Abstract
Ecological land (Eco-land) is a basic resource for human beings to survive, and eco-land use is a strategy, a way to manage the land resource. So, ecologically-sustainable land use is essential for human beings to survive. This paper investigates the spatiotemporal characteristics and mechanisms of urban-rural eco-land using a new and innovative integration way based on eco-land change data in China’s Loess Plateau (LP) prefecture level cities and explores factors of eco-land change. The spatial difference characteristic of eco-land among different level cities in the LP is that: small cities > big cities > middle cities. From 2009 to 2016, the eco-land in the LP from the perspective of urban-rural areas has changed significantly. Significant differences of urban-rural eco-land were identified among various urban growth types, and all the cities in the LP were further classified into four types based on eco-land change trend, with type A and B cities identified as the vital zone and major zone. Taking the eco-fragile region Loess Plateau (LP) as an example, our results demonstrated that the migrants to cities in LP could relieve ecological pressures and promote restoration of ecological vegetation. We have demonstrated that urbanization and the influence of government policy can be discerned through the quantification of the spatial-temporal change of eco-land and suggest that combining both urban and rural eco-land can support more effective land use decisions and provide theoretical basis for the practical application of urban planning, policy -making and sustainable development. What’s more, governments should strive to population mobility and restore vegetation to sustain this fragile ecological environment.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bai XM, Shi PJ, Liu YS (2014) Realizing China’s urban dream. Nature 509 (7499): 158–160. https://doi.org/10.1038/509158a
Cao Z, Li YR, Liu YS, et al. (2017) When and where did the Loess Plateau turn “green”? Analysis of the tendency and breakpoints of the normalized difference vegetation index. Land Degradation & Development 29(1): 162–175. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2852
Cao YG, Bai ZK, Zhou W, et al. (2014) Gradient Analysis of Urban Construction Land Expansion in the Chongqing Urban Area of China. Journal of Urban Planning & Development 141(1): 05014009. https://doi.org/10.1061/(asce)up.1943-5444.0000204
Chen YF, Liu YS, Wang J, et al. (2009) Land use changes of an aeolian-loessial soil area in Northwest China: implications for ecological restoration. Pedosphere 19(3): 356–361. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1002-0160(09)60126-0
Chen ZF, Liu YS, Feng WL, et al. (2019) Study on spatial tropism distribution of rural settlements in the Loess Hilly and Gully Region based on natural factors and traffic accessibility. Journal of Rural Studies, online. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2019.02.014
Fu BJ, Wang S, Liu Y, et al. (2017) Hydrogeomorphic ecosystem responses to natural and anthropogenic changes in the Loess Plateau of China. Annual Review of Earth & Planetary Sciences. 45(1): 223–243. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-earth-063016-020552
Grant RH, Hollinger SE, Hubbard KG, et al. (2004) Ability to predict daily solar radiation values from interpolated climate records for use in crop simulation models. Agricultural & Forest Meteorology 127(1): 65–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2004.07.016
Gong JZ, Hu Z, Chen W, et al. (2018) Urban expansion dynamics and modes in metropolitan Guangzhou, China. Land Use Policy 72: 100–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.12.025
Han L, Zhou W, Li W, et al. (2018) Urbanization strategy and environmental changes: An insight with relationship between population change and fine particulate pollution. Science of the Total Environment 642: 789–799. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.094
Hunter MCR (2011) Impact of ecological disturbance on awareness of urban nature and sense of environmental stewardship in residential neighborhoods. Landscape & Urban Planning 101(2): 131–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landurbplan.2011.02.005
Li JT, Liu YS, Yang YY (2018) Land use change and effect analysis of tideland reclamation in Hangzhou Bay. Journal of Mountain Science 15(2): 394–405. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-017-4542-5
Li YH, Li YR, Westlund H, et al. (2015) Urban-rural transformation in relation to cultivated land conversion in China: Implications for optimizing land use and balanced regional development. Land Use Policy 47: 218–224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2015.04.011
Li YH, Jia LR, Wu WH, et al. (2018) Urbanization for Rural Sustainability-Rethinking China’s Urbanization Strategy. Journal of Cleaner Production 178: 580–586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.12.273
Li YR, Cao Z, Long H, et al. (2017) Dynamic analysis of ecological environment combined with land cover and NDVI changes and implications for sustainable urban-rural development: The case of Mu Us Sandy Land, China. Journal of Cleaner Production 142: 697–715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.09.011
