Comprehensive Land Research Articles

Temporal and Spatial Evolution of Land Use in Gansu Section of The Yellow River Basin and Analysis of Driving Forces

Land use change is an essential representation of the interaction between human activities and the natural environment as well as a vital part of global environmental change and sustainable research. Exemplified by the Gansu section of the Yellow River Basin, land-use transfer matrix, land-use change index and principal component analysis are used to study the spatiotemporal evolution pattern and driving mechanism of land use. The results revealed that during the study period, grassland, plowland and woodland are the primary type of land use in the Gansu section of the Yellow River Basin, land use transition was mainly based on the transfer between plowland, grassland and construction land. The comprehensive land use change index was 0.39%, showing a fluctuation trendency of the first rising, then falling and then rising; the individual land-use change index in different land use types was shown in descending order: Construction land > water > plowland > woodland > grassland > unused land. Population structure, economic level, and industrial structure are the main driving factors affecting the change of construction land and plowland area.

ANALYZING THE EFFECTS OF LAND USE / COVER CHANGE (LULCC) SIMULATION ON FLOODING: A CASE STUDY IN LAS NIEVES, AGUSAN DEL NORTE, MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES

Abstract. The municipality of Las Nieves, located in Agusan del Norte, Mindanao, Philippines, has experienced floods and flood-related damages in the floodplain region in recent years. Despite the best intentions of planning and implementing projects anchored in its comprehensive land use plans, recurring flooding significantly impacts its residents. Due to its growing population, changes in land cover are inevitable. The changes can result in increased overland flow and decreased infiltration rates. This study was conducted to determine and quantify the effect of changing the land use/land cover (LULC) on the flooding condition in the municipality. Base LULC map was generated using Sentinel-2 image captured in 2021. Support Vector Machine classifier was used in the classification resulting in an accuracy of 94.07%. The 2021 LULC map was the reference for predicting future LULCs for 2025 and 2029 implemented in MOLUSCE and was utilized for flood simulation. HEC-HMS and HEC-RAS were used to generate flood depth maps of different extreme rainfall scenarios. The results showed that as the rainfall event increased, the extent of affected LULC areas also increased. Based on the rainfall impact assessment results, the annual cropland was the most impacted LULC class across the various LULC classes. The class open forest is the least affected class for 2021, 2025, and 2029. However, the barren was the least affected in the scenario-based build-up increase. These assessments are especially pertinent because storm-related rains have been increasingly severe recently and will continue due to climate change. The simulations and flood mapping knowledge can inform and empower the Local Government Unit of Las Nieves. It will guide them in developing informed decision frameworks for mitigating significant land surface variabilities and adapting effective future land use plans to reduce the adverse effects of flooding.

Analysis of Spatial-Temporal Differentiation and Influencing Factors of Ecosystem Services in Resource-Based Cities in Semiarid Regions

The spatial-temporal differentiation characteristics and driving mechanisms of ecosystem services are of great significance for optimizing the pattern of land spatial protection and realizing regional sustainable development. Existing studies seldom consider the segmental influence mechanism of various influencing factors on different levels of ecosystem service value (ESV). Therefore, this paper analyzes the temporal and spatial differentiation evolution characteristics of ESV in semiarid regions through an improved ESV evaluation model. The spatial panel quantile regression (SPQR) model was introduced to explore the relationship between various types of influencing factors and ESV in different intervals. The results showed the following: (1) The changes in ESV in Baotou City from 2000 to 2018 tended to be stable, but the spatial differentiation of ESV intensified. The aggregation feature of the low-ESV region is significant and gradually expanding. (2) Precipitation was the dominant factor increasing the ESV in each interval, and temperature had a significant negative impact on the low-ESV area. (3) Higher land use integrity accelerates the decline of ESV in the surrounding areas of built-up areas. The high-ESV area was more sensitive to the intensity of human activity. The direction of human activities should be effectively controlled, and the structure of comprehensive land use should be optimized to enhance the service function of regional ecosystems. This research provides new thinking for the ecological restoration zoning of regional territorial spatial planning and the sustainable development of resource-based cities.

