Land Use Policy最新文献

China’s diets are undergoing a profound transformation, and carbon storage loss generated by dietary structure change is increasingly serious, accompanied by concerns about sustainable diets and food supply–demand conflicts. This paper designed a dual ‘material–environmental’ framework based on the dietary structure classification, around which we conducted the heterogeneity analysis of food supply–demand patterns and land carbon loss, and then tracked hotspot diets of trade-generated carbon loss through the multi-regional input–output (MRIO) model. The research found that 31 provinces could be classified into five clusters with obvious spatial agglomeration patterns, most of which still had a high proportion of staches, but also showed an evolutionary trend towards diversified compositions. Driven by dietary structure, the national food supply–demand match under the material accessibility dimension showed barely balanced overall, while in terms of environmental effects, ecosystems lost significant amounts of carbon stocks, with losses of 331 and 950 Tg¹ of vegetation carbon and soil organic carbon, respectively, which together accounted for 14 percent of the total carbon stocks in the vegetation and topsoil carbon pools. The clusters to which Henan, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong belong were tracked as hot dietary clusters exhibiting hotspots in inter-regional trade, contributing to carbon loss in external provinces through trade linkages. Heilongjiang and Inner Mongolia were at a low level of supply–demand balance but played the role of a carbon storage loser, while Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu not only possessed higher balance levels but also pulled more external carbon loss. China's food system should optimise internal cropping structures and monitor external land use conversion. It is equally important to track food consumption side rights and responsibilities.

Understanding the formation and causes of cropland abandonment is crucial for developing effective strategies to mitigate this process. However, studies on cropland abandonment often look at one spatial scale, although the relationship between abandonment and evaluated factors may change depending on the specific scale, which limits our understanding of the process of cropland abandonment. Taking mountainous Southern Sichuan of China as an example, we utilized satellite-derived cropland abandonment maps to assess the evolving patterns of cropland abandonment from 2003 to 2018 across various scales. We then carried out a multi-scale (parcel, local and regional) assessment of the relationships between selected 17 variables representing natural, location and socioeconomic conditions and cropland abandonment. Results showed, the cropland abandonment rate increased from 2 % in 2003 to 15 % by 2018, and cropland abandonment always showed a higher concentration in the central part of the study area. At different scales, a combination of factors, which determined cropland abandonment, differed. We also found the distance to the nearest county center was scale-dependent factor and statistically significant factor of cropland abandonment only at the local scale. Among the factors with large contributions, topography mattered at all three scales; cropland per capita, aging and agricultural labor per unit of cropland mattered at the parcel and regional scales. Cropland fragmentation, air temperature and distance to the nearest settlement mattered at the local scale; the distance to the nearest water system, the distance to nearest county center and agricultural mechanization mattered at the regional scale. This multi-scale assessment framework embodied with multi-variable and multi-temporal could provide a new perspective to reveal the complex nonlinear relationship between the determinants and cropland abandonment, and further help to predict future cropland abandonment hotspots and identify relevant land-use policies.

The equitable distribution of public medical facilities is a cornerstone of urban planning, shaping the essence of urban livability. The globally embraced "15-Minute Community Living Circle" has offered a guiding light, but its traditional emphasis on walking often oversimplifies the complex modal choices urban residents make, especially when health emergencies necessitate rapid access. Our study revitalizes this paradigm by infusing it with a multi-modal perspective, spotlighting Chengdu—a city emblematic of the urban metamorphosis typical in burgeoning metropolises. Leveraging real-time isochrone data, our study enhances the 15-Minute Community Living Circle concept by incorporating multiple transportation modes, aligning it more closely with the realities of urban mobility. Analyzing data from 85 comprehensive hospitals and 76 streets in Chengdu, we provide a detailed assessment of spatial accessibility and efficiency. This nuanced examination reveals a distinct disparity: the city center emerges as a hub of high accessibility, contrasting starkly with the more limited access characterizing its outskirts. As urbanization accelerates and populations converge towards city centers in developing nations, these findings are both a diagnosis and a call to action. Our methodology, synergizing the multi-modal essence with the 15-minute community philosophy, offers not just an in-depth appraisal of Chengdu's medical infrastructure but pioneers a versatile blueprint for urban centers globally, reshaping how we envision equitable healthcare access in urban landscapes.

