Comprehensive Land Research Articles

Theories and practices of comprehensive land consolidation in promoting multifunctional land use

Rapid urbanization requires comprehensive land consolidation to manage multifunctional land use. The promotion of multifunctional land use is an effective rural development strategy for upgrading comprehensive land consolidation and stimulating rural vitalization. This study attempts to illustrate the connotation and characteristics of comprehensive land consolidation and reveal the driving mechanism in promoting multifunctional land use. This was achieved by constructing a complete process analysis framework of comprehensive land consolidation and using the town of Hemudu in Zhejiang province, a comprehensive land consolidation pilot area, as a case study. Land use practices in Hemudu were examined, and the impact of comprehensive land consolidation on multifunctional land use was measured quantitatively. The results show that comprehensive land consolidation is characterized by meeting multiple needs, taking diversified engineering measures, and increasing efficient function supply to address the issues caused by the mismatch between the supply and demand of land use functions. These strategies contribute to a continuous process of land use transition in the consolidation area and help to achieve balanced and healthy ecological elements, optimal landscape structures, realized land value, enhanced function supply, and empowered rural culture. The implementation process in the pilot area was complex and systematic, from the integration of rural space to the improvement of villagers’ quality of life, and finally, to the restoration and protection of the ecological environment. Overall, the implementation promoted multifunctional land use in Hemudu but the imbalance between different functions still exists and is significant. Concerning the improvement of land use function, optimal paths are proposed to guide rational and scientific comprehensive land consolidation practices in the future.

Using Satellite Data to Characterize Land Surface Processes in Morocco

This study endeavors to produce a comprehensive land cover map for Morocco, addressing the absence of such a detailed map in the country. Our research encompasses ecological and climatic aspects specific to Morocco, while the methods used can be adapted to various regions and countries, considering their unique climatic conditions and land cover types. A combination of MODIS and Landsat datasets was employed to create a 5 km resolution Land Use and Land Cover (LULC) map for the entire nation. The process involved the aggregation and advanced processing of these datasets using surface processes algorithms. The resulting LULC map is the first of its kind for Morocco, shedding light on land cover distribution nationwide. It shows that approximately 13.5% of the country is covered by forests, predominantly in the Atlas and Rif mountains, Rabat–Sale, and the southern regions. Grasslands occupy over 16% of the study area, mainly in the north-east and west. Urban areas, including major cities like Casablanca, Rabat, and Marrakech, span nearly 3400 km². Moreover, large areas of shrublands and bare lands are evident across the country, while agricultural lands account for almost 20% of the national territory, mainly in the interior plains and north-western Atlantic coast. This study forms a crucial basis for ecological and climatic research in Morocco and serves as a valuable reference for various disciplines such as agriculture, natural resource management, and climate modeling. The mapping of biophysical parameters for each land cover class is a key feature of our research, and these parameters will be instrumental in a subsequent study examining the impact of urban development on surface climate in Morocco. Overall, our study underscores the importance of understanding biophysical parameters in addressing environmental and societal challenges.

The response of ecological security to land use change in east and west subtropical China.

Regional land use change and ecological security have received considerable attention in recent years. The rapid economic development of Kunming and Fuzhou has resulted in environmental damage such as water pollution and urban heat island effect. It is thus important to conduct a comparative analysis of the ecological security response to land use/land cover change (LUCC) in different natural zones. Using the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, random forest and support vector machine methods were used to classify land cover types in the study area, after which the ArcGIS platform was used to analyze LUCC. The driving force-pressure-state-impact-response (DPSIR) model and entropy weight method were used to construct an ecological security evaluation system, and gray correlation was used to compare the ecological security responses to LUCC in Kunming and Fuzhou. The findings revealed that: (1) The average dynamic degrees of comprehensive land use in Kunming and Fuzhou from 1995 to 2020 were 1.05% and 0.55%, respectively; (2) From 1995 to 2020, the ecological security index values for Kunming and Fuzhou increased from 0.42 to 0.52 and from 0.36 to 0.68, respectively, indicating that Fuzhou's index is rising more rapidly; and (3)There is a strong correlation between LUCC and ecological security, the correlation between the woodland and the ecological security index is very strong in both places. The expansion of construction land may be an important reason for the reduced ecological security level in Fuzhou City, while water resources have a significant impact on the ecological security level of Kunming City.

