Core Perspective - The protection of agricultural cultural heritage in China is transitioning from a resource inventory management approach to a more integrated and collaborative protection phase that combines environmental resources, social production, and cultural traditions [1][3]. Group 1: Policy and Strategic Importance - The 2024 "Rural Comprehensive Revitalization Plan (2024-2027)" emphasizes the systematic protection and revitalization of agricultural cultural heritage, supporting the establishment of theme villages and cultural ecological protection zones [1]. - The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs will launch the "Smart Agricultural Heritage Pilot Counties" initiative in 2025, promoting the use of digital technology for heritage monitoring and transmission [1]. - The "Strengthening Agricultural Power Plan (2024-2035)" highlights the importance of agricultural cultural heritage protection, focusing on the preservation of genetic resources and the transmission of green production technologies [1]. Group 2: Challenges in Heritage Protection - There are structural challenges in the protection and transmission of agricultural cultural heritage, including a prevalent "heavy reporting, light management" phenomenon and insufficient community participation [2]. - Many regions rely heavily on tourism for revitalization, lacking in-depth exploration of traditional knowledge systems and ecological wisdom, leading to a lack of differentiated and high-value-added industrial forms [2]. - The effective transformation of academic concepts into governance tools to turn agricultural cultural heritage from an "external resource" into an endogenous development driver remains a critical challenge [2]. Group 3: Theoretical Framework and Methodology - The "landscape gene" theory provides a new pathway to address the homogenization and fragmentation challenges in agricultural cultural heritage protection by identifying core elements such as terrain, water systems, settlement patterns, production methods, and cultural symbols [3]. - Some regions, like Zhejiang and Yunnan, have begun to implement the "landscape gene identification - mapping - classification management" approach, establishing a precise protection mechanism [3]. Group 4: Resource Coordination - The "landscape gene" in agricultural cultural heritage can be categorized into material genes (e.g., terraced fields, ancient trees) and process genes (e.g., water cycles, nutrient flows), with the latter being primarily driven by the natural environment [4]. - Protecting agricultural cultural heritage requires safeguarding not only visible structures but also invisible ecological processes and interactions [4]. Group 5: Community and Governance - The landscape of agricultural cultural heritage involves not only aesthetic reconstruction but also the reshaping of social relationships, as highlighted by local regulations that emphasize the status of indigenous communities and shared management mechanisms [7]. - The integration of community identity with heritage space and cultural characteristics can transform heritage from an externally imposed resource into an internally driven development force [7]. Group 6: Cultural Transmission and Revitalization - Cultural genes, which represent the "civilization DNA" of rural areas, are vital in agricultural cultural heritage sites, embodying unique ecological wisdom and local social practices [9]. - The exploration of non-material cultural gene activation paths aims to create a multi-dimensional cultural space that meets both community cultural identity and visitor experience needs [9]. - The case of the Tieguanyin tea culture system in Fujian illustrates how cultural practices and community rituals contribute to the active transmission of traditional knowledge and social cohesion [10]. Group 7: Conclusion - Understanding the characteristics of landscape genes in agricultural cultural heritage is crucial for grasping the ecological wisdom, economic logic, and cultural value embedded in production methods [11]. - The protection and revitalization of agricultural cultural heritage require a systemic reconfiguration that integrates natural textures, social structures, and cultural genes, fostering a new rural development paradigm that harmonizes people and nature [11].