An Ecological Service System Based Study on Suburban Rural Landscape Multifunction

Functional Tradeoffs and Feature Recognition of Rural Production–Living–Ecological Spaces

Recently, the spatial contradiction in rural construction has intensified. Production–living–ecological (PLE) spaces, as important load-bearing spatial patterns of rural revitalization, have become a research focus of territorial space planning. Because of the lack of studies on the scale and accuracy at the township level in rural PLE spaces, the objective of this study is to quantify the subfunctional and functional areas of PLE spaces, weigh the relationship between PLE functions, and conduct feature identification and strategy formulation of the PLE synergistic functional areas. Combined with multitype measurement methods, the study constructed a township-level PLE space evaluation system composed of 12 subfunctional indicators. Taking Guli Street in Nanjing city as an example, Spearman correlation analysis, spatial local autocorrelation analysis, and cold/hot spot identification were used to analyze the synergies and tradeoffs between PLE functions. On this basis, the evaluation model of the PLE synergies area was constructed. The results showed that the production function showed a fragmented distribution pattern. The proportion of high-intensity living function areas was very small. The ecological function area had good patch integrity. In the PLE functions, obvious synergies exist between any two functions, and the tradeoff between the third one and any of the two functions. The seven types of PLE synergistic potential areas were dominated by the dual-function high synergistic zone (DF-H-Z). The zoning scheme and governance strategy proposed in this paper have important practical value for solving the contradiction of sustainable and coordinated development of township-scale spatial resources.

Information Model for Sustainable Rural Development

Currently, the sustainable development of rural areas is relevant for various countries, both developed and developing. The improvement of existing approaches for the assessment and management of rural settlement systems is particularly relevant for Belarus, as a country with agricultural resources. Currently, there is no eligible information model for a rural settlement system in Belarus. The main research aim of this study was to develop the information model for formulation and assessment of the settlement scenarios for solving the issue of sustainable rural development in Belarus. The research methods were based on the complex and interdisciplinary approaches, including the systems approach, factor analysis, comparative analysis, spatial and mathematical modelling, SWOT analysis, and the hierarchy method. The paper proposes the development of the informational model of a rural settlement system at a local planning level, including five main determinants of sustainability, namely social, technological, economic, environmental, and political. The model was approved by the assessment of development scenarios for the Zavalocycy local council as the first-level unit of a planning system. We obtained the development indexes for 14 rural settlements within the obtained assessment criteria. The research results showed the relevance of the informational model for the monitoring of sustainable development at a local planning level.

Exploring Spatial Variations in the Relationships between Landscape Functions and Human Activities in Suburban Rural Communities: A Case Study in Jiangning District, China

There is a complicated and contradictory relationship between landscape functions and human activities, especially in the suburban rural communities of metropolises. Previous studies focused on human interference to landscape function, ignoring the impact of landscape functions on human activities. Hence, the present study is focused on the impact of landscape function (based on ecosystem services) on human activities in suburban rural communities of China. The study evaluated the intensity of human activities based on big data; furthermore, the authors analyzed the spatial distribution characteristics through spatial autocorrelation, and probed into the spatial variations in the relationship between human activities and landscape functions using ordinary least squares (OLS) and geographically weighted regression (GWR) models. The result indicates that there are obvious spatial distribution differences in the intensity of human activities in suburban rural communities; that is, the intensity decreases from the inner to the outer suburban areas. Positive influencing factors of human activities are construction area, bus station, road network density, and leisure entertainment, among which, construction area is the principal driver; cultural heritage, hydrological regulation, and provision of aesthetics are negatively or positively correlated with human activities in various regions. The results offer insights for the sustainable development of rural environment in suburban areas and the big data-driven rural research.

Remote Sensing Monitoring and Evaluation of the Temporal and Spatial Changes in the Eco-Environment of a Typical Arid Land of the Tarim Basin in Western China

The eco-environment provides various spaces, conditions, and resources for human development, and their quality is a significant factor affecting sustainable development in a region. Most drylands face environmental fragility due to problems such as infertile land, scarce suitable living space, and a lack of resources. Therefore, investigating the temporal and spatial changes in the eco-environment of drylands is vital to developing them sustainably. This paper takes Hetian, which is located in the Tarim Basin of Western China and has typical features of an arid (or a hyper-arid) region, as the research area. The ecological index (EI) was used to construct a comprehensive ecological evaluation system, and five sub-indices (the biological richness index, vegetation coverage index, water network denseness index, land stress index, and pollution load index) were calculated to identify the quality and changes in the eco-environment of Hetian in 1995, 2009, and 2018. The results show that, from 1995 to 2018, the EI in Hetian showed a continuous downward trend (from 24.76 to 16.32), representing a change (ΔEI) of −8.44; this indicates significant deterioration in the quality of the local eco-environment. Large fluctuations in the EI also suggests that the environment in Hetian is very sensitive. In addition, the results revealed a degradation of Hetian, which includes a hyper-arid region.