GIS Spatial Analysis Research Articles

Spillover Effects of Urban Expansion on Land Green Use Efficiency: An Empirical Study Based on Multi-Source Remote Sensing Data in China

Land is an important carrier of resource elements, and improving land green use efficiency (LGUE) is the key to achieving “smart growth” in cities. This study takes 269 cities in China from 2008 to 2020 as the research object and integrates multisource remote sensing data, GIS spatial analysis, and spatial econometric models to explore the evolutionary characteristics of LGUE and the spatiotemporal effects of urban expansion on LGUE. The results show that (1) urban LGUE increases over time and has certain gradient distribution and spatial dependence characteristics; (2) urban expansion has a significant inverted U-shaped relationship with LGUE, indicating that maintaining reasonable urban expansion is the key to improving LGUE, but excessive urban expansion has a strong negative spatial effect on LGUE. In terms of spillover effect, for every 1% increase in the square term of urban expansion, the LGUE of the local city decreases by 0.0673%, but the neighboring city increases by 0.2283%; and (3) urban expansion has significant spatiotemporal heterogeneous effects on LGUE, and spatial development boundaries must be reasonably determined to achieve “smart growth”. Currently, some cities in China are expanding rapidly, and we hope to provide key support for promoting the “smart growth” of cities and improving LGUE.

Spatio-temporal Differentiation of County Carbon Budget and Territorial Space Optimization Zoning Strategy in Gansu Province from the Perspective of Carbon Neutrality

Under the background of comprehensively practicing the overall system concept of the "living community" in the new era, incorporating the carbon neutral development goal into the territorial spatial planning and construction and establishing the territorial spatial pattern and optimization strategy in line with the actual development of Gansu Province are of great significance for promoting the comprehensive green low-carbon transformation and high-quality development of regional economy and society. Taking counties in Gansu Province as an example, based on the perspective of carbon neutrality research, the land use carbon budget of 87 counties in Gansu Province in 2010, 2015, and 2021 was calculated and analyzed. GIS spatial analysis and social network analysis were used to further explore their spatial differentiation characteristics and the overall characteristics of the carbon emission spatial correlation network. At last, combined with the main function zoning, the low-carbon oriented land space optimization zoning was carried out, and differentiated low-carbon development strategies were proposed. The results were as follows： ① Carbon emissions in Gansu Province showed an upward trend, but the increase rate decreased, showing a spatial distribution of "high in the central and eastern part of the country, low in the southwest." Construction land was the main carbon source. The carbon uptake showed a spatial distribution of "high in the south and low in the north, high in the west and low in the east." Woodlands were the main carbon sinks. The net carbon emissions showed an increasing trend, and approximately 58.62% of the counties in the province were in a carbon imbalance situation. ② In 2021, the spatial network of county carbon emissions was closely related, showing a "core-edge" pattern. The Chenguan District and Qilihe District were in the core position of the network and received more correlation relationships in the network. The network contacts in Longzhong area were frequent, followed by the contacts in Longdongnan area. ③ Based on carbon emissions, carbon sequestration, and ecological carrying capacity coefficients and using the results of spatial correlation of social networks as role positions, the province was divided into four carbon-neutral sub-districts. At the same time, superimposed analysis of the main function zoning, the county area of the province was reconstructed into seven territorial space zones, and the differentiated regional low-carbon optimization development strategy was proposed for each zone.

Evaluation of Rice–Crayfish Field Fragmentation Based on Landscape Indices: A Case Study of Qianjiang City, China