Ecologically fragile areas, which are vulnerable to human disturbances, are facing development dilemmas due to the contradiction between economic development and environmental degradation. Examining the driving mechanism and future trends of land use transitions can inform territorial planning and land use policies to address the contradiction. However, research into the mechanisms governing the interaction between ecological and social factors driving land use transitions in ecologically fragile areas is currently limited. Considering the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Economic Belt (URYREB), a typical ecologically fragile area in China, as an example, this study discussed the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics and driving mechanisms of Urban-Agricultural-Ecological Space. The results indicated that ecological factors influence the direction, location, and scale of spatial evolution, while social factors dominate the direction and scale of spatial evolution. The interaction between ecological and social elements drives spatial evolution due to the endogenous development needs of the social-ecological system (SES), in conjunction with external policy guidance and economic development. In the future, urban function space may continue to expand and threaten surrounding agricultural function space, thus, corresponding land use policies are necessary to ensure food security. This study unveils the impact of multifactor interactions on land use transitions and offers insights for optimizing territorial space planning in ecologically fragile areas.

Rural decline is a common challenge facing the world, and it is imperative to revitalize the world's countryside. As an essential platform and means to promote rural revitalization, comprehensive land consolidation (CLC) is characterized by diverse governance subjects and a multi-subject collaborative network has been formed in its implementation process. Prior research primarily investigates the role of exogenous mechanisms in shaping multi-subject collaborative relationships, often overlooking endogenous mechanisms, namely the endogenous structural dependence of the multi-subject collaborative network itself. In this study, the research dimensions and levels of the CLC multi-subject collaborative network were combed out, and the influence mechanism of structural dependence on the formation of this network was analyzed. Taking the CLC pilot projects in 11 counties (cities and districts) in Hubei Province, China, as study cases, this study empirically examined the impact of structural dependence on forming the CLC multi-subject collaborative network using the exponential random graph model. The results show that the formation of the CLC multi-subject collaborative network was significantly influenced by endogenous mechanisms, such as reciprocal and triangular structures, and exhibited prominent path-dependent characteristics. In addition, structural dependence significantly weakened the influence effect of exogenous mechanisms, and ignoring endogenous mechanisms led to a decrease in the interpretability and credibility of exogenous mechanisms. Based on these findings, this study puts forward corresponding policy recommendations. This study provides theoretical insights and decision-making references for promoting effective collaboration among multiple subjects and enhancing the effectiveness of CLC. It also provides China’s experience and reference for other developing countries to establish a multi-subject collaboration model for land consolidation.

Sustainability of land use is a guiding paradigm for natural resource policy in the 21st century and should also be pursued in wildlife management. We have bridged the theoretical sustainability framework with practical policy implementation by defining a certification scheme whereby landowners implement game management systems that are aligned with sustainability standards and audited by accredited bodies. Oversight is provided by a governance committee, comprising scientists, public officers, and certification body representatives, ensuring adaptability to evolving societal attitudes and regulatory changes. Using the Delphi method with a panel of 78 experts we defined key sustainability criteria for sustainable game management following a criterion of consensus. The agreed criteria were structured around three dimensions: game population, habitat, and socio-economic aspects, forming a coherent framework. The seven most important criteria for defining a certification system focused on maintaining or improving: 1) game population abundance, distribution, structure, and behavior compatible with conservation; 2) natural genetic characteristics of game populations; 3) diversity and conservation status of native game species; 4) diversity of native non-game species; 5) conservation status and diversity of habitats; 6) socio-economic functions and conditions of the activity; and 7) customer satisfaction. We discuss how the label derived from this certification could serve as an identity brand with positive effects on the recreational hunting market, but also that the promotion of this system requires the commitment of policy makers as well as the valuing of hunters against other options less respectful of the natural environment.