Driving Mechanism of Comprehensive Land Consolidation on Urban–Rural Development Elements Integration

Identifying the driving mechanism of comprehensive land consolidation (CLC) on urban–rural development elements integration (URDEI) is of great significance for promoting the coordinated development of urban and rural areas. Based on the composition of urban and rural element systems, this study establishes the theoretical framework of the influence of CLC on URDEI and verifies the framework through empirical cases in Chongqing, China. The results show that (1) CLC promotes URDEI and realizes the rational allocation of urban and rural resources by improving the quality of urban and rural elements and opening up two-way flow channels. (2) The case analysis demonstrates that CLC can improve the quality of rural elements and increase the added value of the flow to the city, which in turn drives urban elements such as talents, technology, and capital to pour into the countryside, therefore forming a realistic path for the URDEI. This study helps understand the role of CLC in the transformation of URDEI and provides a reference for the scientific implementation of land consolidation.

Research on Legislative Improvement of The Distribution System of Value-Added Income of Homestead

From 2013 to 2021, the For eight consecutive years, the Central No. 1 document and relevant meetings have repeatedly proposed to gradually improve the protection of rural homestead rights and interests and improve farmers' property income. As the rural collective construction land, the rural construction land with the widest audience, the largest area and the most far-reaching impact of interests is an important property enjoyed by farmers and farmers. How to formulate a fair and reasonable compensation method for homestead expropriation and the distribution method of value-added income generated after expropriation is an important link of homestead system reform in China. From the current distribution standard of homestead value-added income in our country, it is still far from the real fair and reasonable distribution standard of homestead value-added income. The distribution standard of "District comprehensive land price" for house land value-added income adopted in the Land Administration and Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Land Administration Law of 2019) amended in 2019 is higher than that of the annual output value multiple method adopted in the Land Administration and Administration Law of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as the Land Administration Law of 2014) for house land The value income distribution standard has some progressive significance, but the compensation standard is still very low. This paper conducts judicial empirical research on the distribution of value-added income of homestead, and analyzes the distribution of value-added income of homestead from three aspects: system introduction, collection scope and compensation principle.

Chemical analysis of the state of Ukrainian soils in the combat zone

ABSTRACT Even in peacetime, bad farming practices have degraded the soil but war has exacerbated the situation. To support comprehensive land rehabilitation, publicly available data are scrutinised to establish the composition of soils under shelling, bombing, missile strikes and pollution by fuels and lubricants. These data show that the content of various toxic substances exceeds permissible limits several-fold, and soil acidity is increased. Heavy contamination with fuels and lubricants changes the soil’s chemical and physical properties, killing all but the most resilient flora and fauna.

Comprehensive Land Consolidation Zoning Based on Minimum Cumulative Resistance Model—A Case Study of Chongqing, Southwest China

Comprehensive land consolidation (CLC) has become an effective tool for promoting the coordinated development of production, living, and ecological spaces (PLES) in rural China. Given the remarkable territorial differentiation, planning strategies that are geared towards local conditions are indispensable for implementing CLC projects. This study employs the minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model to simulate the horizontal competition among PLES in Chongqing. The suitability evaluation index system for PLES was developed using natural ecological data, socio-economic data, and land use data from Chongqing Municipality. The results show that: (1) Based on the principles of productivity, livability, and sustainability, the suitability of PLES in Chongqing is classified into highly suitable, moderately suitable, generally suitable, unsuitable, and extremely unsuitable areas. The spatial distribution of suitability across different levels in Chongqing exhibits certain degrees of overlap, intersection, and clustering. (2) Based on the different resistance relationships, 1031 townships in Chongqing were divided into seven types of CLC areas. The northeastern and southeastern regions of Chongqing Municipality exhibit distinct ecological and functional advantages, whereas the northern and western parts of the city are characterized by greater multifunctionality. (3) Tailored CLC measures are suggested for various suitability scenarios, aligning with local conditions and planned developments. The MCR model and PLES theory integrated zoning methods for CLC are practicable and effective, providing a scientific foundation for the construction of land consolidation plans in Chongqing and important references for regional sustainable development.

