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Advances in Sustainable Utilization and Optimal Decision of Land Resources

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A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Urban and Rural Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2022) | Viewed by 18994

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Prof. Dr. Dianfeng Liu

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Guest Editor

School of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China
Interests: sustainable utilization of land resources and ecological effect; spatial planning; geospatial modeling and applications using geographic information systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Wenwu Tang

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Guest Editor

Center for Applied Geographic Information Science and Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 9201 University City Blvd, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA
Interests: GIS and spatial analysis and modeling; agent-based models and spatiotemporal simulation; cyberinfrastructure and high-performance computing; complex adaptive spatial systems; land use and land cover change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Jianxin Yang

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Guest Editor

Department of Land Resource Management, School of Public Administration, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Interests: spatial analysis; environment; environmental impact assessment; land use planning; natural resource management; mapping; spatial statistics; sustainability; geoinformation; geographical analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Land resources are essential for human beings to survive. With rapid socioeconomic development and increasing urbanization, land resources have borne increasing pressure from multiple stakeholders, which accelerates land use competition and conflicts. In this context, the sustainable utilization of land resources has been regarded as one of the key indicators in the 2030 agenda for worldwide Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and has attracted a great deal of attention from countries around the world. The optimal utilization of land resources needs to take into account multiple aspects of land systems and interactions with other physical and socioeconomic systems (e.g., ecosystem, climatic system, and human activities). Although extensive studies have focused on the optimal allocation of land resources from theoretical and methodological aspects, few have highlighted the coupled relationships of humans and nature as well as the interactions of various related systems in the process of land use decision making. This Special Issue aims to present recent advances in the Sustainable Utilization and Optimal Decision of Land Resources. We seek papers that explore new theoretical, methodological, and experimental subjects regarding the optimal utilization of land resources. Policy-oriented papers are also welcomed to present various decision-making processes of land resources from a wide range of backgrounds.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

Land use and climate change adaptation;
Land use change and its ecological effects;
Spatial optimization for land use allocation;
Simulation methods of land use change;
Intelligent algorithms in land use decision-making;
Sustainable evaluation of land use;
Delineation of ecological redlines and urban growth boundaries;
Spatial planning principles and practice.

Dr. Dianfeng Liu
Dr. Wenwu Tang
Dr. Jianxin Yang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

land resources
sustainability
decision-making
land use change
spatial optimization
spatial planning
land use allocation

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 4650 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatio-Temporal Evolution Characteristics, Development Patterns, and Ecological Effects of “Production-Living-Ecological Space” at the City Level in China

by Yukun Cao, Xianqiao Huang, Xiangyue Liu and Bo Cao

Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 1672; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15021672 - 15 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1513

Abstract

Effective production, living, and ecological space allocation is essential for advancing territorial policy optimization and improving the sustainability of land resource use. Based on the theory of the “production-living-ecological” space (PLES), the present study uses the spatial transfer matrix model, the coupling degree model, and ecosystem service value measurement to analyze the changes in the number and structural characteristics of the PLES and the evolution pattern of development in 336 cities in China from 2000 to 2020 and to evaluate the resulting ecological effects. The results are as follows: the living space is growing; the agricultural production space is decreasing; and the ecological space has been decreasing and then increasing. The evolution of the city space structure has five distinct patterns of development. Cities in the southeast with high urbanization rates have shifted from the pure economic expansion development pattern to the coordinated diversified development pattern. In contrast, the cities in the northeast and northwest, where ecological space accounts for an absolute proportion, still prefer the economic expansion development pattern. There is still a struggle between the “impulse of local development” and the “objective of central coordination”. The development patterns of ecological protection and the coordinated diversified development patterns have higher ecological effects among the five development approaches, confirming the effectiveness of the territorial spatial planning policy under the coordinated development objective. Meanwhile, the optimization of future spatial planning policies should consider not only the rational allocation of space but also the quality development of space. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Sustainable Utilization and Optimal Decision of Land Resources)