High Nature Value (HNV) farmland and forest systems play a vital role in supporting biodiversity and delivery of ecosystem services. Estimates of HNV forest area and distribution in the European Union (EU) are rarely conducted, despite having been a requirement of Rural Development Programmes. This work represents the first attempt to identify and estimate the area of HNV forest in the Republic of Ireland in a repeatable and transparent way. Relevant geo-datasets available for Ireland were collated and analysed. We investigated whether the datasets contained information on the indicators used in a recently-developed Nature Value (NV) index, and explored the potential of proxy indicators to determine the likelihood of a mapped area of forest being HNV. Based on these analyses, a likelihood map of the distribution of forest in different NV categories was produced and an accuracy assessment conducted. Results from this study suggest that HNV forest accounts for approximately 1 % of the Irish land area, or 8 % of the total forest area. Accuracy assessments indicated substantial agreement between the likelihood map classifications and the calculated NV status of National Forest Inventory plots. The methodology presented here could also be applied to existing similar datasets to estimate the extent and distribution of HNV forest in other regions. The mapped output provides a likelihood of a forest area being HNV and can provide evidence to inform the development of forest conservation policies.

Grasslands, important agricultural land systems, are undergoing significant shifts such as intensification, abandonment, and conversion to alternative land uses in Europe, leading to biodiversity loss. Despite major efforts, the European Union´s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has been unable to halt the decline of grasslands and to appropriately adjust management intensity because implemented policies have not considered the heterogeneity of grassland systems. However, accounting for this heterogeneity is essential to increase the policies´ effectiveness. In this study, we used archetype analysis to identify recurrent patterns in the heterogeneity of farm configurations, using Germany as an example, that can help tailor policy instruments to specific regional conditions. By applying self-organising maps, we reveal nine archetypes integrating 16 farm accountancy indicators. Advancing archetype analysis, we discuss their dynamics (including their emergence, disappearance and persistence) between 1992 and 2019 at the level of federal states and interpret these dynamics in the light of CAP. For example, archetypes in the western federal states are dominated by small crop and dairy farms, while archetypes in the eastern federal states are more diverse, including larger subsidised farms and medium crop farms. Moreover, archetype dynamics in the southern federal states indicate a decline in small dairy farms and an increase in small crop farms, implying the loss of valuable habitats for wild species. Policy instruments tailored to such regional conditions could more appropriately halt this loss. These insights derived from agricultural land systems in Germany can enrich the debate about how to better tailor policy instruments to regional conditions to preserve functional grassland systems in Europe and worldwide.

Istanbul Bosphorus is one of the most important protected landscapes of Türkiye with its dramatic topography, natural landscape, and historical and cultural heritage embedded within this natural setting. However, studies focusing on the visual landscape assessment (VLA) of Bosphorus are limited. The main goal was to evaluate the VLA of Bosphorus and to understand the users' perception of this multi-layered landscape via utilizing VLA based on the evaluation of 45 photographs taken from the sea. For this goal, the study investigates the environmental texture proportion (ETP: vegetation, built environment, sea, and sky) and RGB values of the photographs using parameters such as naturalness, beautiful scenery, disturbance, excitement, safety, and livability in 5-Likert’s scale. Findings demonstrated that photographs with more vegetation than built environment, with those containing 10 % or more vegetation receiving higher overall scores. Vegetation showed a high positive correlation with naturalness, beautiful scenery, excitement, safety, and livability. Moreover, disturbance was positively correlated with the built environment, and negatively correlated with vegetation. Namely, the most problematic ETP type for VLA was the built environment in Bosphorus. The study further identified built environment characteristics as a critical environmental component, with historical and mansion-type buildings scoring higher than other building types. Another important finding was that certain user features, such as gender, influenced perceptions of beautiful scenery (9 p-value), excitement (10), safety (11), and livability (21), while usage frequency affected perceptions of excitement (14) and safety (13). In other words, men gave higher scores to photographs compared to women, and users who regularly utilized the study area rated the photographs more favorably than those who used it less frequently. In conclusion, the study found that user characteristics of gender and usage frequency were influential factors, and vegetation (10 % and above) was the most paramount element for preferences when considering the visual landscape of the Bosphorus in Istanbul.