Analysis of the Spatiotemporal Evolution and Factors Influencing Ecological Land in Northwest Yunnan from the Perspective of Leading the Construction of a National Ecological Civilization

Yunnan Province has emerged as a trailblazer in fostering an ecological civilization, assuming a prominent and pioneering role as the vanguard of ecological conservation in the southwestern region of China. Within the expansive tapestry of Yunnan Province, the northwest region has assumed a pivotal and indispensable position in spearheading the advancement of ecological civilization. To unravel the intricate and complex dynamics at play, this investigation employed a comprehensive array of methodologies, encompassing the sophisticated land use transfer matrix, the dynamic degree of land use, the center-of-gravity migration model, and the standard deviation ellipse. These sophisticated approaches were employed to delve deeply into the nuanced characteristics of the spatiotemporal evolution of ecologically pristine land in northwest Yunnan, while meticulously exploring the multifaceted factors that have intricately shaped its trajectory. The research findings illuminated several pivotal domains: (1) In terms of quantitative transformations, a substantial conversion of vast grassland expanses into cultivated land transpired from 2000 to 2010, spanning an expansive territory of 1303 km2. The most significant transformations were observed between forested land and grassland (591.81 km2) and from cropland to built-up land (51.99 km2). (2) Turning our attention to the pace of transformation, a closer examination of the land use dynamic degree revealed that urban construction land exhibited the highest degree of dynamism throughout the study period, demonstrating an average annual growth rate of 3.89% from 2000 to 2010, followed by a more accelerated growth rate of 6.14% from 2010 to 2020. In terms of the comprehensive land use dynamic degree, the annual rates of land use change from 2000 to 2010 and from 2010 to 2020 were only 0.1% and 0.03%, respectively. These figures indicate a gradual and deliberate overall pace of land use change in the northwest region of Yunnan throughout the entire study period. (3) Regarding spatial transformations, between 2000 and 2010, there was a discernible southeastern displacement of the center of gravity for ecological land. However, from 2010 to 2020, the center of ecological land experienced a migration towards the northwest, covering an impressive migration distance of up to 48,657.35 m. Simultaneously, the index of biological abundance exhibited high values in the northwest and low values in the southeast, indicative of favorable ecological conditions in the northwest region. (4) An analysis of the influencing factors revealed that the adaptive and dynamic nature of social and economic factors played a pivotal role in shaping the alterations observed in the ecological landscape. The study of ecological land use in northwest Yunnan holds the potential to provide valuable support for the protection and sustainable utilization of regional ecological land use, thereby contributing to the consolidation of the ecological security barrier in southwestern Yunnan and the preservation of biodiversity.

Assessing the Sustainability Impacts of the Xiaolangdi Dam: Land Use and Socioeconomic Change in the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yellow River Basin

This paper assesses the sustainability impacts in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in China after the Xiaolangdi Dam was constructed. Based on land use data interpreted from Landsat remote sensing images, covering the time period from 2000 to 2020 at 5-year intervals, this research uses a land dynamic attitude index and comprehensive index of land use degree to reveal the degree of land use type change in the study area and analyze the relationship between land use and social economy. The results show that urban and rural construction land is the land use type with the largest annual change rate, and the increase is most obvious from 2005 to 2010, growing by nearly 900 km2. The six types of land use in the research area changed sharply from 2000 to 2010, with grassland and unused land showing the most significant change. On the whole, the dynamic attitude of comprehensive land use tends to be stable. The comprehensive index analysis of land use degree indicates that the study area has developed in the direction of urban settlement. Population and GDP are the main driving factors affecting the constant change in land use types in this region, in which population growth and rapid economic development are the main factors leading to the decline of grassland area, and are also the main driving factors for the expansion of construction land. The research results provide a scientific basis for sustainable land use and development in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin.

