Improved trade-off model of land use functions: Differentiated objective setting by territory spatial planning

Abstract

Land use functions (LUFs) refer to the capacity of a land use system to supply human welfare; understanding the trade-offs among multiple LUFs to transform land systems for people and nature is pivotal. The traditional way to assess the degree of trade-off between functions based on the level of multiple functions ignores the differences in natural and social conditions for developing ecological, productive, and livelihood functions of land in different regions. That method makes it difficult to achieve effective land use optimization strategies. In this study, an improved framework for identified trade-offs of production-living-ecological function indicator was developed. Based on the national territory spatial planning, we constructed land use multifunctionality trade-offs degree (LUMTD) and analysed the relationship between the indicators. A generalized additive model was also used to explore the natural and human impacts on land use multifunctionality trade-offs. Land use conflicts were found to be more intense in high altitudes and in transition zones between high altitudes. The LUMTD in the plains dominated by classes I and II accounted for 50 % of the total; it was dominated by classes IV and V in the plateau and its transition areas and accounted for more than 50 % of the total. Our results suggest that the influence of natural and socioeconomic factors on LUMTD had a clear threshold, with the threshold effect of altitude on LUMTD beginning to occur within the 1,000 ∼ 2,000 m elevation range, of temperature at 10 °C, and of built-up land density at 1,200. An efficient differentiation strategy for avoiding land use conflict might be collaborative land management actions that focus on the coordinated development of land production, ecological, and living functions.