Evaluation of the biconditional transformation of land use: a case study of Minhou County in China

Abstract

ABSTRACT Land use transformation is necessary to achieve the regional long-term socioeconomic development. The recent increase in land demand and external environmental stress in China has led to dramatic land use transformation. In the study, land use transformation in Minhou County in China was investigated from the biconditional perspective of dominant and recessive forms, which included the analysis of the quantity structure, transformation magnitude, transformation speed, spatial structure, efficiency, and function using remote sensing, geographic information system, topography, and socioeconomic data. The results revealed that, in the study of the dominant form, the construction land transformation in the industrialized town developing rapidly with a low-lying slope had the greatest speed, with an average annual growth rate of 8.74%, while the woodland was moving at the lowest rate of −3.62%. In the recessive form, the functional pattern of the construction land, cultivated land production, and the input into the woodland were revealed as the prime factors that impacted land use transformation. The linear growth of the functional index from the construction land, the increasing production index of the cultivated land, and the rebound efficiency of forestry production in Minhou County in China have been continuously influencing the variation in the land use patterns. The findings of the study would promote sustainable development and appropriate utilization of the land resources in the region by providing decision support to the government for scientific and rational planning and strengthening the efficiency of intensive land use.