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18 pages, 5907 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research Progress, Hotspots and Trends of Land Use under the Background of Ecological Civilization in China: Visual Analysis Based on the CNKI Database

by Mingyang Nan and Jun Chen

Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 249; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010249 - 23 Dec 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1383

Abstract

Land use is a fundamental element of ecological civilization, whose relevant academic results are not only a concentrated expression of the construction of ecological civilization and land use but also an important theoretical basis for guiding land use changes to promote the construction of ecological civilization. Therefore, based on CiteSpace visual software, this paper analyzes the research progress, hotspots, and trends of 558 articles related to land use under the background of ecological civilization in China based on the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) database. The results are as follows: (1) The research cycle is characterized by two distinct stages: the nascent stage and the fluctuating growth stage. (2) The number of publications by researchers and institutions is low, the collaborative network is fragmented, and a core of research researchers and institutions has not yet been formed. (3) The journals in which the papers are published indicate that the research is cross-disciplinary in character, while the highly cited journals have a central role, and the research content of the high-frequency cited papers mainly includes three parts: spatiotemporal evolution pattern and measurement, spatial planning, and land reclamation. (4) The research hotspots are grouped into 12 keyword clusters, which can be further grouped into two sections: “ecological civilization construction and land use” and “national spatial planning”. (5) The burst of territorial spatial planning has reached 2022 and will continue to be a research hotspot in this field in the future. The results of this study can help relevant scholars clarify the research context and current situation in this field and grasp future research directions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Sustainable Utilization and Optimal Decision of Land Resources)

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22 pages, 7747 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Urban Growth Boundaries Delineation under Multi-Objective Constraints from the Perspective of Humanism and Low-Carbon Concept

by Yan Yu, Chenhe Zhang, Weilin Ma, Yaxin Xu and Xinxin Gao

Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 16100; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142316100 - 01 Dec 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1524

Abstract

Urban growth boundaries (UGBs) play an important role in controlling urban sprawl and protecting natural ecosystems. Traditional methods mainly focus on the heterogeneity of regional resources and environment rather than residents’ behavioral activities. However, residents’ behavioral activities are one of the most important factors influencing urban spatial form. Fortunately, the emergence of big data, especially phone signaling data, provides alternative data sources to understand the dynamic resident behavior activity space, which is significant for people-oriented urban development. Therefore, we propose a novel framework for UGB delineation based on multi-source big data and multi-objective constraints, which emphasizes humanism and the low-carbon concept in urban expansion simulation. The multi-objective constraints are constructed from the evaluation of resident activity space expansion potential, the evaluation of urban construction suitability, the evaluation of ecological conservation importance, and the human survival materials limitation. We apply the framework to Ningbo, and the results show that the framework under multi-objective constraints from a people-oriented and low-carbon perspective is more reliable and comprehensive than that without constraints. The findings also show that the UGB delineation based on multi-source big data has higher accuracy and better performance. The conceptual and methodological advances of this study are also applicable to other cities to help UGBs delineation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Sustainable Utilization and Optimal Decision of Land Resources)

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20 pages, 1971 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Study on the Factors Influencing Farmers’ Intention to Revitalize Idle Homesteads Based on Improved TPB Framework—Analysis of the Moderating Effect of Farmer Differentiation

by Mengyuan Lu, Bin Guo, Guohua Chen, Lei Yuan, Runnan Xing and Yu Huang

Sustainability 2022, 14(23), 15759; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142315759 - 26 Nov 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1339

