Multifunctional landscapes identification and associated development zoning in mountainous area

Exploring watershed ecological risk bundles based on ecosystem services: A case study of Shanxi Province, China

Humans are having an increasingly profound impact on the environment along with the advent of the Anthropocene. Ecological risk assessment (ERA) as a method to quantify ecological problems can provide support for decision-makers, and it is one of key issues to integrate ecosystem services into ERA. In this study, an ERA framework was proposed under the loss-probability paradigm from the perspective of ecosystem services risk bundles. The results showed that initiatives aimed at ecological protection in Shanxi Province had been effective, the number of watersheds with low-risk bundles increased significantly (from 16.09% to 34.49%) and the watersheds basically overlapped with key forestation areas. However, the effects of forestation activities may no longer be as significant as they once were, as the relationship between forestation and water supply was becoming increasingly contradictory. Meanwhile, the conflict between urban expansion and natural ecosystem protection was intensifying, habitat degradation risks were gradually polarized, and the risk bundles dominated by high carbon emission and habitat degradation were increasing significantly (from 15.88% to 33.54%). Strengthening the construction of urban green space and controlling the expansion of human activities may be the next focus of ecological conservation in Shanxi Province. This study enriched the ERA framework with an ecosystem services risk bundle approach.

Ecological function zoning based on ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs: a study of Dongjiang Lake Basin, China

Although the research framework of ecological function zoning is complex and diverse, there are not many spatially continuous zoning results, which can be effectively applied to watershed management practices. Ecosystem service bundles and trade-offs can identify interactions among multiple ecosystem services, and achieve better social-ecosystem management when applying to ecological function zoning. Taking the Dongjiang Lake Basin, China, as research area, the study used the InVEST model to investigate the trade-offs and synergies of ecosystem services at township and grid scales, respectively. Then, the study conducted ecological function zoning based on the bundles and trade-off intensity among ecosystem services. The results showed that food production showed extremely significant trade-offs with other services in the two scales, in which the trade-off intensity between food production and water purification was the largest, and the water areas were the hotspots of trade-off intensity. Based on the ecosystem service bundles at the township, combined with the trade-off intensity, the watershed was finally divided into four ecological functional zones, namely, agricultural product supply area (southern part in the study area), economic forestry area (northeast regions in the study area), water supply area (western areas of the study area), and forest conservation area (northern areas in the study area), accounting for 29.27%, 14.63%, 17.07%, and 39.03%, respectively. The study contributed to the ecological function maintenance and sustainable development in Dongjiang Lake Basin and provided an important reference in ecological zoning.

Spatio-temporal characteristics and mechanism of ecological degradation in a hilly southern area-a case study of Dongting Lake Basin

Understanding the spatio-temporal characteristics of ecological degradation and its mechanism is the key to implementing national land space ecological restoration. Currently, there is a lack of knowledge about identifying ecologically degraded areas from a structure-function angle. This paper used the Dongting Lake Basin (DLB) as the research area, with the landscape pattern index and InVest model utilized to analyze the landscape distribution characteristics and ecosystem service functions in 2000 and 2018. Based on this, a fuzzy inference approach and geographic detectors were used to explore the characteristics and driving mechanism of ecological degradation in the DLB from 2000 to 2018. The results found are the following: (1) The overall landscape of the DLB was fragmented, the landscape shape tended to be complex, the degree of aggregation declined, and the landscape types were more discrete than before. In terms of the landscape-level index, the overall indicators of the landscape pattern in the DLB showed little change from 2000 to 2018, and the overall landscape pattern change was reasonably stable. (2) The three ecological services exhibited prominent spatial distribution features during the study period. In particular, food supply services showed a steady upward trend, while habitat quality and carbon storage services generally declined. (3) The ecological degradation in the DLB demonstrated striking spatial and temporal differences during the study period, and the ecological situation improved. The ecological degradation areas were mainly distributed in urban areas with denser populations and a higher level of urbanization, while the ecological restoration areas were mainly in the mountainous and hilly areas far away from the urban centers. (4) Among the influential factors, the production potential of urban land and farmland is the main factor that affects the ecological environment degradation and spatial distribution difference in the DLB. The interactive detection results indicate that the driving mechanism exhibits a two-factor enhancement or nonlinear increase.

