Objective This study reveals the differentiation characteristics and driving mechanisms of farmers′ cultivated land use behaviors in the Loess Plateau dryland areas, providing a basis for formulating differentiated cultivated land management policies. Methods The DBSCAN spatial clustering algorithm was employed for identifying farm household types. Descriptive statistics and spatial analysis were used to reveal their type characteristics and distribution patterns. A structural equation model (SEM) was applied to quantitatively analyze the influencing factors in farmer type differentiation. Results (1) Farm households were differentiated into two types: traditional risk-averse types (Type Ⅰ) and technology-adopting intensive types (Type Ⅱ). (2) The distribution of household types exhibited significant spatial geomorphic differentiation: Type I households were concentrated in the ridge-and-mound hilly areas and alluvial plains affected by urban expansion, while Type Ⅱ households were mainly distributed in residual tableland-gully areas. (3) Significant differences existed in technology adoption willingness between the two types: Type Ⅰ households did not adopt plastic film mulching, showed high fluctuation in fertilizer input, and exhibited a right-skewed distribution in pesticide application, whereas all Type Ⅱ households adopted plastic film mulching, with pesticide application showing a left-skewed distribution. (4) Resource endowments such as plot size and cultivated land scale (path coefficient =0.357) significantly promoted the transition to Type Ⅱ through scale effects, while household attributes such as age and education level (path coefficient=-0.249) drove transitions toward Type Ⅰ. Conclusion Farm household type differentiation is jointly driven by resource endowments and human capital in opposite directions. The driving mechanisms of various factors exhibit differentiated characteristics across different geomorphic types. Therefore, region-specific strategies are required: promoting plot consolidation in residual tableland-gully areas, strengthening intergenerational technology transfer in the ridge-and-mound hilly areas, and coordinating urban-rural development to protect cultivated land in alluvial plains.
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