Impact of land tenure security through customary law on agricultural productivity in Burkina Faso: Propensity score matching approaches

Land tenure security plays an important role in agricultural production systems. The objective of this paper is to empirically assess the impact of land tenure security through customary law on agricultural productivity in Burkina Faso. We use panel data from 15,627 agricultural households over the period 2019–2021. Four propensity score matching methods are used: the nearest neighbor method, the stratification method, the radius method and the kernel method. The instrumental variables technique was used to control for endogeneity. Overall, the results indicate that household land security improves agricultural productivity. The minimum gain in agricultural productivity is estimated to be USD 86.4 per agricultural asset per season for households with customary land tenure. In terms of economic policy implications, the results call on the authorities in charge of conducting agricultural policies to promote comprehensive land policies by adapting them to local contexts through the recognition of customary institutions for rural land management.

Analysis of Spatial-Temporal Changes and Driving Factors of Vegetation Coverage in Jiamusi City

This study of vegetation coverage in Jiamusi City provides theoretical support for local urban development, land use, and ecological environmental protection. Based on the land cover data and Landsat remote sensing image data from 2000 to 2020, the vegetation cover and land use data of Jiamusi City were extracted. The study includes the following aspects: (1) an analysis of the spatio-temporal changes in vegetation coverage; (2) analysis of the land use situation in Jiamusi City; and (3) investigation of the impact of natural and human factors on vegetation coverage in Jiamusi City using the Geodetector model. The results show that (1) over the past 20 years, the vegetation coverage of Jiamusi has shown a decreasing trend, declining from 25.22% in 2000 to 17.13% in 2020, representing a decrease of 32%. In terms of spatial distribution, the areas of Fuyuan City and Tongjiang City have experienced more significant decreases in vegetation coverage, decreasing by 73.6% and 54.0%, respectively. (2) The land use pattern of Jiamusi City has undergone significant changes during the study period; except for paddy fields (PF), unused land (UL), and construction land (CL), the areas of all the land categories have decreased. The ranking of the single land use dynamic degree in terms of magnitude is as follows: PF, UL, CL, dry farmland (DF), vegetation coverage land (VCL), and wetland (WET). (3) The changes in vegetation coverage were influenced by both natural and human activities and, according to the Geodetector results, the main influencing factors were CL and DF. The key findings of this study emphasize the need for comprehensive land use planning and ecological environmental protection that focus on sustainable development and conservation practices, and lay the groundwork for future ecosystem management and urban planning efforts in Jiamusi City.

Bibliometric Analysis of Land Degradation Studies in Drylands Using Remote Sensing Data: A 40-Year Review

Drylands are vast and face threats from climate change and human activities. Traditional reviews cannot capture interdisciplinary knowledge, but bibliometric analysis provides valuable insights. Our study conducted bibliometric research of scientific production on climate change and land degradation in drylands using remote sensing. We examined 1527 Scopus-indexed publications to identify geographic and thematic hotspots, extracting leading authors, journals, and institutions. China leads in publications, followed by the US, Germany, and Australia. The US has the highest citation count. Collaboration networks involve the US, China, and European countries. There has been an exponential increase in remote sensing of land degradation in drylands (RSLDD) publications since 2011. Key journals include “International Journal of Remote Sensing” and “Remote Sensing of Environment”. The analysis highlights the growing interest in the field, driven by Australia, the US, and China. Key areas of study are vegetation dynamics and land use change. Future perspectives for this scientific field involve promoting collaboration and exploring emerging technologies for comprehensive land degradation and desertification research.