Multi-functional identification of social-ecological landscape in ecologically fragile areas under the background of regional transformation development

To realize the coordinated development of regional economy, society, and ecosystem is the ultimate goal of economic development and ecological protection in ecologically fragile areas. The multi-functional identification of socio-ecological landscape in ecologically fragile areas is helpful to alleviate the practical contradictions and conflicts faced by the region, and to better realize the optimal allocation of regional resources and the formulation of rational regional land management and planning strategies. This study takes Mizhi County, the most prominent and representative area of the ecologically fragile areas of the Loess Plateau, as the research area. The three dimensions of the ecosystem, social system, and production system were used to construct a landscape multi-functionality identification and evaluation model. A comprehensive identification method for the landscape multi-functionality evaluation, dominant-secondary function recognition, and dominant-secondary obstacle function recognition were carried out to realize the recognition of the landscape multi-functionality. The results were the following: (1) The identification of the landscape multi-functionality through multi-objective optimal decision making with limited scheme for the determination of regional functions should follow the optimal decision rule. (2) The multi-function comprehensive identification method for the landscape could be used to scientifically identify the landscape multi-functions in the ecologically fragile areas. (3) The multi-functions of the social-ecological landscape were obvious. An area with an extreme value was prominent and presented a state of aggregation. The spatial difference between the dominant and secondary functions (obstacle functions) was strong, and the degree of interdependence between functions was high. This study provides a scientific reference for landscape optimization management in the ecologically fragile areas of the Loess Plateau.

Multidimensional Evaluation of the Quality of Rural Life Using Big Data from the Perspective of Common Prosperity

Evaluating and revealing the spatial differentiations of quality of rural life (QRL) is the basis for formulating rural revitalization planning to promote rural transformation and achieve common prosperity. Taking the Lin'an District of Hangzhou city in China, an economically developed mountainous area, as an example, this study explored the connotation of QRL from the perspective of common prosperity and constructed a QRL evaluation framework involving living, employment, consumption, and leisure aspects. Then, based on multi-sourced data of 270 administrative villages as the assessment unit, we revealed the spatial patterns of QRL and proposed optimization paths to improving QRL. The results showed that (1) differences in the spatial distribution of quality of rural living, employment, consumption, and leisure of Lin'an District were significant, presenting stepped, block clustering, irregularity, and scattered patterns, respectively. (2) The overall QRL was mainly at a low level, clustered spatially, distributed in a strip pattern, and with obvious road directionality. (3) Based on the evaluation results of QRL, we divided the 270 administrative villages into six types of improvement: livability, employment, consumption, leisure, and balanced and lagged development types. This study could provide a scientific cognitive basis for the improvement of QRL and a useful reference for rural revitalization in China.

Enhancing Ecosystem Services in the Agro-Pastoral Transitional Zone Based on Local Sustainable Management: Insights from Duolun County in Northern China

Ecosystem and associated ecosystem services (ESs) in the agro-pastoral transitional zone of northern China (APTZNC) are sensitive to climate change and human activities. Essential to designing targeted policy interventions toward achieving sustainability in the APTZNC is a comprehensive understanding of the spatiotemporal changes in ESs and their drivers. This study identified the spatiotemporal changes in six ESs in Duolun County from 2000 to 2017. The impacts of drivers—temperature, precipitation, wind speed, vegetation cover (FVC), land use/cover (LULC), soil type, altitude, and slope—on the changes in the ESs in the county and its ecological production zones were then explored. The results indicated that the six ESs improved during the study period. The drivers influencing changes in ESs over time exhibited similarities across regions. Although FVC contributed to improvements in the food supply, grass production, carbon sequestration, and soil wind erosion (SLwind), it also reduced water yield, which may exacerbate the water shortage in arid and semi-arid areas. In regions where the ecology was in the recovery phase, especially in slope farmland, the inhibition of soil water erosion (SLwater) by FVC was easily offset by the higher SLwater potential from increased precipitation. The decrease in wind speed improved the regional ESs, whereas the increase in temperature posed a threat to SLwind. The drivers affecting the spatial patterns of ESs varied among zones. Across the three zones, the greater influential drivers of ESs were FVC and LULC. The impacts of topographic drivers and soil type on the distribution of ESs should also be noted in the agro-zone and agro-pastoral zone, respectively. Our study advocated that ES management should be adjusted to local conditions, and differentiated planning policies should be implemented in line with the ecological characteristics in the APTZNC, which will contribute to regional ecological sustainable development.