Since the 21st century, rice–crayfish fields have been widely distributed in the Yangtze River Basin in China. However, the spontaneous construction of these fields by farmers has given rise to the issue of rice–crayfish field fragmentation (RCFF) in certain areas. This study introduced a novel method for evaluating RCFF using township-level administrative regions as the evaluation units. Three key evaluation elements, including five landscape indices, were employed: area and edge metrics (rice–crayfish area ratio), shape metrics (perimeter–area ratio distribution), and aggregation metrics (rice–crayfish patch density, percentage of like adjacencies, and rice–crayfish contagion index). The RCFF was quantified and its spatial distribution pattern was analyzed through the entropy method and GIS spatial analysis. Empirical studies conducted in Qianjiang city yielded insightful results: (1) The contribution of evaluation elements to the RCFF was ranked in descending order as follows: aggregation metrics > shape metrics > area and edge metrics. (2) The RCFF of Yunlianghu farm was the lowest at 0.06, while the RCFF of Yangshi subdistrict 2 was the highest at 0.94. The spatial distribution of the RCFF exhibited a distinct trend, showing a gradual decrease from the northeast to the southwest in Qianjiang, and a low-RCFF area in the southwest. This evaluation system enables local government decisionmakers to comprehend the current status of rice–crayfish field management and construction. It facilitates the scientific planning of rice–crayfish field layouts and provides guidance for farmers in their expansion strategies. This method can be promoted in counties (cities) where rice–crayfish fields are primarily distributed in the Yangtze River Basin, promoting the transition of traditional agriculture to environmentally friendly agriculture in China.

High-quality agricultural development in the central China: Empirical analysis based on the Dongting Lake area

High-quality agricultural development constitutes the primary point for forthcoming agricultural and rural endeavors. This study aimed to analyze the characteristics and obstacle factors of the high-quality agricultural development in central China, and the Dongting Lake area was taken as a case. Statistical data, land use data, and other data were adopted, and GIS spatial analysis and mapping technologies, obstacle model, and entropy weight method were used. The research results indicated that: 1) The comprehensive index has increased from 0.4290 in 2010 to 0.4717 in 2020. The change rates of the subsystem ranked from the highest to the lowest were as follows: cultural construction (36.25 %), ecological environment (15.18 %), social security (4.42 %), and material output (2.63 %). 2) The composite index has changed from higher in the west and lower in the east to a unconspicuous spatial difference. The material production index has shifted from higher in the north and lower in the south to a scattered distribution. The social security index has changed from higher in the west and lower in the east to higher in the northwest southeast and lower in the centre. The ecological environment index was higher in the west and lower in the east. The cultural construction index was higher in east and west and lower in the centre. 3) The top 4 obstacle factors were the high-quality development platforms, the agricultural driving force of per cultivated land, the number of agricultural geographical indication and the grain yield of per cultivated land. At the same time, the material output was the biggest obstacle. It is recommended to focus on the agricultural cultural resources in the eastern and western parts. This study can provide guidance and methodological references for similar studies, as well as scientific references for the sustainability of agriculture and optimization of related policies.

Evolution of spatial collaborative network in the Long March Cultural Tourism Belt: Characteristics, pattern, and mechanisms

AbstractThis research examines the evolution of the spatial collaborative network (SCN) within the Long March Cultural Tourism Belt in China, utilizing a mixed‐methods approach combining quantitative data analysis and GIS spatial analysis. Theoretically, it bridges national identity theory and political ideology using spatial network analysis; expanding understanding of how cultural heritage tourism contributes to national identity consolidation and the political narrative within a spatial framework. This contributes to the literature by demonstrating the role of SCNs in promoting cultural tourism's sustainable growth, addressing the call for methodological advances in cultural tourism research. In terms of the managerial side, it guides policymakers in leveraging SCNs for balanced cultural tourism growth through strategic planning and digital innovation. This research is distinguished by its comprehensive analysis of SCN evolution in a significant cultural tourism context, providing a model for global application.

Micro-Scale Analysis and Optimization of Rural Settlement Spatial Patterns: A Case Study of Huanglong Town, Dayu County

Optimizing the spatial patterns of rural settlements is crucial for rural development and revitalization. Enhancing the internal spatial configuration of these settlements necessitates a comprehensive understanding of their micro-scale spatial characteristics. This study develops evaluation indicators and methodologies to quantify rural settlement spatial patterns by analyzing their multidimensional aspects. The research utilizes Huanglong Town in Dayu County, Jiangxi Province, as a case study for exploring micro-scale spatial patterns and proposing corresponding optimization models. The research employs remote sensing image processing and GIS spatial analysis to collect data on the study area. The results indicate that rural settlements in Huanglong Town generally form clustered patterns with moderate spatial structure intensity and order. Notably, spatial heterogeneity is observed across the northern mountainous area, the central plain and low hilly region, and the southern hilly area. Based on these findings, the study categorizes rural settlements in Huanglong Town into four optimization models: stable improvement, internal potential exploitation, controlled expansion, and relocation and withdrawal. Each model is associated with differentiated optimization strategies. By integrating analyses of spatial form, structure, and order, this study reveals the intrinsic spatial characteristics of rural settlements, offering a systematic approach to guide their spatial optimization.