City-wide, high-resolution mapping of evapotranspiration to guide climate-resilient planning

The impacts of global change, including extreme heat and water scarcity, are threatening an ever-growing urban world population. Evapotranspiration (ET) mitigates the urban heat island, reducing the effect of heat waves. It can also be used as a proxy for vegetation water use, making it a crucial tool to plan resilient green cities. To optimize the trade-off between urban greening and water security, reliable and up-to-date maps of ET for cities are urgently needed. Despite its importance, few studies have mapped urban ET accurately for an entire city in high spatial and temporal resolution. We mapped the ET of Berlin, Germany in high spatial (10-m) and temporal (hourly) resolution for the year of 2019. A novel machine learning (ML) approach combining Sentinel-2 time series, open geodata, and flux footprint modeling was applied. Two eddy flux towers with contrasting surrounding land cover provided the training and testing data. Flux footprint modeling allowed us to incorporate comprehensive land cover types in training the ML models. Open remote sensing and geodata used as model inputs included Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) from Sentinel-2, building height, impervious surface fraction, vegetation fraction, and vegetation height. NDVI was used to indicate vegetation phenology and health, as plant transpiration contributes to the majority of terrestrial ET. Hourly reference ET (RET) was calculated and used as input to capture the temporal dynamics of the meteorological conditions. Predictions were carried out using Random Forest (RF) regression. Weighted averages extracted from hourly ET maps using flux footprints were compared to measured ET from the two flux towers. Validation showed that the approach is reliable for mapping urban ET, with a mean R2 of 0.76 and 0.56 and a mean RMSE of 0.0289 mm and 0.0171 mm at the more vegetated site and the city-center site, respectively. Lastly, the variation of ET between Local Climate Zones (LCZs) was analyzed to support urban planning. This study demonstrated the capacity to map urban ET at an unprecedented high spatial and temporal resolution with a novel methodology, which can be used to support the sustainable management of green infrastructure and water resources in an urbanizing world facing climate change.

Optimizing the rural comprehensive land consolidation in China based on the multiple roles of the rural collective organization

Land consolidation is considered an effective solution to revitalize rural areas internationally, and a variant, Rural Comprehensive Land Consolidation (RCLC), is widely practiced in China. RCLC is essentially a rural collective action which needs collaborative governance efforts from multiple stakeholders, who mainly are the local government, rural residents and social enterprises. Commonly, RCLC projects are led by the local government and rely on top-down approaches. In such a process, rural interests are often sacrificed due to the relatively weak status of the rural residents. Also, market forces are not motivated enough for low-cost performance of participation. These result in rural stakeholders' resistance and low future development vitality of the areas which implement RCLC. A more effective collaborative mechanism of RCLC is consequently called for. Under the guidance of collaborative governance theory, it is argued that the Rural Collective Organization (RCO) shows potential to provide ‘facilitative leadership’ to guide the collaboration in RCLC, by playing its multiple roles as a rural interest representative, a grass-roots manager and an independent legal entity in Chinese society. This research proposes a theoretical framework of the potentially optimized RCLC collaborative mechanism which facilitates the collaboration of stakeholders by setting the RCO as the collaborative leader and based on the flexibility of its multiple roles to strengthen bottom-up approaches and invoke multiple forces. A case study is constructed to demonstrate and support this potentially optimized approach. It is shown that the RCO, if flexibly playing its roles in different RCLC affairs, can provide balance between stakeholders and can catalyze stakeholders who may have a low incentive to participate, thus generating innovative outcomes. Based on above observations, we also refine a practice-oriented collaborative model, with prerequisites for its wider application being discussed.

Analysis of the Evolution of Land-Use Types in the Qilian Mountains from 1980 to 2020

The Qilian Mountains (QMs), located in the northeast part of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau in China, have a fragile ecological environment, complex and sensitive climate, and diverse land-cover types. It plays an important role in the “Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau Ecological Barrier” and “Northern Sand Control Belt” in China’s “two screens and three belts” ecological security strategy. Based on land use data of 1980, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020, we utilized GIS technology, land use dynamic degree, and land use transition matrixes to analyze the spatial and temporal evolution of land use in the QMs from 1980 to 2020. The results showed the following: (1) From 1980 to 2020, grassland, forest land, and unused land were the main land-use types in the QMs, and the proportion of construction land accounted for only 0.31% of all land-use types. (2) The single land use dynamic degree showed that the dynamic degree of construction land was the highest and the fastest change rate from 2010 to 2015. The comprehensive land use dynamic degree showed that the intensity of land-use change was relatively drastic in the three time periods of 1990–1995, 1995–2000, and 2015–2020. (3) The land-use types in the study area switched infrequently during 2000–2005, 2005–2010, and 2010–2015. (4) The main transition directions of land-use types were grassland and unused land to other land-use types. These changes altered the spatial distributions of different land-use types. The study is critical for understanding the spatial and temporal change patterns of land-use change in the QMs and providing guidance for the optimization of land use in the study area and the improvement of regional eco-environmental protection.