Implications of land sparing and sharing for maintaining regional ecosystem services: An empirical study from a suitable area for agricultural production in China

The clarification of land use management in areas of potential land use conflict plays an important role in maintaining ecosystem services. However, the relationship between land use strategies and ecosystem services in potential conflict zones remains uncertain, lacking quantitative evidence. Therefore, to construct a healthy territorial space system, a spatial classification model for land use was built based on land sparing and sharing. In addition, the inherent characteristics of different modes in the landscape structure and functional heterogeneity were also resolved. Then, an empirical analysis was carried out with the coastal agricultural production area of Maoming City, Guangdong Province. Focusing on the potential area of land use conflicts in Maoming City, that is, the suitable area for agricultural production, this study determined the differences in ecosystem services under multiple land use patterns at the pixel level, explored the trade-offs of ecosystem services in the entire suitable area and a single model, and examined the gradient effect of ecosystem services with the intensity of cultivated land use. According to the results, ecosystem services significantly differed in land use patterns, and the comprehensive ecosystem service was the highest in the land sharing model. Ecosystem services exert a synergistic effect in the entire suitable area for agricultural production, whereas there exists no correlation within a single model. When the arable land area of intensive agriculture exceeds 84.84%, food supply and other ecosystem services will be reduced to varying degrees. The study bridges the gap in research on the relationship between land sparing and sharing and ecosystem services in Chinese regions, and proposes clear land remediation strategies in potential conflict zones, which can thus provide some guidance for achieving sustainable regional development.

Ecological infrastructure planning of large river basin to promote nature conservation and ecosystem functions

Ecological infrastructure (EI) planning can promote regional nature conservation efficiency and enhance ecosystem functions. Watershed-scale EI research is a research hotspot in landscape ecology. This study proposed a method framework to develop EI planning in large river basins based on the connectivity of ecological processes and the integrity of ecosystems in the whole basin, as well as the typical ecological problems in each sub-basin. The framework included three parts: determining the protective EI i.e. the spatial range of the watershed ecological networks; quantifying and mapping the functional EI i.e. the typical ecosystem functions within each sub-basin; and integrating ecological networks and key ecosystem function area into an EI planning based on their spatial overlap and functional synergy. The method framework was applied in the Yellow River Basin. Results showed that spatial range of ecological networks of the basin accounted for 35.8% of the study area. Key ecosystem function area including ecosystem function important area and ecosystem function improvement area accounted for 35.6%. Spatial overlay analysis of ecological networks and key ecosystem function areas showed that they overlap spatially and have synergistic effects functionally, but core habitats existed less human activities compared to key ecosystem function area. By integrating ecological networks and key ecosystem function areas, EI planning including four spatial types: water system, core habitat area, important area for ecological function maintenance, priority area for ecological function improvement. The corresponding protection and development measures were formulated. In addition, along with the improvement of ecosystem function in the basin, sediment content, sand transport and other indicators in Yellow River has been obviously improved. It indicated that the EI construction in the basin had positive significance for river governance. Results showed that the EI planning method could improve both the spatial accuracy of nature conservation in the watershed and promote the specific ecosystem functions. It is also applicable to river management and watershed territorial spatial planning in other large river basins.

