•A classification model of ALS is developed to perform pattern analysis.•Dynamic mechanism of ALS in China was discussed.•3 Driving forces of ALS are characterized with spatial heterogeneity. The healthy functioning of arable landscape ecosystems depends on their functional structure and productivity. In view of current global climate change and constant population mobility, the global agricultural industry has to address the effects of such factors on the functional structure of arable lands. In our research on these issues, we combined information on land use/cover changes with several other datasets. These include meteorological data from 1 823 national and local meteorological stations, agrometeorological disasters from 430 national monitoring stations, and population surveys covering 9 856 townships. Our findings indicate that the arable landscape system in China shows an overall trend of fragmentation, with the extent of the core arable land decreasing by 10 336.06km2. This trend is affected minimally by climate differences and population changes in traditional agricultural regions. However, in eastern and western China, the trend is affected significantly by the rate of population aging, the population migration rate, and the agricultural labor scale. Urban land expansion plays a key role in changing the arable landscape system. Rapid urbanization in the form of an integral transition from arable land to construction, which is represented by large-scale increase in construction land area, is the core dynamic mechanism of landscape structure change of arable landscape systems in China.