Co-management at a crossroads in Canada: issues, opportunities, and emerging challenges in fisheries and marine contexts

Despite some progress, successful co-management in Canada has remained the exception rather than the rule, and especially so in jurisdictions not covered by a comprehensive land claims agreement. As such, our aim in this perspective is to identify and describe some of the primary factors that may impede more rapid progress toward successful co-management and to explore why they persist, with particular attention to fisheries and marine contexts. Specifically, we outline several institutional conditions that are likely to impede broader adoption of co-management approaches in Canada, including (1) antiquated and incomplete legislative arrangements; (2) a co-management policy vacuum that has not grappled with emerging expectations for co-governance; (3) relative absence of the knowledge co-production systems needed to create the precursors for successful co-management initiatives; and (4) financial and human resource capacity limitations. Such conditions must also be situated in a dynamic context that includes the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, ongoing reconciliation processes, and shifts in the ownership and use of fisheries and other marine resources. We offer, finally, some suggestions to augment co-management efforts and ultimately achieve its promise.

Land Law and Land Use

ABSTRACT: This article, which is part of the North–South Legal Mapping Project, considers land law and land use in each jurisdiction on the island of Ireland. The first part provides a sketch of the basic structures of land law, identifying a remarkable level of convergence (or, more accurately, absence of divergence), which is only partially qualified by recent comprehensive land law reform in Ireland, notwithstanding the absence of comparable reforms in Northern Ireland. The second part considers land use, where there is greater (and increasing) potential for divergence, particularly in environmental governance. The article sketches and explains core influencing factors that have shaped the evolution of environmental governance on the island to date, before considering how Brexit and subsequent developments impact regulatory alignment across the island. It focuses on the issue of water protection and river basin management, in light of the three transboundary river basins on the island.

Land use optimization of comprehensive land consolidation based on the trade-off between the ecological value and realization potential of ecological product value

Land use optimization of comprehensive land consolidation based on the trade-off between the ecological value and realization potential of ecological product value

Mechanism and optimization path of comprehensive land consolidation oriented urban-rural integration

Mechanism and optimization path of comprehensive land consolidation oriented urban-rural integration

Spatial-Temporal Evolution and Influencing Factors Analysis of Ecosystem Services Value: A Case Study in Sunan Canal Basin of Jiangsu Province, Eastern China

The continuing degradation of ecosystem functioning, particularly in areas of fast-growing economies, is a common challenge facing humanity today and a focus of global research on sustainable development. A typical fast-developing economic region in Southeastern China, namely Sunan Canal Basin of Jiangsu Province (SCBJ), was selected for this study. Based on remote sensing monitoring data of land use for five periods of 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2019, the ecosystem service value (ESV) of SCBJ was measured using the equivalent factor method, and the spatial and temporal evolution of the ESV was analyzed using contribution and spatial statistical methods. Panel quantile regression was employed to explore in depth the segmental effects of the ecosystem service influencing factors and to increase the understanding of ecosystem service influencing mechanisms. Our results showed the following: (1) From 2000 to 2019, the land use structure was stable, and the comprehensive land use dynamic degree was continuously reduced. There were significant differences in the single land use dynamic degree of each land type, especially for built-up land. (2) During the study period, the total ESV increased first and then decreased, with the decreasing regions mainly distributed in the southeast of SCBJ and the urban rapid expansion areas on both sides of the canal. (3) In areas with different levels of ESV, the influencing factors had different impact effects. The mean proximity index (MPI), i.e., land use integrity, had a significant enhancement effect at the low ESV region and a significant dampening effect at the high ESV region. As the quantile points increase, the positive effects of the annual mean temperature (ATE), annual mean precipitation (APR), and net primary productivity (NPP) on ecosystem services gradually increase, which increased the gap between high and low ESV areas, creating a “natural Matthew effect”, while the negative effects of economic density (GDP) and population density (POP) on ecosystem services gradually decreased.