Abstract

Under the dual structure of urban and rural lands, revitalizing rural idle homesteads is an effective measure for reducing resource waste and improving the efficiency of rural land use. Therefore, the intention of farmers, as the primary decision-makers in revitalizing rural idle homesteads, is the key to the success of revitalizing idle homesteads. With an analytical framework based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study used multiple linear regressions to analyze the survey data (N = 680). The results showed that attitude toward the behavior (AB), subjective norms (SN), and perceived behavioral control (PBC) had significant positive effects on the farmers’ intention to revitalize, with SN, PBC, and AB in descending order of influence. It confirmed that the TPB applies to the study of farmers’ intention to revitalize idle homesteads in the context of China. In addition, this study focused on the social phenomenon of farmer differentiation, which is prominent in the urbanization process. It emphasizes the moderating effect of farmer differentiation on the relationships of “attitude toward the behavior–intention to revitalize,” “subjective norm–intention to revitalize,” and “perceived behavioral control–intention to revitalize,” and further improves TPB. The present empirical study using hierarchical regression found that the deeper the differentiation of farmers, the stronger the effective influence of AB, SN, and PBC on farmers’ intention to revitalize idle homesteads. Therefore, it is suggested that the Chinese government should enhance farmers’ intention to revitalize by cultivating a positive attitude toward the behavior, strengthening the positive influence of subjective norms on farmers, and enhancing farmers perceived behavioral control. Furthermore, it is more important to pay full attention to the phenomenon of farmer differentiation and design a revitalization policy according to the differences in sensitivity of different types of farmers to attitudes toward the behavior, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Sustainable Utilization and Optimal Decision of Land Resources)

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15 pages, 499 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does Farmland Transfer Contribute to Reduction of Chemical Fertilizer Use? Evidence from Heilongjiang Province, China

by Ningbo Cui, Xuezhen Ba, Jin Dong and Xiaofan Fan

Sustainability 2022, 14(18), 11514; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141811514 - 14 Sep 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1236

Abstract

Promoting the reduction of chemical fertilizers is an important measure to promote the green and sustainable development of agriculture. Farmland transfer is a new way to minimize the need of chemical fertilizers. However, there is debate over this causality. This paper examines the relationship between farmland transfer and chemical fertilizer reduction. After the theoretical analysis, based on the data of 442 corn farmers in Heilongjiang Province, the study employed the endogenous switching probit model to empirically test the effect of farmland transfer on the reduction of chemical fertilizer. The study finds that in the survey area, the overall actual chemical fertilizer application rate was 12.12 kg/mu higher than the economic optimal application rate, which had more room for chemical fertilizer reduction. Moreover, farmland transfer-in reduced the chemical fertilizer application during corn production. If farmland transfer-in farmers decided not to transfer into the farmland, the chemical fertilizer reduction treatment effect would decrease, while it would increase if farmland non-transfer-in farmers decided to transfer into the farmland. Finally, the chemical fertilizer reduction treatment effect would decrease if farmers who had transferred into farmland concentratedly chose to transfer into farmland dispersedly, while it would increase if farmers who had transferred into farmland dispersedly chose to transfer into farmland concentratedly. These findings can provide experience for achieving more effective farmland transfer and chemical fertilizer reduction. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Sustainable Utilization and Optimal Decision of Land Resources)

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21 pages, 27457 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Changes in Ecosystem Services Value and Its Driving Factors in the Karst Region of China

by Liu Yang and Hongzan Jiao

Sustainability 2022, 14(11), 6695; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116695 - 30 May 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1715

Abstract

Over the last few decades, most regional ecosystem services (ESs) have significantly deteriorated, primarily driven by an increase in human dominance over the natural environment. Creating an assessment framework of ESs and identifying its driving factors at the regional scale is challenging for researchers, administrators, and policy-makers. In this study, we attempt to quantify the economic value of ESs (ESV) in Guizhou Province from 2000 to 2018, one of the most prominent areas of karst landforms in China. We identified the major factors affecting ESs using the geographical detector (GD) model. Then, we conducted a multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) analysis to examine the spatial differentiation of the causal effects of both natural and anthropogenic factors on ESs. Our results demonstrate the following: (1) the total ESV of Guizhou Province was approximately USD 81,764.32 million in 2000, USD 82,411.06 million in 2010, and USD 82,065.31 million in 2018, and the increase of USD 300.99 million from 2000 to 2018 was the result of the remarkable conversion from cultivated land to forestland; (2) significantly considerable differentiation existed in the spatial distribution of ESV at the county level, with a higher value in the eastern region and a lower value in the western region; (3) among the driving factors, population density had a more significant effect on the spatial differentiation of ESV than did natural factors; and (4) agricultural output value was the dominant factor influencing the ESV during the study period, with a significantly positive correlation, whereas per capita GDP and population density had significantly negative impacts on ESV, according to the effective performance of the MGWR model that evaluated the spatial heterogeneity in geospatial relationships between the driving factors of ESV. Our findings can provide notable guidance to land administrators and policy-makers for effective land resource conservation and management plans, thereby improving regional sustainability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Sustainable Utilization and Optimal Decision of Land Resources)