Landscape Ecological Risk Assessment and Analysis of Influencing Factors in Selenga River Basin

Land degradation under the influence of global warming and ecological environmental destruction due to poor land management is the main challenge facing the Mongolian Plateau, and its future ecological risk change trends and drivers are also unclear. Therefore, to address the context relevant to this challenge, planning based on measured information from land use patterns is required. Based on land use and land cover (LULC), this study evaluates the landscape ecological risk (LER) of the Selenga River Basin by calculating the landscape pattern index. The spatiotemporal pattern and influencing factors of landscape ecological risk in the Selenga River Basin from 1990 to 2040 were analyzed. According to the results of LULC analysis, forest and grassland were the primary land use types in the Selenga River Basin. The built area, forest, and cropland showed an increasing trend, while the grassland area showed a fluctuating decreasing trend. From 1990 to 2010, the comprehensive land use dynamic degree showed a trend of rising first and then falling, specifically from 0.13% in 1990 to 0.29% in 2010, and will drop to 0.06% by 2040, indicating that the range of land use change is becoming more and more stable. The landscape ecological risk assessment shows a distribution pattern of “low at the edge and high in the middle”. The landscape ecological risk index (LER) first increases and then decreases, with the peak value in 2010 (0.085). By calculating the spatial aggregation of LER and the partial correlation with climate, we found that the Moran’s I index showed an “anti-V”-shaped change trend from 1990 to 2040, and the average landscape ecological risk presents positive spatial correlation, primarily with high-value aggregation, and peaked in 2010. Precipitation had a negative correlation with landscape ecological risk controlling for temperature, while there was a positive relationship between temperature and landscape ecological risk under the influence of controlling precipitation. This study provides a scientific basis for LULC planning in the Selenga River Basin, and is of great significance for maintaining the ecological security of the Mongolian Plateau.

Difference and consistency of multi-sources land cover products in global large river estuaries

Many land cover products with different resolutions and types have been produced by researchers, which provide important information on changes in the terrestrial surface. However, multi-source land cover products around the world differ greatly at the coastal regional scale. Information on coastal land cover remains very limited for the large river estuaries around the world, which are one of the important ecosystems on Earth. There is an urgent need to review land cover products to provide a reference for understanding the exquisite evolutionary process and resource management of the delta ecosystems. Here, we evaluated the consistency and accuracy of the current mainstream land cover products through area deviation, area correlation, pixel superposition, and error matrix. We found that 1) the comprehensive land cover products had basically the same land cover type composition and distribution features in estuaries, but the area of different types in vary products vary to a degree; 2) the correlation coefficient of the comprehensive land cover products was 0.64–0.99, with the highest correlation being between GLC_FCS30 and GlobeLand30 and the lowest correlation being between Esri_Land_Cover and GlobeLand30; 3) among the comprehensive products, land cover types are inconsistent in their spatial distribution and wetlands were the most inconsistent, followed by bare land, vegetation, impervious area, cropland, and water body. Among the special products, tidal flats were the most inconsistent, followed by impervious areas and water bodies; 4) the special land cover products were highly consistent at the pixel-level in the delta regions, and the water body of special products were more consistent than impervious area and tidal flats; 5) the wetland classification accuracy of the comprehensive products in the delta areas must be improved and the overall accuracy of the Esri_Land_Cover was the highest. GLC_FCS30, the Global Surface Water dataset, and the Global Tidal Wetland Change dataset had higher accuracy than the special types, including for impervious areas, water bodies, and tidal flats. Our findings can help users choose the appropriate land cover data for their purpose, and supports the sustainable management of estuaries.