Land use and land cover change implications on agriculture and natural resource management of Koah Nheaek, Mondulkiri province, Cambodia

Monitoring and mapping land use and land cover (LULC) changes is crucial for determining plausible resource availability in the future, and for providing policy implications towards the landscape's sustainable management. The LULC changes brought by economic land concessions and high deforestation are common issues in Koah Nheaek of the Mondulkiri province, distressing the sustainability of linked natural resources and agroecosystems. Determining its landscape's occurred changes and projection are vital inputs to succeeding policy programs as Koah Nheaek implements the Rectangle 4 (i.e., inclusive and sustainable development) of the Rectangular Strategy Phase IV (2018-2023). In this study, the LULC changes (2000-2020) in Koah Nheaek were analyzed using Google Earth Engine (i.e., the random forest). Corresponding to the LULC dynamics concept, forest had the highest loss (37% change) while wood shrub, grassland, orchard, and agriculture land gained a significant increase. In addition to the loss during the last 20 years, the forest was again degraded about 16% based on the 2030 projection using Markov-CA model. On the other hand, using General Linear Method, the trajectories and projection were supported by the inputs from focus group discussion of stakeholders. For this regression analysis, significant factors influencing decisions for current and future agricultural expansion included the household size and the inheritable parcel size. Upon this biophysical and social evidence, the Rectangle 4 implementation is recommended to be strictly enhanced to achieve its goals. This study suggests sustainable land measures (Good Agricultural Practices, Climate Smart Agriculture, Comprehensive Land Use Planning, and Agroforestry) to balance and manage land uses as a key to sustainability.

Land Evaluation for Acacia (Acacia mangium × Acacia auriculiformis) Plantations in the Mountainous Regions of Central Vietnam

In recent years, both scientists and local governments have been giving serious attention to land evaluation, especially in regard to the use of agricultural land. This is with the intention of increasing the sustainability of agricultural production. In Vietnam, acacia plantations play an important role in the livelihoods of farmers in mountainous regions. Therefore, identifying suitable areas for acacia plantations is an important consideration within mountainous areas. This research was conducted in Nam Dong district, Central Vietnam, using six physical soil criteria for land evaluation by the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and also the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP). The results have shown that the ranking of selected criteria in both methods was the same, but the weighting of each criterion was different. Among the six physical soil criteria, soil depth has the highest priority, followed by slope, soil organic carbon content, soil texture, soil pH, and soil type. The suitability maps for acacia plantations within the area studied have shown that 9344 ha were not suitable, and 99 ha had low suitability for acacia plantation by both methods. For the AHP approach, 928 hectares were in the range of moderate suitability, and 3080 hectares were in the high suitability class. In contrast, the FAHP method determined 905 hectares to be of the moderate suitability class and 3102 hectares to be of the high suitability class. Based on the observed acacia’s productivity and the scores of the two methods, it shows that the FAHP has a stronger correlation than the of AHP. Within the six selected criteria, the FAHP method can increase the accuracy of land evaluation results by 4.62% in comparison to the original AHP method. Therefore, the FAHP is the most suitable method for land evaluation, especially for agricultural land planning. Further studies should be integrated into more social and economic criteria for comprehensive land evaluation scenarios.

Potential Zoning of Construction Land Consolidation in the Loess Plateau Based on the Evolution of Human-Land Relationship.

Towns serve as the basic unit of implementation for comprehensive land consolidation and rehabilitation. The utilization of scaling law can provide a new perspective for construction land consolidation. From two perspectives of the town hierarchic system and the growth of a single town, this research applies the Rank-Size Rule and Allometric Scaling Law to analyze the scale structure, hierarchy and allometric scaling evolution relationship of population and construction land in the Loess Plateau at the town scale in 2000, 2010, and 2017. Furthermore, the consolidation potential of construction land is divided into five zones and puts forward recommendations for the comprehensive consolidation of the construction land. The results indicate: (1) The majority of towns have small or medium populations and 62% of the towns in the study show negative population growth. Geographically, the northern part has a smaller population size compared with the southern part. 96% of the towns show an increasing trend in the quantity of construction land, and the south and north parts of the study area have more construction land compared with the center part. The zone of the Valley Plain has the largest population size, and the zone of the Sandy and Desert Area has the largest quantity of construction land. (2) The rank-size distributions of both population and construction land comply with the power-law relation. The population hierarchy has changed from equilibrium to concentration, while the hierarchy of construction land shows an opposite pattern. So, the whole town hierarchic system of the Loess Plateau is gradually tending to the optimal distribution, which is the town hierarchic system gradually forming an ideal sequence structure. (3) The population-construction land relationship obeys the allometric scaling law, and the major allometric type is positive allometry. The human-land relationship tends to be coordinated, and the town system tends to be reasonable. The allometric scaling coefficient is not robust in different geographical areas, especially in Irrigated Agricultural Areas. Furthermore, 90% of the towns have weak coordination of human-land relationships, and 60% of the towns have a relatively faster growth rate of construction land than the relative growth (decline) rate of population. (4) The consolidation potential of construction land is divided into five types. High Consolidation Potential Area concentrates in the Eastern Loess Plateau, while Medium and Low Consolidation Potential Area concentrically distribute in the Western Loess Plateau. The Human-land Coordination Area has a small number and scattered spatial distribution. The land use of towns that are concentrated around prefecture-level cities or with unique resources is not intensive enough. The zoning of construction land consolidation potential based on the results of the allometric scale is in line with reality, and local governments should make use of the characteristics and trends of the town system to formulate planning schemes to promote the integrated development of urban and rural areas.