An ecological perspective for understanding regional integration based on ecosystem service budgets, bundles, and flows: A case study of the Jinan metropolitan area in China

Regional integration can contribute to co-occurring benefits of different parts of an urban agglomeration by managing these parts as a whole. However, current regional integration mainly focuses on the socioeconomic rather than the ecological dimension. To interpret regional ecological integration, we firstly selected six typical ecosystem services (ESs) to represent ecological benefits that potentially need to be improved by ecological integration for further analysis. Then we used ES budgets, bundles, and flows to investigate the potential, basic analysis unit, and occurring manners of ecological integration, respectively. Our results show that supply-demand mismatches were observed in all the ES types. Meanwhile, coexisting ES surpluses and deficits on the town scale were found in supporting biodiversity, soil retention, water yield, green space recreation, and crop yield, which indicates that their supply-demand mismatches can be mitigated with ecological integration. Furthermore, all the towns were classified into five spatial clusters with distinct ES budget bundles, which acted as the basic analysis unit of ecological integration. ES flows with three flow characteristic types were observed between different clusters, and all the clusters had ES provider-beneficiary relationships with each other. Based on the ES approach, we provided an ecological perspective for understanding regional integration, which has the potential to promote regional ecological sustainability.

Ecological Restoration of a Loess Open-Cast Mining Area in China: Perspective from an Ecological Security Pattern

Open-cast coal mining in China has developed rapidly due to its obvious advantages over underground mining. However, it may have negative ecological effects, such as biodiversity loss, water shortage, and soil erosion. Identifying and protecting the key areas with high importance for ecological sustainability are great challenges. The construction of an ecological security pattern (ESP) can improve landscape connectivity and reduce the fragmentation of ecological patches. Thus, it can be seen as an effective measure to protect regional ecological sustainability. In this study, taking the Pingshuo open-cast mining area as a case study area, ecological sources are identified through ecosystem structure and function, and corridors are extracted by constructing an ecological resistance surface, thus forming a valid ecological network. The results show that in 2018, the ESP in the study area included 11 sources with an area of 147.74 km2 and 17 corridors with a length of 92.11 km. Specifically, the ecological sources are mainly distributed in Taocun Township, Jingping Township, and Xiangyangbao Township. Among these 11 sources, sources 7 and 8 are reclaimed waste dump land, meaning that the land reclamation work in Pingshuo greatly promotes connectivity. Furthermore, dump 1 can be restored in the future by constructing three new corridors, which will greatly improve the landscape connectivity of Yuling Township. Overall, this study not only provides an effective framework for constructing and optimizing ESPs in ecologically fragile coal mining areas, but it also adds new insights to the concept of land reclamation in these areas.

Determining critical thresholds of ecological restoration based on ecosystem service index: A case study in the Pingjiang catchment in southern China

Considering that the degradation of ecological systems is an urgent environmental challenge, promoting multiple ecosystem services (ES) through ecological restoration has recently become more critical. However, the complicated interactions among multiple ES are not fully considered in ecological restoration planning and management, which prevents simultaneous improvements to environmental and human welfare. In this study, the spatio-temporal variations of multiple ES and their interactions were investigated in the Pingjiang catchment, which used to suffer severe soil erosion and has been the target of the ecological restoration projects. The results showed that five individual ES were heterogeneously distributed, and each individual ES and their overall benefits have increased with the implementation of ecological restoration (except for water yield). However, significantly negative correlations existed in over half of ten ES pairs, and the trade-offs among the five individual ES also increased. Through redundancy analysis, the forest proportion (FP) was identified as the major socio-ecological factor that determines multiple ES patterns; therefore, determining the appropriate FP for restoration areas is important for regulating the supply of ES. The constraint effects of FP on each ES and their overall benefits and trade-offs were examined, and inconsistent thresholds were detected for some relationships. Thus, a comprehensive index (ES index) that incorporates the overall trade-offs was proposed to reflect the complicated interactions among multiple ES and the preferences of different stakeholder groups. The constraint effect of FP on the ES index was explored, and the threshold values detected in the hump-shaped curve of the constraint lines provided references for determining the appropriate FP. This study established an integrated land use management framework by proposing a comprehensive ES index and determining its critical thresholds through the constraint line method. The results provide insights for the better planning and targeting of ecological restoration and land use management projects worldwide.