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19 pages, 1287 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Market-Driven Rural Construction—A Case Study of Fuhong Town, Chengdu

by Yujun Zhou, Jingming Liu and Xiang Kang

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6014; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106014 - 16 May 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1508

Abstract

Although local government has played an important role in rural China’s development, some disadvantages of government-led rural construction have gradually emerged with changes in socioeconomic structure, which have negative impacts on rural development. To solve the problems of the traditional rural construction pattern, the introduction of market mechanisms into rural construction became the consensus in theory and in practice. Extant studies emphasize the importance of a market-driven rural construction pattern; however, they do not discuss how to practice this pattern in detail. Thus, this paper uses a case study and comparative analysis to illustrate the background, implementation process and outcomes of the market-driven pattern, aiming to identify the intrinsic dynamics among the local government, market capital and villagers in the market-driven pattern. We argue that although the transformation from a government-led to market-driven pattern is a gradual process, the market-driven pattern is an alternative to the traditional pattern and can better fulfill villagers’ interests and enhance sustainable rural development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Sustainable Utilization and Optimal Decision of Land Resources)

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20 pages, 7439 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Transformation for Feature Upgrades or Higher Property Prices: Evidence from Industrial Land Regeneration in Shanghai

by Fan Yang, Peihong Tao, Xiao Cai and Jiayin Wang

Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 5280; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095280 - 27 Apr 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1448

Abstract

In recent years, an increasing amount of industrial land has been left idle in China. This gave rise to a wide range of urban issues hindering sustainable urban development. To solve this problem, industrial land transformation has been promoted. However, factors affecting industrial land transformation have not been adequately explored. To fill this gap, this study employs the bivariate K-function to analyze the spatial association between agglomeration patterns of industrial land parcels and living quarters. Moreover, a series of discrete choice models (i.e., the LOGIT, PROBIT, and IVPROBIT model) are adopted to examine empirically complicated relationships between industrial land transformation and its influencing factors. This study argues that the land price and its rising expectations are major determinants of industrial land transformation. The results revealed that transformation-oriented industrial land tended to be located next to accessible living quarters with higher prices. A higher-level industrial park typically had less possibilities for industrial land transformation. The findings also indicated that production efficiency served as a moderator variable to regulate the transformation process. Implications are formulated for policymakers to guide industrial land transformation in an appropriate manner. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Sustainable Utilization and Optimal Decision of Land Resources)

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20 pages, 4332 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Estimating Land-Use Change Using Machine Learning: A Case Study on Five Central Coastal Provinces of Vietnam

by Nguyen Hong Giang, Yu-Ren Wang, Tran Dinh Hieu, Nguyen Huu Ngu and Thanh-Tuan Dang

Sustainability 2022, 14(9), 5194; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095194 - 25 Apr 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2071