Comprehensive Land Consolidation as a Tool to Promote Rural Restructuring in China: Theoretical Framework and Case Study

In the context of current global rural decline, land consolidation has been adopted with the objectives of promoting rural vitalization and regional sustainable development. In this paper, we provide a theoretical framework for rural restructuring driven by comprehensive land consolidation (CLC). The framework describes three key mechanisms of rural spatial, economic, and social restructuring driven by CLC: improving spatial patterns and functions, vitalizing the collective economy, and reshaping the social community. Based on the theoretical framework, we present a case that exemplifies the micro processes of rural restructuring. Taking spatial restructuring as the material basis and carrier, CLC promotes economic restructuring from traditional agricultural production to modern agricultural production and industrial integration, as well as social restructuring from a traditional rural society to urbanization, communitization, and a society with diversified culture. After CLC, it is very important to further enhance the sustainability of the collective economic development and enhance the cohesion and prosperity of the social community.

Promoting Effect of Whole-Region Comprehensive Land Consolidation on Rural Revitalization from the Perspective of Farm Households: A China Study

With the rapid advances in globalization, industrialization, urbanization, and informatization, rural space continues to be occupied by urban expansion, and numerous production elements are aggregated in cities, resulting in global rural decline. The long-standing Chinese urban-rural dual system and urban-first development strategy have exacerbated a downturn in rural areas during the socio-economic transition. Combined with land management systems and innovation policies, whole-region comprehensive land consolidation (WRCLC) has become a crucial tool and platform for rural revitalization, extensively implemented nationwide. From the perspective of farm households, this paper employs the element-structure-function framework in the system theory to theoretically reveal the mechanism by which different WRCLC modes promote rural revitalization. Based on the questionnaire survey data from 1080 farm households in Zhejiang Province, the propensity score matching-difference in difference (PSM-DID) method based on quasi-experiment was employed to explore the impact of different WRCLC modes on the overall rural revitalization and its five dimensions (thriving industry, ecological livability, rural civilization, effective governance, and affluent life). The results show that WRCLC can optimize the rural structure and enhance rural functions by integrating the core elements of rural development to achieve complete rural revitalization. The empirical results show that implementing all WRCLC modes has significantly increased overall and five-dimension rural revitalization levels, with the city-suburb integration mode having a better effect on promoting rural revitalization than the characteristic industry mode and small-town construction mode. Based on this, some relevant policy recommendations have been put forward to enhance the effectiveness of WRCLC in promoting rural revitalization. Our findings will provide a Chinese practice for other countries and regions to develop more effective WRCLC modes and policies for promoting rural revitalization.

Exploring the contextual factors behind various phases in logistics sprawl: The case of Seoul Metropolitan Area, South Korea

Logistics sprawl is a phenomenon that allows retailers and distributors to cope with the increasing demand for processing large freight volumes through the globalized production and distribution systems. It involves a tradeoff between per-unit inventory and transport costs. Large-scale, automated facilities are built on the urban periphery, where relatively cheaper land is more available. A potential increase in shipment distance necessitates better freight transport management and planning by logistics businesses and the public sector. At present, online shopping sales are skyrocketing, and consumers increasingly demand instant delivery at no cost. Online retailers strive to fulfill the demand in urban settings, characterized by high land rent, congestion, and strict regulations. Building an urban logistics system can become extremely costly and time-consuming. Public interventions may be justified if urban logistics is considered an essential utility that can lead to significant negative externalities without proper management. This research navigates how and where warehouse development has occurred under such stringent circumstances. I first examine the spatial dynamics of warehouse development over the last three decades in the Seoul Metropolitan Area, South Korea, and attempt to expand the conventional understanding of logistics sprawl. Relative distribution is calculated between warehouses and potential destinations: B2C consumer (population), B2B I (employment), B2B II (industrial park), and Seoul's central business district. The primary data source is the Korea National Building Registry, which contains 3340 warehouse development records. Four phases in the spatial dynamics of warehouse development are documented: stagnation (1991–1998), sprawl (1998–2007), peak (2007–2008), and return (2009–present). Further, semi-structured interviews with field experts identify the business, economic, and regulatory circumstances that potentially influence logistics facility development. The results suggest four factors behind logistics sprawl: (1) logistics restructuring driven by a consumption-based economy, (2) location factor tradeoffs, (3) disruptive economic shocks, and (4) regulatory reform. This research calls for comprehensive land use and transport planning to better accommodate urban logistics practices.