Analyzing the Value and Evolution of Land Use Functions from “Demand–Function–Value” Perspective: A Framework and Case Study from Zhangjiakou City, China

Understanding land use functions (LUFs) value is critical for implementing sustainable land resources management and optimizing territorial space in China. However, existing research insufficiently portrays the contributions of land use to economic activity and people’s well-being. To address this crucial absence, this paper attempts to clarify the connotation of LUFs’ value and the logic of LUFs’ optimization under the national territorial space planning system by applying the “demand–function–value” integrated framework. Based on this framework and taking Zhangjiakou City as a case study, we classified LUFs into economic, social, and ecological functions. Then, we assessed the monetary value of LUFs at the grid level using spatialization and environmental economics methods. Besides, we analyzed the evolutionary characteristics of LUFs and their diversity and dominance. The results showed that the total value of economic, social, and ecological LUFs increased continuously between 1990 and 2015. Spatially, the ecological function showed an opposite pattern to that of social and economic functions. Additionally, the dominant role shifted from ecological function to social function, and the dominant functional combination changed from ELP-ENS-ST to SP-ENS-ELT over this period. Lastly, this paper proposes that policymakers identify and optimize ecological–production–living space through LUFs’ value assessment and coordination. The results provide a new methodological insight into the assessment and coordination of LUFs and adaptive land use management.

Identification of the trade-offs/synergies between rural landscape services in a spatially explicit way for sustainable rural development

Rural problems are becoming increasingly prominent in sustainable development in China. Landscape services (LSs) are an emerging concept associated with ecosystem services and play an important role in promoting sustainable development. However, a comprehensive framework of rural LS and empirical research are still lacking. Here, we proposed a rural LSs system based on its multiple functions of "ecological maintenance, agricultural production and human living", including 9 LS types. Combined with the impact of landscape pattern on LSs, we optimized the assessment method of LS, and the LS capabilities were assessed at the village scale in Hangzhou city. Furthermore, we identified the spatial differentiation of rural LSs capabilities and trade-offs/synergies along urban-rural and terrain gradients. The results showed that the LSs capabilities of the rural landscape were greatly affected by the urban radiation and terrain, and we found that the turning point of LSs capabilities was 35 km from the urban fringe and the terrain gradient T5. The LSs in most villages (77%) revealed trade-offs, and the villages with LS synergies largely occurred in the middle and eastern regions of the study area. This study could improve our current understanding of LSs in regard to sustainable rural development, and identifying the trade-offs/synergies of LSs in a spatially explicit way can provide suggestions for the differentiated management of rural landscape sustainability.

An Ecological Service System Based Study on Suburban Rural Landscape Multifunction

Suburban rural landscape multifunction has received increasing attention from scholars due to its high demand and impact on main urban areas. However, few studies have been focused on suburban rural landscape multifunction because of data constraints. The present study quantified the four landscape services based on ecological service system, i.e., regulating function (RF), provision function (PF), culture function (CF), and support function (SF), determined the interaction through the Spearman correlation coefficient, and ultimately identified the landscape multifunction hotspots and dominant functions through overlay analysis. The result indicated that suburban rural communities have exhibited the characteristics of regional multifunction, and the landscape multifunction hotspots accounted for 64.2%; it should be particularly noted that, among single-function, dual-function, and multifunction hotspots, both support function, and culture function was dominant, while only one case was found in which the regulating function was dominant. Furthermore, all landscape functions other than SF-CF exhibited certain correlations. The study suggests that planning and management should be performed in future in combination with landscape multifunction to ensure the sustainable development of suburban rural communities.