Spatial Evolution of Sports Tourism Space: A case study of Shandong Province, China

This study adopted the method of literature, mathematical statistics, logic analysis and GIS spatial analysis, taking the spatial elements of sports tourism in Shandong Province from 2009 to 2018 as the research object, clarified the development status of sports tourism in Shandong Province and the distribution status of spatial elements, sorted out the characteristics of the spatial evolution of sports tourism in Shandong Province, and analyzed the influencing factors of the spatial evolution of sports tourism in Shandong Province. To explore the countermeasures for the development of sports tourism in Shandong province, and provide reference for enriching the research plan of sports tourism space in Shandong province and improving the theory of sports tourism space development; It provides empirical reference for optimizing the spatial layout of sports tourism development in Shandong province, balancing the seasonal imbalance of sports tourism in Shandong province, creating high-quality sports tourism brands in Shandong Province, and promoting the development of sports tourism in Shandong province.

Method for identifying rural PLES and its applications

The quantitative identification of rural land functions serves as a basis for rural land planning, coordinated spatial development, and control capacity improvement and is significant for rural transformation and sustainable development. This paper constructs an analysis framework to identify and evaluate “production-living-ecological” space (PLES) in rural areas of central and western China. On the Loess Plateau, which was taken as the study area, a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis was completed to determine framework indicators and their thresholds. Resource and environmental carrying capacity and land suitability were measured through GIS spatial analysis under different land functional orientations. This sought to recognize production space (PS), living space (LS), and ecological space (ES) in rural areas, reveal their distribution patterns on the Loess Plateau, and determine alternative areas for future land use. The results indicate that the PS and LS of the Loess Plateau rural land show a relatively low resource and environmental carrying capacity but vary significantly in different functional regions. The space distribution of PS and LS with higher carrying capacity shows obvious consistency. Although the Loess Plateau has vast sustainable land for development, the intensity of development should be carefully controlled. Additionally, significant regional differences remain in rural PLES, so reasonable future rural land planning should be formulated according to the PLES pattern. This study provides a scientific basis for promoting coordinated development of Loess Plateau rural areas and implementing a rural revitalization strategy. It is also a reference for identifying PLES and its coordinated spatial development in rural central and western China.

Construction of a Symbiotic Traffic Network of Traditional Villages in the Western Hunan Region of China Based on Circuit Theory

The concentrated and contiguous development of traditional Chinese villages is imminent, and the realization of their symbiotic and coordinated development has become both a priority and a challenge. Taking 370 traditional villages in Western Hunan as the research object, a GIS spatial analysis method was used to identify and extract the sources of traditional villages in Western Hunan, construct traffic resistance surfaces, identify traffic corridors and traffic nodes based on circuit theory, and construct and optimize the symbiotic traffic network of traditional villages in Western Hunan. The results show that the symbiotic traffic network of traditional villages in Western Hunan is composed of 47 traditional village sources, 77 traffic corridors, and 68 key traffic nodes, which are concentrated in the northwest and southeast of Western Hunan, showing a spider-like structure. The distribution of traditional village sources shows the characteristics of a high distribution in the north and a low distribution in the middle, and the traffic resistance surface shows spatial characteristics of being high in the north and low in the south. Four traffic corridor optimization principles and five key traffic node restoration strategies are proposed. This study provides a new concept underlying, and method for, the planning and construction of the symbiotic transport network of traditional villages in Western Hunan, promoting the centralized protection and utilization of traditional villages and the coordinated symbiotic development of regions and assisting in the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy.