Analysis and Evaluation of the Benefits of Rural Land Remediation Planning in China

Compared with land improvement performance evaluation and post evaluation, the essence of the former is to conduct predictive analysis and evaluation of events that have not occurred, while the latter can directly use indicator data that has occurred for analysis. This article conducts corresponding benefit analysis and evaluation of comprehensive land consolidation work through qualitative and quantitative evaluation, closely focusing on the goals and tasks of national land consolidation planning and provincial land use overall planning, and coordinating and arranging projects such as land consolidation, reclamation and development, and urban-rural construction land increase and decrease linkage. By utilizing urban land consolidation models such as old city renovation, we aim to improve the efficiency of urban land use and increase the effective area of urban construction land. In accordance with the requirements of the new rural construction, efforts will be made to strengthen land consolidation, concentrate on promoting land leveling and the construction of farmland water conservancy, field roads, and field protective forests, and effectively promote the scale and industrialization of agriculture; Efforts will be made to promote village renovation and form a new rural pattern with relatively concentrated housing and beautiful environment.

The Development Status and Prospects of Comprehensive Land Remediation in the Whole Region

China has vast land, and rural land is the foundation for farmers' survival. In recent years, rural areas have been vigorously promoting the strategy of rural revitalization, and the fundamental task of rural revitalization is to first rectify the land, as the land in rural areas is now relatively scattered. Comprehensive land consolidation has become an important means to implement the concept of ecological civilization construction and the strategy of rural revitalization. It is also a platform for the Ministry of Natural Resources to fulfill the responsibilities of unified land use control and ecological protection and restoration, and to implement land spatial planning. Carrying out comprehensive land consolidation across the entire region is not only an inevitable requirement of the new development concept for land consolidation work, but also a fundamental trend in the development of land consolidation work in the new era.

Flying Fox Roost (Pteropodidae: Acerodon jubatus) in Timaco Hill, Cotabato City, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), Philippines

Flying foxes are among bat species threatened with extinction due to anthropogenic activities. Conservation efforts have been employed to protect flying foxes thus, information on viable roosts is pertinent to their success. A population of an endangered Philippine endemic Acerodon jubatus, approximately 250 individuals, was recorded roosting on Terminalia microcarpa and Pterocarpus indicus in Timaco Hill of Barangay Kalanganan II, Cotabato City, Philippines. The Bangsamoro Parliament of Cotabato City has a pending resolution to declare Timaco Hill as a protected area to preserve its biodiversity. However, its Comprehensive Land Use Plan envisioned the area as a potential commercial and ecotourism site. The discovery of A. jubatus population in the area can boost ecotourism and increase the economic potential of the local community. However, ecotourism can be a source of disturbance that can potentially affect wildlife. Considering the economic and environmental benefits of ecotourism, it is highly recommended that the Local Government Unit come up with a comprehensive strategic development plan for Timaco Hill to fulfill the goal of ecotourism – to generate revenue from tourism for wildlife conservation and the community’s economic development.

Regional Carbon Stock Response to Land Use Structure Change and Multi-Scenario Prediction: A Case Study of Hunan Province, China