A research framework of land use transition in Suzhou City coupled with land use structure and landscape multifunctionality

Under the premise of facing land-use sustainable development goals, clarifying the process and trend of regional land-use transition (LUT) is of considerable significance to the direction of national land-use optimization in the future. Suzhou City is not only an economically developed area in China but also a leading area of economic transformation and development, which embodies the changing process of regional development path since China's reform and opening up. This paper constructed an integrated research framework of micro-individual land use structure and macro-mixed landscape multifunctionality. It used spatial analysis technology to deeply analyze the LUT process of Suzhou, and quantified change characteristics of land use structure and function in Suzhou from 2000 to 2015. For structure, Suzhou has undergone a large-scale transition during the study period, mainly from farmland to construction land, in which transition speed and degree are at a high level until the trend slows down after 2010. For function, the number of high values of landscape multifunctionality gradually increases. Still, the scope of high-value areas progressively reduces by urban expansion constraints; the multifunctionality around urban expansion area gradually weakens. Besides, forest land, grassland, and other ecological land have the most significant number of land use functions. The comprehensive transition of land use structure and function can give a summary as a circle-layer dynamic change process of urban development. Transition hotspots can be divided into five specific regions of land management and finally realize comprehensive development zoning of urban and rural areas at the township level. LUT research framework based on structure-function coupling will provide ideas for land management mode transformation and contribute to sustainable land spatial planning strategy formulation.

Measuring Multifunctional Agricultural Landscapes

Multifunctional agriculture (MFA) has attracted increased attention from academics and policymakers in recent years. Academic researchers have utilised various approaches to assess and measure the multifunctionality of agriculture and rural landscapes. This paper outlines the nature of MFA and key supporting policies, before reviewing the applied research approaches, drawing primarily from the European Union and China where specific policies on MFA have been implemented to support rural development and promote sustainable rural communities. Four distinct types of valuation of modern MFA are recognised: economic, biophysical, socio-cultural, and holistic. Following a search of both the recent and older MFA literature, evaluations of the strengths and weaknesses of quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods applications are provided using examples from a range of recent studies. The review illustrates the diversity of approaches to measure MFA. While noting that many studies operate at a landscape scale, the challenge remains that the lack of commonality in the research approaches applied means it is difficult to provide effective comparisons between studies or to compare findings. A future research agenda will need to emphasise the need for more consideration of the roles of MFA research to support decision-makers, especially policy makers, but also farmers who largely make decisions for individual farms but, if considered collectively, can transform production systems at a landscape scale.

Spatio-Temporal Coordination and Conflict of Production-Living-Ecology Land Functions in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, China

Assessment of multiple land use functions promotes both utilization efficiency of land and regional coordination. Different personal and public products and services are offered by various land use types, meaning their functionality varies. Lack of judgment on temporal trends, turning points, or consideration of multi-source indicators like the ecological and air quality index leads to uncertainties in urban multifunctionality evaluation and functional orientation. In this study, the production-living-ecology land use function index system and evaluation process was improved using an entropy weight, triangle model, and coupling coordination degree. The production-living-ecology land use function (PLELUF) is defined from land use multi-functions. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration was the representative area. The model was applied to quantify land use functions and measure spatio-temporal coordination and conflict from 1990 to 2015. Results found that the production and living functions displayed an overall upward trend and the growth rate of production function is larger, doubling from 1990 to 1995, while living function increases steadily. Ecology function remained steady from 1990 to 2000 but increased afterward. Land use function stage became balanced in ecology-living-production after 2005. No function-balanced cities existed in 1990; nine function-balanced cities were found in 2015. The coupling coordination degree increased from a slight conflict to a high coordination. Land use multi-functionality was high in the north and low in the south in 2015; Beijing had the most significant multifunctionality. This study can aid land use zoning and sustainable land management.

