Implementation of a landscape ecological use pattern model: Debris flow waste-shoal land use in the Yeyatang Basin, Yunnan Province, China

•Demonstration project of land use in debris flow waste-shoal land.•Intensive agriculture generated more income per hectare than local slope farms.•Forest and grass cover increased in the study area.•The demonstration project stimulated agricultural tourism and provided employment. Debris flow waste-shoal land (DFWSL) is a significant and potential land resource that is largely ignored in ecologically fragile mountainous areas. Yeyatang Basin, in Yunnan Province, China, is a typical mountainous debris flow area with a large amount of DFWSL. In order to achieve efficient use of DFWSL in this area, we built a demonstration plot and implemented a landscape ecological use pattern (LEUP) model for the DFWSL, with which we analyzed the economic, ecological, and social benefits. The results showed that the LEUP significantly improved incomes and vegetation coverage, and it reduced soil and water loss, controlled the debris flow, and ensured the safety of residents. To some extent, the LEUP alleviated the conflict between socioeconomic development and environmental protection and increased local employment opportunities, which could help to resolve the socioeconomic issues associated with rural hollow villages and left-behind children. The model demonstration results will provide a “road map” to wasteland use and serve as an important information resource for policymakers. Leaders should consider shifting their perspectives toward exploring land resources that had previously been deemed unavailable and pay more attention to the management and development of DFWSL, which could potentially enable the sustainable development of mountain ecosystems and economies, and enhance the prevention and control of natural disasters in mountainous regions.