case Study of Ledu District, Qinghai, China

Agricultural specialized villages (ASVs) are important organizational and spatial units for promoting agricultural sustainability in ecologically fragile areas. However, the process through which green practices evolve from individual farm households to village-wide transformation and then extend across village boundaries remains insufficiently understood. Taking Ledu District, Qinghai, China, as a case study, this study drew on historical records, statistical data, policy documents, and field surveys and employed process tracing to examine the stages, mechanisms, and pathways of cluster-based (pianqu) development. The findings identify four stages: farm household green practices, overall transformation of specialized villages, cross-village linkage, and cluster-based promotion. Five dimensions jointly shape this process: resource endowment provides foundational conditions; institutional arrangements play a decisive organizational role; technological innovation supports changes in production modes; market mechanisms provide sustained incentives; and spatial coordination enables cross-village expansion. Distinct resource conditions are associated with differentiated transformation pathways in river-valley and mountain areas. Seedling bases, agricultural parks, cooperative organizations, and market networks serve as nodes linking multiple villages through shared services, standards, and production–marketing relations. The findings offer a process-based framework for understanding ASV green transformation and provide practical implications for promoting coordinated green development in ecologically fragile regions.