Modifications in land use patterns exert profound influences on the configuration, arrangement, and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems, thereby inducing fluctuations in carbon sequestration. Consequently, precise ecological decision-making and an in-depth exploration of the interplay between land use alterations and carbon storage dynamics assume paramount importance in the pursuit of optimal regional land use configurations. In this investigation, we employed the InVEST model to analyze the spatiotemporal variations in land utilization and carbon storage in Hunan Province, based on comprehensive land use data spanning the period from 2000 to 2020. Additionally, the PLUS model was utilized to project the future spatial distribution of carbon storage in Hunan Province until 2040, encompassing diverse development scenarios. The findings of our study are as follows: (1) Land use changes instantaneously impact carbon storage within the study area. From 2000 to 2020, urban construction land witnessed an expansion of 3542 km2, which accounted for an increase from 1.13% to 2.78% of the total land area. Consequently, there was a decline in arable land, woodlands, and grasslands, resulting in a reduction of 3430.25 tons of carbon storage in Hunan Province. (2) The ecological protection scenario is projected to yield the most substantial increase in carbon storage, with an estimated magnitude of 7.02 × 10⁶ tons by the year 2040. According to the natural evolution scenario, the total amount of carbon storage is anticipated to remain similar to that of 2020, with a marginal increase of 2.81 × 10⁵ tons. Under the arable land protection scenario, carbon storage is predicted to decrease by 1.060 × 10⁷ tons. Conversely, the urban development scenario is expected to result in the most substantial reduction of 2.243 × 10⁷ tons of carbon storage. These findings underscore the efficacy of adopting ecological protection and natural development policies in curbing the decline in carbon storage. (3) The geographic distribution of carbon storage areas exhibits a strong correspondence with that of land use. Regions characterized by elevated carbon storage levels exhibit minimal urban construction land, an abundance of compact and contiguous ecological land, and a higher frequency of such land parcels. To enhance regional carbon storage levels and achieve sustainable development goals, future endeavors should prioritize the implementation of ecological protection and natural development policies.

The Implications of the Dichotomous Management of Rural Land in the Light of Land Use/Cover Change

This study examines the implications of dichotomous management of rural land, focusing on the resulting land use/cover change and loss of prime agricultural land in Vulindlela. Purposive sampling was used to select participants with valuable insights into land use planning and management. Data collection utilized a mixed-method approach, including secondary quantitative data (2022 records of Traditional Councils' size, wards, villages, headmen, and qualifications) and primary qualitative data gathered through semi-structured interviews. Quantitative descriptive analysis revealed varying numbers and sizes of wards in Vulindlela TCs, with Inadi TC being the largest (seven wards, 19 villages) and Ximba TC the smallest (two wards, three villages). Some villages had more than two wards, while others had fewer. Qualitative inductive thematic analysis of interview responses highlighted divergent views among traditional leaders (TL) regarding land ownership, with some claiming ownership while others believed it belonged to the traditional community. TL reported the existence of land use plans, with some TCs having informal plans. Conversely, the Msunduzi Municipality (MM) indicated comprehensive land use plans covering Vulindlela do exist, and these plans are discussed during Imbizo (gatherings) to engage the community in understanding and using these plans. Keywords: Rural areas, Traditional leadership, Land use planning, Land use management

Impact of Land Use Change on Carbon Storage Based on FLUS-InVEST Model: A Case Study of Chengdu–Chongqing Urban Agglomeration, China

Land use change is one of the main factors driving changes in terrestrial carbon storage, which comprises the storage of vegetation carbon and soil carbon. Selecting the Chengdu–Chongqing urban agglomeration (CCUA) as the study area, land use and carbon storage from 2010 to 2030 were analyzed by combining the Future Land Use Simulation (FLUS) model and the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model. The main types of land use in CCUA are farmland and forest. The conversion of farmland to built-up land was the most important form of land use transfer between 2010 and 2020. Each type of land use shows the smallest change under the ecological protection scenario, and the degree of the comprehensive land use dynamic is only 0.19%. Under the natural development scenario, the areas of built-up land, wetland, and forest land will increase in 2030. Under the urban development scenario, the built-up land area will increase by 751.24 km2, an increase in more than 10.08%, but farmland, forest, and grassland will decrease. The spatial pattern of carbon storage is “high in the east and west, low in the middle”; farmland accounts for the largest proportion of carbon storage at over 60% of the total. Carbon storage decreased by 29.45 × 106 Mg from 2010 to 2020. Grassland showed the most significant decrease in carbon storage, with the proportion decreasing from 7.49% in 2010 to 6.09% in 2020. In 2030, the total carbon storage will reach 1844.68 × 106 Mg under the ecological protection scenario, slightly higher than that in 2020, while it will show a downward trend under the natural development and urban development scenarios.