Abstract

Population growth is one factor relevant to land-use transformation and expansion in urban areas. This creates a regular mission for local governments in evaluating land resources and proposing plans based on various scenarios. This paper discussed the future trend of three kinds of land-use in the five central coast provinces. Afterwards, the paper deployed machine learning such as Multivariate Adaptive Regression Splines (MARS), Random Forest Regression (RFR), and Lasso Linear Regression (LLR) to analyze the trend of rural land use and industrial land-use to urban land-use in the Central Coast Region of Vietnam. The input variables of land-use from 2010 to 2020 were obtained by the five provinces of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE). The results showed that these models provided pieces of information about the relationship between urban, rural, and industrial land-use change data. Furthermore, the MARS model proved to be accurate in the Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Quang Nam provinces, whereas RFR demonstrated efficiency in the Thua Thien-Hue province and Da Nang city in the fields of land change prediction. Furthermore, the result enables to support land-use planners and decision-makers to propose strategies for urban development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Sustainable Utilization and Optimal Decision of Land Resources)

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14 pages, 2786 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Exploring Differentiated Conservation Priorities of Urban Green Space Based on Tradeoffs of Ecological Functions

by Huiying Li, Dianfeng Liu and Jianhua He

Sustainability 2022, 14(3), 1845; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14031845 - 05 Feb 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2014

Abstract

Urban green space (UGS) can simultaneously provide social and ecological benefits for humans. Although numerous studies have evaluated the multifunctional benefits of urban green space, few of them have determined the differentiated conservation priorities of UGS towards the tradeoff relationship of multiple UGS functions. Here, we proposed an integrated framework to explore the targeted conservation strategies of UGS patches. Specifically, the circuit theory model and gravity floating catchment area method were adopted to evaluate ecological connectivity and spatial accessibility of UGS under multiple scenarios in terms of different species dispersal distances and resident travelling modes, and Pareto ranking analysis was utilized to identify conservation priorities of UGS. Wuhan City in central China was taken as a case study. The results show that Wuhan exhibits low synergic relationship of ecological connectivity and spatial accessibility of UGS, and only approximately 7.51% of UGS patches on average rank high. Based on the frequency of UGS Pareto ranks under different scenarios, the differentiated conservation strategy was developed, which identified 10 key green areas that need to be protected and 11 green areas that need to be restored. This work is expected to provide an applicable framework to identify key UGS patches and assist in urban planning and layout optimization of multifunctional UGS in Wuhan, China. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Sustainable Utilization and Optimal Decision of Land Resources)

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16 pages, 2892 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Urban Land Expansion Simulation Considering the Diffusional and Aggregated Growth Simultaneously: A Case Study of Luoyang City

by Renyang Wang, Weishan He, Dang Wu, Lu Zhang and Yujia Li

Sustainability 2021, 13(17), 9781; https://doi.org/10.3390/su13179781 - 31 Aug 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1649

Abstract

Restricted by urban development stages, natural conditions, urban form and structure, diffusional growth occupies a large proportion of area in many cities. Traditional cellular automata (CA) has been widely applied in urban growth studies because it can simulate complex system evolution with simple rules. However, due to the limitation of neighborhood conditions, it is insufficient for simulating urban diffusional growth process. A maximum entropy mode was used to estimate three layers of probability spaces: the probability layer of cell transformation from non-urban status to urban status (PLCT), the probability layer for aggregated growth (PLAP), and the probability layer for diffusional growth (PLOP). At the same time, a maxent category selected CA model (MaxEnt-CSCA) was designed to simulate aggregated and diffusional urban expansion processes simultaneously. Luoyang City, with a large proportion of diffusional urban expansion (65.29% in 2009–2018), was used to test the effectiveness of MaxEnt-CSCA. The results showed that: (1) MaxEnt-CSCA accurately simulated aggregated growth of 47.40% and diffusional growth of 37.13% in Luoyang from 2009 to 2018, and the overall Kappa coefficient was 0.78; (2) The prediction results for 2035 showed that future urban expansion will mainly take place in Luolong District and the counties around the main urban area, and the distribution pattern of Luolong District will change from the relative diffusion state to the aggregation stage. This paper also discusses the applicable areas of MaxEnt-CSCA and illustrates the importance of selecting an appropriate urban expansion model in a region with a large amount of diffusional growth. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Sustainable Utilization and Optimal Decision of Land Resources)

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