Urban spatial structure features in Qinling mountain area based on ecological network analysis-case study of Shangluo City

Abstract

Since the 20th century, the world is facing two major problems: the serious deterioration of the ecological environment and the accelerated decline of living quality of people residing in the urban environment. Urban development policies, ecological patterns, production and consumption modes have an important impact on global environmental changes that threaten the future living of mankind. The focus of urban space construction has also turned to the fields of ecological security, energy development, resource management and urban ecological virtuous circulation. Investigating urban spatial structure features from the perspective of urban metabolic system is important for ecological security and resource management. Shangluo urban space in Qinling area is used as the research object and an analysis system of urban spatial structure based on ecological network analysis is proposed in this study. First, an ecological network model of urban space was constructed from the research perspective of ecological network analysis and the system metabolic level was evaluated using metabolic scale, intensity, and efficiency. Second, the system structure of urban metabolic network and its functional relations were analyzed. On this basis, interactive relationships among different components in the metabolic system were explored via symbiosis index and symbiotic, competitive, predatory, and control relations. Meanwhile, the ecological network analysis method is used to construct an analysis system for urban spatial structure in the Qinling mountain area. Finally, the analysis system of urban spatial structure in the Qinling mountain area is applied to examine the urban spatial structure of Shangluo, Qinling Mountains, China. Results showed that resource utilization efficiency of Shangluo City presents a rising trend and the city is located in a strong structural center in the regional space. Predatory and control relations played a dominant role among ecological relations in the urban metabolic structure, and the urban space presented a clear uniaxially extended spatial structure. Sensitivity of internal environment was extremely evident, and the natural spatial structure was an important basis for urban space development in Shangluo. The urban spatial structure analysis system in this research is constructed with the three aspects of “metabolic level”, “ecological relationship” and “compartment weight” of the spatial structure information, which solves the problem that the conventional spatial structure analysis system is difficult to quantify the ecological network information, and it provides a new idea to explain the internal component interaction mechanism and spatial structure composition of the urban system. The results of this study can provide not only useful reference for urban spatial structure analysis of underdeveloped ecological capital areas in China but also a basis for sustainable development planning of urban spaces.