An Analysis of Policy Transmission Flow in the Chengdu Plain Urban Agglomeration in Southwest China: Towards Building an Ecological Protection Network

Regional ecological protection is an urgent task in today’s social development, and constructing an ecological protection network is an important way to achieve regional ecological coordination. However, previous studies have lacked a systematic review and analysis of policy document transmission paths, failing to consider the spatial network structure and its complex characteristics of regional ecological protection policies, resulting in deficiencies in regional coordinated governance of the ecological environment. To address this gap, this study constructs an ecological policy transmission network lineage for the Chengdu Plain urban agglomeration (CDPUA) based on 400 ecological environmental protection policy documents issued by cities in the CDPUA from 2015 to 2022, focusing on the transmission perspective of policy documents. Social network analysis methods, a GIS spatial analysis, and other methods were employed to construct the ecological protection network of the CDPUA and analyze the complex spatial structure and characteristics of the network. It was found that the integrated ecological protection network of the CDPUA exhibits a multi-core triangular pattern with spatial characteristics of density in the east and sparsity in the west. The integrated ecological protection network has a density of 60.71%, indicating a strong intercity linkage, with Suining as the central nucleus transmitting policies to surrounding cities, forming the Suining–Chengdu–Mianyang policy transmission triangle. The urban agglomeration has formed an ecological protection network dominated by multiple cities, offering diverse and distinct types of ecosystem services. This study provides insights to enhance regional collaborative ecological governance and protection, promoting sustainable development in the region.

Spatiotemporal carbon sequestration by forests among counties and grids in China

Top-down emission reduction target setting results in inability of local governments to develop differentiated plans for emission reduction. Forests have received considerable attention as an important source of carbon sequestration, especially following China's commitment to carbon neutrality. However, studies have paid little attention to spatiotemporal differences of downscale forest carbon sequestration in China over the long term due to data limitations, while also ignoring the large differences in forest carbon sequestration per unit area among different regions. Here, a basic dataset of forest carbon sequestration among counties and grids in China is constructed and the temporal drivers and spatial differences of forest carbon sequestration were investigated from the perspectives of counties' administrative boundaries and 0.5 by 0.5 degree grid combining modelling, GIS spatial analysis and a decomposition method. Changes in forest land use between 2000 and 2020 were also analysed. The results highlight the importance of forests in managing carbon sequestration among all types of terrestrial vegetation and the differences in forest carbon sequestration per unit area. The scale effect increased forest carbon sequestration in the first two periods (2000–2005 and 2005–2010), followed by a decrease since 2010. The intensity effect promoted carbon sequestration; in particular, a dramatic increase was observed from the second (2005–2010) to the third period (2010–2015). The heterogeneity of the scale effect of forest carbon sequestration increased compared to that of the intensity effect, both from administrative and geographical divisions. The scale and intensity effects of counties located in the northern regions of northeast China enhanced forest carbon sequestration, while counties located in southern and central China inhibited it during the study period. The scale effect of grids changed from enhanced to inhibited forest carbon sequestration mainly in northeast China near 120°E, whereas the intensity effect of grids increased from inland regions in central China to eastern coastal regions during the study period. This study provides references for policymakers to set differentiated emission reduction targets considering the local forest carbon sequestration.

Spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of cultural heritage sites and their relationship with natural and cultural environment in the northern Fujian, China

China’s northern Fujian, as one of the spatial carriers of renowned traditional Chinese cultures such as Minyue, Zhu Xi’s Neo-Confucianism, tea, and porcelain, has preserved a wealth of tangible cultural relics, showcasing a profound cultural heritage and possessing strong research value and development potential. This study employs GIS spatial statistical analysis and map visualization technology to unveil the evolutionary processes of cultural heritage sites in northern Fujian, focusing on their spatial types, forms, and densities across different historical periods. Based on this foundation, the research further delves into the intrinsic relationships between the spatial distribution characteristics of cultural heritage sites in northern Fujian during various historical periods and the local natural and cultural environment. The results indicate that: (1) the spatial distribution of cultural heritage sites in northern Fujian varies across different historical periods, with the highest concentration and quantity observed during the Ming and Qing periods. In contrast, the Qin, Han, Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties period exhibits the lowest quantity and a more dispersed distribution. (2) Cultural heritage sites in northern Fujian are mainly distributed in the relatively flat terrain below 400 m above sea level, including middle to low-altitude mountain basins, river valleys, and low hills. In terms of distance from rivers, cultural heritage sites exhibit a clear distribution pattern along rivers, with a large number of them located within 0–6 km from the riverbanks. (3) The spatial distribution of cultural heritage sites in northern Fujian is influenced not only by macro-environmental factors such as topography, altitude, and rivers but also by micro-shaping from social and cultural elements like Minyue culture, tea and porcelain ancient road culture, Zhu Xi’s Neo-Confucianism culture, religious beliefs and customs culture, and red revolutionary culture across different historical periods. This study contributes to the establishment of a model correlating cultural heritage sites with historical periods and provides an interdisciplinary methodological framework to understand the relationship between cultural heritage sites and the geographical environment.