Evolutionary Characteristics and Trade-Offs' Development of Social-Ecological Production Landscapes in the Loess Plateau Region from a Resilience Point of View: A Case Study in Mizhi County, China

Social-ecological production landscape resilience (SELPR) is a significant representation of the continuous supply capacity of landscape services. It is a quantitative assessment of the spatial-temporal evolution of SELPR under internal and external disturbances that provides a scientific basis for regional ecological environments and socio-economic development. Taking Mizhi County for the study of the Loess Plateau region, a three-dimensional (social system, ecosystem, and production system) SELPR evaluation framework was constructed. Data integration was performed using the watershed as the evaluation unit. This study quantitatively evaluated the spatial-temporal differentiation of the social-ecological production landscape (SELPs) subsystem's resilience and the total SELPR in the study area and classified the areas from the three-system resilience combination level to achieve regional development trade-offs. The results were as follows: (1) In 2009-2018, the change in the social-ecological production landscapes pattern in Mizhi County showed a significant reduction in agricultural production landscapes, relatively stable social living landscapes, and an increase in ecological landscapes; (2) in 2009-2018, the SELPR increased by 12.38%. The spatial distribution of resilience was significantly different, showing a distribution pattern of high central and low surrounding areas; (3) the county's watershed development zones were divided into five partitions: synergistic promotion areas, ecological restoration areas, social development areas, production optimization areas, and comprehensive remediation areas. The five types of zones have a certain agglomeration effect. In addition, the main obstacle factors affecting the SELPR of each zone are quite different. The key issues and development directions of different types of watersheds are also proposed in this paper.

Landscape functional zoning at a county level based on ecosystem services bundle: Methods comparison and management indication

The perspective of ecosystem services bundle is virtually a spatial clustering on landscape to mapping the relationship between ecosystem services and support the spatial strategy of landscape management. However, the efficiency of various clustering algorithms for geographically different regions are still in obscurity. In this study, we provided landscape functional zoning as a planning tool based on the ecosystem services bundles formed by carbon sequestration, soil retention and water yield. Then we used four landscape pattern indices to evaluate the performance of six clustering algorithms on landscape functional zoning. The case counties include Lankao, Jinggangshan and Luquan in China. The results showed the Natural Breaks (Jenks) scheme should be the most reasonable zone because of its high aggregated distribution and low diversity. This scheme was adjusted using some other schemes and has been employed as the final 7 kinds of zoning types. There were 5 types appeared in Lankao and Jinggangshan, and 6 types appeared in Luquan. We discussed that landscape functional zone can be a nexus connecting landscape planning and social policy. Rural reconstructing process on landscape was depicted, and landscape functional zone was proposed a practical planning tool bridged human wellbeing. The task of landscape functional zoning with the management indications may provide interdisciplinary support to decision-makers and natural resource users on landscape management.

An Integrated Indicator Framework for the Assessment of Multifunctional Green Infrastructure—Exemplified in a European City

The aim of this study is to provide an integrated indicator framework for the Assessment of Multifunctional Green Infrastructure (AMGI) to advance the evolution of the Green Infrastructure (GI) concept, and simultaneously deliver an approach do conduct a GI assessment using remote sensing datasets at multiple spatial and spectral scales. Based on this framework, we propose an explicit methodology for AMGI, while addressing the multi-dimensional pillars (ecology, socio-economy, socio-culture, and human health) for urban sustainability and the multifunctionality of GI. For the purpose of validation, we present the extensive process of employing our framework and methodology, and give an illustrative case exemplified in a European city, i.e., Leipzig, Germany. In this exemplification, we deployed three stages regarding how a single assessment can be conducted: from conceptual framework for priority setting, contextual assessment, to retrospective assessment. In this illustrative case study, we enclosed 18 indicators, as well as identified hot and cold spots of selected GI functions and their multifunctionality. A clear framework and methodology is crucial for the sustainable management of spatially oriented GI plans over time and for different stakeholder groups. Therefore, GI planners and policy makers may now refer to our integrative indicator framework and provided application methodology as common grounds for a better mutual understanding amongst scientists and stakeholders. This study contributes to discourses regarding the enhancement of the GI concept and is expected to provoke more discussion on the improvements of high-quality Remote Sensing (RS) data as well as the development of remote sensing-based methods at multiple spatial, temporal, and spectral scales to support GI plans.