Towards a generic theoretical framework for pattern-based LUCC modeling: An accurate and powerful calibration–estimation method based on kernel density estimation

Several modeling strategies have been proposed to study Land Use and Land Cover changes (LUCC). However, substantial discrepancies have been noted between different models for the same problem, questioning their overall reliability and reproducibility. To address this challenge, we elaborate a generic, formally correct, theoretical framework for pattern-based LUCC modeling, which is implemented in our own software, CLUMPY (Comprehensive Land Use [and cover] Modeling in PYthon).The present work focuses on calibration. We devise a kernel density calibration–estimation method (Bayes-eKDE) that is shown on synthetic artificial data to be both accurate and algorithmically efficient. We also introduce a generic evaluation method that allows us to compare the calibration efficiency of existing models. The gain in precision and computational time of our calibration method is precisely quantified in this way.

Spatial Analysis of Cultivated Land Productivity, Site Condition and Cultivated Land Health at County Scale.

Cultivated land is a fundamental factor related to the social stability and sustainable development of the whole country. However, the safety of quantity and quality of cultivated land has decreased year by year, resulting in great challenges to the sustainable development of cultivated land. Cultivated land productivity, site conditions, and soil health jointly determine the sustainable development potential of cultivated land. Analyzing and calculating the coupling and cooperative relationship between these three subsystems can provide a theoretical and methodological reference for protecting and zoning cultivated land resources. Using Jiangyou City as a case study, this paper constructs a coupling coordination degree model of cultivated land productivity, site conditions, and soil health assessment systems in different geomorphic regions, and comprehensively analyzes the level of sustainable development of cultivated land in the study area. The results show that there are differences in the development potential of cultivated land resources in the mountainous regions in the north, the hilly regions in the center, and the plain regions in the south of Jiangyou City. The coupling coordination index of the three regions were calculated as 0.34, 0.51, and 0.63, respectively, for which the overall average coupling coordination index is 0.57; notably, it only reaches the “barely coordination” level. Based on our analysis results, the cultivated lands in Jiangyou City are classified into the following zones: core protection zone, dominant remediation zone, and key regulation zone. The cultivated land located in the core protection zone has a high coupling coordination index, which can be used as the preferred area for the delimitation of high standard basic farmland and permanent basic farmland. For the cultivated land located in the dominant remediation zone, the development of its subsystems is unbalanced. Comprehensive land improvement projects can be carried out in this zone to improve the overall quality. For the cultivated land located in the key regulation zone, it is recommended to implement projects such as returning farmland to forests to improve land use efficiency. In particular, the evaluation index system constructed in this paper is sufficiently representative, as it can support the classification, quality improvement, and sustainable use of cultivated land. Thus, other similar countries and regions can learn from the evaluation system constructed in this paper.

Fuzzy Logic Modeling of Land Degradation in a Loess Plateau Watershed, China

Various land degradation processes have led to land productivity reduction, food insecurity and ecosystem destruction. The Loess Plateau (LP) suffered from severe land degradation, such as vegetation degradation, soil erosion and desertification. This study assessed land degradation changes by considering different land degradation types including vegetation degradation, soil erosion, aridity, loss of soil organic carbon and desertification in the Huangfuchuan watershed of the northern LP. A comprehensive land degradation index (LDI) was developed by combining different degradation processes using the fuzzy logic modeling method. Our results showed significant land use transitions from bare land and sandy area to grass land and forest land from 1990 to 2018, which were consistent with an obvious increase in vegetation cover from 31.24% to 40.72%. The soil erosion rate predicted by the RUSLE model decreased by 51.95% during 1990–2018. The basin-average LDI decreased from 0.68 in 1990 to 0.51 in 2018, suggesting the great success of land degradation prevention in a fragile ecological environment region on the LP during the past decades. This study proposed an integrated framework for land degradation assessment in the high erodible area. The results can provide good references for the improvement of ecological environment in the future.