Evaluating and diagnosing ecosystem health of the “three-lake” watershed in Yuxi, Yunnan, China from 2010 to 2020 by PSR-KDE

To carry out the diagnosis and evaluation of the ecosystem health in Yuxi three-lake watershed, this paper presents the changing trend of its health state, and predicts the future development. This also provides ideas for maintaining the regional ecosystem health, and then gradually improves the ecological environment quality. Taking Fuxian Lake, Qilu Lake and Xingyun Lake (the three-lake watershed) in Yuxi City, Yunnan Province, Southwest China as the research object, a model combining pressure-state-response and kernel density estimation (PSR-KDE) adopts to diagnose and evaluate the ecosystem health of the "three lake" watershed from 2010 to 2020, and the distribution map of ecosystem health index has obtained by the evaluation indexes integration based on GIS spatial analysis. Hence, the evaluation results have visualized on the map. The results show that: The distribution of ecosystem health index in the study area was 0.1530–0.7045 in 2010, 0.2056–0.7512 in 2015, and 0.2248–0.7662 in 2020. 0.12% was in the pathological area in 2010. After 2015, the pathological condition of ecosystem health has completely solved, and the proportion of unhealthy ecosystems was 11.95% in 2010, 7.38% in 2015, and 5.97% in 2020. The ecosystem health index of the study region was 0.5523 in 2010, 0.5807 in 2015, and 0.5815 in 2020, it indicates that the ecosystem was in a sub-health state. From 2010 to 2020, the ecosystem health around Qilu Lake was the most worrying, followed by the northwest of Fuxian Lake and the northern and southern regions of Xingyun Lake. The ecosystem health of the three-lake watershed showed significant improvement from 2010 to 2020. The study ecosystem health assessment and early warning in the three-lake watershed is significant to the ecological environment protection and management of the plateau lake basin, the restoration of the territorial space ecology and the economic development of the surrounding area.

Analysis of spatial patterns and influencing factors of farmland transfer in China based on ESDA-GeoDetector

Farmland transfer is a critical component in facilitating agricultural scale management and improving agricultural production efficiency. This study examines the spatial distribution of farmland transfer in China and identifies the factors influencing it, offering valuable guidance for advancing China’s farmland transfer practices. Through the application of mathematical statistics and GIS spatial analysis, the study investigates changes in spatial patterns related to the scale, rate, mode, and recipients of farmland transfer across China's 30 provinces from 2015 to 2020. Geographical detectors are also employed to identify the key factors influencing the extent and pace of farmland transfer. The study reveals that between 2015 and 2020, China's farmland transfer area increased from 29,789 to 37,638 million hectares. Provinces with abundant farmland resources generally experienced larger farmland transfers, while economically developed regions and major grain-producing areas saw higher rates of farmland transfers. The predominant mode of farmland transfer in China was leasing (subcontracting), accounting for over 80% of the total transferred area. Large-scale grain growers and family farms were significant participants in farmland transfers, acquiring approximately 60.1% of the transferred lands, followed by professional cooperatives (21.5%), enterprises (10.4%), and other entities (7.9%). Key factors influencing the farmland transfer area include the "regional farmland area", the "proportion of family farms supported by loans", and the "proportion of non-agricultural population", with explanatory powers of 0.663, 0.319, and 0.225, respectively. Notably, there is a substantial interaction between the "regional farmland area" and factors such as the "proportion of family farms supported by loans" and the "grain yield per unit area", with explanatory powers reaching 0.957 and 0.901, respectively. These findings offer valuable insights for promoting farmland transfer in agriculturally rich regions. Factors affecting the farmland transfer rate include "grain yield per unit area", "GDP per capita", and the "proportion of non-agricultural population", each with an explanatory power above 0.500. Moreover, their interactive explanatory powers with other indicators exceed 0.600, indicating that provinces with high agricultural productivity or economic development levels are more likely to undergo farmland transfer. The paper concludes by proposing strategies and recommendations to promote farmland transfer in both "large agricultural areas" and "metropolitan suburbs."

