Abstract
Settlements, an important field of research for relationships between humans and the land, has shown a severe threat to ancient villages located in Xishan National Forest Park because of rapid increases in forest tourism. To provide suggestions for improvement of the ancient village in Xishan National Forest Park, Landsat 7 remote sensing images and a digital elevation model of Xishan Forest Park were used as the main data sources for elevation, slope, aspect, distance to rivers, land cover, and distance to roads. Evaluation of settlements was based on a GIS spatial stacking analysis module combined with landscape pattern theory. Analysis and optimization of the settlement patch distribution included landscape patterns of Area-Weighted Mean Shape Index （AWMSI）, Mean Patch Size （MPS）, and Patch Size Standard Deviation （PSSD） indexes. The results showed that （1） only 263.34 hm2 accounting for 3.13% was most suitable for settlements; whereas, 3 973.68 hm2 was not suitable accounting for 47.17%. （2） For landscape patterns AWMSI, MPS, and PSSD indexes were minimum in the most suitable areas, but these indexes were maximum in the most unsuitable areas. （3） For settlement patches located in unsuitable areas, reasonable optimization measures should be taken to adjust settlement structure on the basis of protection. （4） In the ancient village of Dongcun, buildings with first-class, second-class and third-class architectural features located in the most suitable and relatively suitable areas; However, fourth-class buildings composed of illegal and temporary buildings mainly occupied relatively suitable areas for settlement. It can be inferred from these results that the most unsuitable area is much larger than the most suitable area in Xishan National Forest Park. Most of the present settlement patches were reasonable and should be well preserved. Appropriate area can be an alternative building site for settlement development in the long run. ［Ch, 3 fig. 4 tab. 16 ref.］
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