Liu G, Yang Z, Chen B, et al. (2011) Monitoring trends of urban development and environmental impact of Beijing, 1999–2006. Science of the Total Environment 409(18): 3295–3308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.05.045
Liu YS, Zhou Y, Wu WX (2015) Assessing the impact of population, income and technology on energy consumption and industrial pollutant emissions in China. Applied Energy 155(155): 904–917. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.06.051
Liu YS, Guo YJ, Li YR, Li YH (2015) GIS-based effect assessment of soil erosion before and after gully land consolidation: A case study of Wangjiagou project region, Loess Plateau. Chinese Geographical Science 25: 137–146. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-015-0742-5
Liu YS, Yan B, Zhou Y (2016) Urbanization, economic growth, and carbon dioxide emissions in China: A panel cointegration and causality analysis. Journal of Geographical Sciences 26(2): 131–152. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-016-1259-2
Liu YS, Yang YY, Li YR, et al. (2017) Conversion from rural settlements and arable land under rapid urbanization in Beijing during 1985–2010. Journal of Rural Studies 51: 141–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2017.02.008
Liu YS, Li JT, Yang YY (2018) Strategic adjustment of land use policy under the economic transformation. Land Use Policy 74: 5–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.07.005
Long HL, Tang GP, Li XB, et al. (2007) Socio-economic driving forces of land-use change in Kunshan, the Yangtze River Delta economic area of China. Journal of Environmental Management 83(3): 351–364. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2006.04.003
Mcdonnell MJ, Pickett STA, Groffman P (1997) Ecosystem processes along an urban-to-rural gradient. Urban Ecosystems 1(1): 21–36. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1014359024275
National Bureau of Statistics of China (2017) China Statistical Yearbook. China Statistics Press, Beijing.
Perry, JN, Liebhold, AM, Rosenberg MS, et al. (2002) Illustrations and guidelines for selecting statistical methods for quantifying spatial pattern in ecological data. Ecography 25(5): 578–600. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0587.2002.250507.x
Thomas MR (2015) A GIS-based decision support system for brownfield redevelopment. Landscape & Urban Planning 58(1): 7–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-2046(01)00229-8
Wang S, Fu B, Chen H, et al. (2017) Regional development boundary of China’s Loess Plateau: Water limit and land shortage. Land Use Policy 74: 130–136. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2017.03.003
Wang H, Qin F, Zhang X (2019). A spatial exploring model for urban land ecological security based on a modified artificial bee colony algorithm. Ecological Information 50: 51–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2018.12.009
Xu Q, Dong Y X, Yang R (2018) Influence of land urbanization on carbon sequestration of urban vegetation: A temporal cooperativity analysis in Guangzhou as an example. Science of The Total Environment 635: 26–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.057
Xie H, He Y, Xie X (2017) Exploring the factors influencing eco-land change for China’s Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region using big data. Journal of Cleaner Production 142: 677–687. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.03.064
Yuan C, Zhang Z W, Gao J H, et al. (2019) Evaluating landscape ecological sensitivity of an estuarine island based on landscape pattern across temporal and spatial scales. Ecological Indicators 101: 221–237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.01.012
Yang R, Xu Q, Long H (2016) Spatial distribution characteristics and optimized reconstruction analysis of China’s rural settlements during the process of rapid urbanization. Journal of Rural Studies 47: 413–424. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2016.05.013
Zhao G, Mu X, Wen Z, et al. (2017) Soil erosion, conservation, and eco-environment changes in the Loess Plateau of China. Land Degradation & Development 24: 499–510. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.2246
Zhang X, Wang Y, Qi Y, et al. (2016) Evaluating the trends of China’s ecological civilization construction using a novel indicator system. Journal of Cleaner Production 133: 910–923. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.06.034
Zhou Y, Liu YS, Wu W, et al. (2015) Effects of rural-urban development transformation on energy consumption and CO2, emissions: A regional analysis in China. Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews 52(53): 863–875. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.07.158
Acknowledgements
This study is funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2017YFC0504701) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41130748 and 41471143) and the National Social Science Foundation of China (Grant No 15ZDA021).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Qu, Ll., Liu, Ys. & Chen, Zf. Spatio-temporal evolution of Ecologically-sustainable land use in China’s Loess Plateau and detection of its influencing factors. J. Mt. Sci. 16, 1065–1074 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-018-5305-7
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-018-5305-7