Method for selecting viewpoints of architectural heritage landscapes

The selection of viewpoints is a crucial aspect in conducting visual impact assessments of architectural heritage. To address this issue, a quantitative viewpoint selection method based on GIS spatial analysis is proposed. The first step involves defining the factors that influence the selection of viewpoints for architectural heritage. Next, the city’s historical architectural areas are divided into units based on courtyards. Subsequently, a candidate set of viewpoints is constructed by extracting the skeleton lines and characteristic points of sub-regions. Finally, following the principles of viewpoint selection, the method achieves the selection of viewpoints for the visual impact assessment of architectural heritage. The Forbidden City is chosen as the practical area for implementation, and the results demonstrate that the viewshed coverage range in the architectural heritage area is as high as 96%. It represents that this approach for visual impact assessments of architectural heritage is more grounded.

Reconstructing and tracing the evolution of the road networks in the Haidai region of China during the Bronze and Early Iron Ages

Reconstructing ancient transportation networks is critical to studying past human mobility patterns. China’s Haidai region was a thriving political and economic hub during the Bronze and Early Iron Ages. We used GIS spatial analysis techniques to build a “Settlement Interaction Model” based on archaeological data from the Haidai region during the Bronze and Early Iron Age (Shang Dynasty, Western Zhou Dynasty, Spring & Autumn Period, and Warring States period). The eight-level road network maps with traffic attributes were distinguished based on topography and settlement size. The total lengths of the road networks were estimated to be 19,112 km in the Shang Dynasty, 35,269 km in the Western Zhou Dynasty, 51,555 km in the Spring & Autumn Period, and 77,456 km in the Warring States Period, with the average road flows of 6.6, 31.7, 42.8, and 75.5, respectively. The Z score and one-sample t-test (p < 0.01) confirmed the reliability of the reconstructed road networks. The Shang Dynasty saw the sporadic appearance of simple road routes. More complex routes emerged during the Western Zhou Dynasty and Spring & Autumn Period. The road networks were finally built during the Warring States Period. The development of road networks was closely related to population growth and urbanization. Exploring methods for reconstructing road networks may help us uncover ancient road networks and better understand ancient cultural exchanges.

Differences in tourism economic development and its influencing factors among three major city clusters along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

An in-depth study of the mechanisms governing the generation, evolution, and regulation of differences in tourism economics holds significant value for the rational utilization of tourism resources and the promotion of synergistic tourism economic development. This study utilizes mathematical statistical analysis and GIS spatial analysis to construct a single indicator measure and a comprehensive indicator measure to analyze tourism-related data in the research area from 2004 to 2019. The main factors influencing the spatial and temporal differences in the tourism economy are analyzed using two methods, namely, multiple linear regression and geodetector. The temporal evolution, overall differences and differences within each city group fluctuate downwards, while the differences between groups fluctuate upwards. Domestic tourism economic differences contribute to over 90% of the overall tourism economic differences. Spatial divergence, the proportion of the tourism economy accounted for by spatial differences is obvious, the comprehensive level of the tourism economy can be divided into five levels. The dominant factors in the formation of the pattern of spatial and temporal differences in the tourism economy are the conditions of tourism resources based on class-A tourist attractions and the level of tourism industry and services based on star hotels and travel agencies. This study addresses the regional imbalance of tourism economic development in city clusters and with the intent of promoting balanced and high-quality development of regional tourism economies.

Spatial Identification and Distribution Pattern of the Complexity of Rural Poverty in China Using Multisource Spatial Data

Regional poverty is one of the most serious challenges facing the world today. Poverty, antipoverty, and poverty alleviation are the focus of the attention of scholars and the public. This paper takes China’s counties as the research unit, selects the influencing factors of poverty from natural and socio-economic factors, establishes an evaluation index system, simulates the natural poverty index and socio-economic poverty eradication index of each county, and clarifies the distribution characteristics of spatial poverty using GIS spatial analysis and BP artificial neural network. The results indicate that natural factors are the main cause of poverty in Chinese counties, with 710 counties having a high natural poverty index, accounting for nearly 30% of the total number of counties in the country. The national county-level natural poverty index shows a clear strip distribution pattern along latitude and longitude, with a strip distribution from north to south and from west to east; socio-economic factors have played a certain role in poverty alleviation, with as many as 1521 counties with low socio-economic poverty alleviation indices, accounting for approximately 64% of the total number of counties in the country. The spatial distribution of the county-level socio-economic poverty alleviation index is relatively fragmented. Through spatial scanning statistics, a total of 44 county poverty pressure index risk clusters reached a statistical significance level, involving 243 counties and districts. In poverty reduction practice, the internal counties and districts of contiguous poverty-stricken areas should strengthen cooperation and exchange. In the process of poverty alleviation and development, targeted poverty alleviation and economic development should be carried out based on the poverty-dominant type and self-development ability of the county, in order to improve efficiency. Regions that are relatively prosperous and have taken the lead in poverty reduction should play a leading and exemplary role in strengthening the radiation power of regional central cities. The prominent feature of this study is the comprehensive utilization of multisource data and the use of new spatial analysis methods (flexible spatial scanning method is widely used in the field of infectious disease prevention and control research). By constructing a multidimensional poverty measurement system that includes natural and social factors, it distinguishes the differences between the factors that cause poverty and the factors that eliminate poverty in regional poverty. At the same time, the flexible spatial scanning detection method was used to detect the differentiation mechanism of poverty spatial patterns.

Urban Flood Risk Assessment Based on a Combination of Subjective and Objective Multi-Weight Methods

Against the backdrop of global warming and rising sea levels coupled with increasing urbanization, flood risks for plain cities have intensified. This study takes Liaocheng City as its research object and constructs a regional flood risk assessment model based on a combination of subjective and objective multi-weight methods. The model sets weights according to different return periods from three perspectives: the severity of disaster-causing factors, the exposure of disaster-prone environments, and the vulnerability of disaster-bearing bodies. It also uses a subjective–objective combination of weights for the severity of disaster-causing factors, adopts CRITIC-entropy weights for the exposure of disaster-prone environments and vulnerability of disaster-bearing bodies, and adopts AHP subjective weights for the criterion layer. Based on GIS spatial analysis technology, the examination and zoning of flood disasters at a county scale were carried out. The results show that, unlike the existing weighting methods and machine learning methods, this multi-weight combination method can simultaneously avoid the subjectivity of the results and the uncertainty of parameters, thus enabling more accurate decision-making results to be obtained. The spatial distribution of the comprehensive risk is high in the central and western parts and relatively low in the south and north, while the area characterized by very high risk is concentrated in Dongchangfu District and Guanxian County. With the gradual increase in return periods, the overall spatial distribution of medium-to-very-high-risk areas in risk zoning gradually shrinks, and the spatial distribution of very-high-risk areas gradually moves south but maintains a stable distribution rule. Flood risk assessment is an important basic process for disaster prevention and mitigation in plain cities, and the results of this study can provide a reference for similar plain cities.

Research on the Construction of Rural Living Circles in Hilly and Gully Areas of the Loess Plateau: A Case Study of Guanghe County

Ue and practical significance for achieving equitable urban and rural infrastructure within a region and promoting integrated urban-rural development. Employing landscape ecology theory and GIS spatial analysis techniques, this paper comprehensively analyzes the construction of rural living circles in Guanghe County, taking into account the convergence characteristics of residents' daily life trajectories and biological migration movements. The results indicate: (1) Within the "resistance surface" of Guanghe County, easily accessible areas and generally accessible areas account for 69.92% of the total area, while relatively difficult-to-access and hard-to-access areas constitute 30.08% of the total area, with weaker development potential in these regions. (2) Based on the results of the MCR model, a methodological pathway for identifying rural living circles is established. This includes delineating a "four-level, three-category" system for rural living circles in Guanghe County, and proposing a "mandatory allocation + selective allocation" modular customization approach to precisely allocate public service facilities. (3) Building upon the concept of travel "resistance surfaces," the study introduces transportation resistance coefficients to delineate different scales of living circles between river valley plain areas and mountainous areas. The research findings provide a basis for the construction of rural living circles in hilly and gully areas of the Loess Plateau.