Man-land Relationship Research Articles

Multi-Source Data-Based Investigation of Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity and Driving Mechanisms of Coupling and Coordination in Human Settlements in Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River

In the information age, the new wave of the information technology revolution has profoundly changed our mode of production and way of life. Pseudo human settlements (PHS), consisting of digits and information, have become increasingly important in human settlements (HS) systems, and become a strong support for the high-quality development of global HS. Against this background, clarifying the spatiotemporal heterogeneity and driving mechanisms of the coupling and coordination between the PHS and real human settlements (RHS) is of great significance to the high-quality development of HS and providing a reasonable explanation of today’s man–land relationship. Therefore, we developed a theoretical framework system for describing PHS–RHS coupling and coordination based on multi-source data such as internet socialization, public utility, and remote sensing images, etc. Taking the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River (UAMRYR), which is the key region consolidating China’s “two horizontal and three vertical” urbanization strategy, as a case study area, we have comprehensively analyzed the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of the coupling and coordination of PHS and RHS and its driving mechanism in UAMRYR during the period of 2011–2021, by comprehensively applying the modified coupling coordination degree (CCD) and other models. The results show are as follows: (1) Temporal process—The CCD exhibited a reverse L-shaped increasing trend. The CCD class varied significantly, with the extremely uncoordinated and severely uncoordinated classes present at the beginning of the study period and disappearing toward the end of the study period, while the well coordinated and highly coordinated classes were absent at the beginning of the study period and appeared toward the end of the study period. (2) Spatial pattern—The CCD exhibited an equilateral triangle-shaped, core–margin spatial pattern and a characteristic of core polarization. Overall, the spatial distribution of the CCD exhibited a characteristic of “high in the central region, low in the eastern and western regions, and balanced in the south–north direction”. (3) Dynamic evolution—The CCD increased more rapidly in the north-eastern direction than in the south-western direction; the CCD exhibited north-eastward migration and dispersion, and the spatial variability decreased. (4) Driving mechanisms—The primary factors affecting the CCD varied significantly over time. The living system was dominant in the PHS, whereas the human system was dominant in the RHS. The PHS had a greater effect than the RHS on the CCD. The study broadens the research scope of human settlements geography, establishes a scientific foundation for advancing urban HS construction in the UAMRYR, and offers theoretical support for the high-quality development of cities in the UAMRYR.

Environmental Studies Based on Lake Sediment Records in China: A Review

Lake sediment records are of great importance for understanding the evolution of watershed environments. Various studies have been carried out to determine the depositional ages of lake sediments and to examine their physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. The aim is to construct the historical vegetation, environment, and climate patterns in Chinese lake watersheds. In this review, we obtained relevant studies on lake sediment records by searching the key word ‘age-depth’ from the following databases: Web of Science and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI, the largest Chinese academic database). We analyzed the literature based on its type (published in a Chinese/English journal or as a Master’s/PhD thesis), period of publication, journal (if published in a journal), key authors, study area, dating scale, and main aims. The results suggest that the lakes in the plateau regions are the most popular research topic, typically covering 100–200 years (short-term) and 500–30,000 years (long-term). The literature focuses on a wide range of topics, from past environmental evolution in watersheds to lake ecology, and it provides a solid foundation for a better understanding of the regional climate change and the preservation of lake environments and ecosystems. In the future, the resulting data obtained from environmental reconstructions with lake sediments will need to be integrated with emerging information processing technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence and meta-analysis) to disentangle the complex interplay between the Earth’s surface processes and global climate change; furthermore, strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration will deepen our comprehension of the man-land relationship and promote the sustainable management of lake ecosystems in the context of global climate change.

The Evolution and Driving Mechanisms of the Blue-Green Space Publicness Pattern in Changsha, China

Urban blue-green space (UBGS), where public life occurs, is vital for social interaction, social cohesion, public spirit cultivation, and community formation. UBGS publicness reflects whether it supports and facilitates community formation. From the perspective of the man–land relationship, UBGS with high publicness should have three significant characteristics: accessibility of elements, functional selectivity, and structural connectivity and shareability. This study took Changsha as the case study and evaluated its UBGS publicness in 2012, 2016, and 2020. We analyzed the evolution of the UBGS publicness pattern, and the results indicated the following: (1) The elements accessibility indicator showed a decreasing trend year by year and maintained the pattern of low in the city center and high in the suburban area; (2) the functional diversity indicator changed from a monocentric polarized spatial pattern to a polycentric and balanced spatial pattern; (3) the structural connectivity indicator generally improved and showed the core-edge pattern; and (4) the comprehensive indicator showed that the pattern developed from the core edge to the core edge as the primary focus with fan-shaped expansion supplemented. Based on this, combined with Changsha’s urban development history, environmental, policy, economic, and social factors supported, led, promoted, and guided the formation and evolution of the UBGS publicness pattern. This study improved the theoretical foundation of UBGS publicness, provided ideas and methods for the UBGS publicness evaluation on the urban scale, and may provide a reference for the construction of livable and sustainable cities.

Research on the Measurement, Evaluation and Compensation of Traditional Village Residents’ Emotional Perception: A Case of 14 Traditional Villages in Guanzhong Region

Traditional village residents’ emotional perception is a mapping of the man–land relationship in rural areas, which leads to the attitudes and behaviors of the residents. Against the background of previous studies focusing on technical rationality but neglecting the exploration of “human” emotional factors, it is crucial to carry out research on the traditional village residents’ emotional perception to promote people-centered rural development of high quality. The paper selected 123 residents from 14 traditional villages in Guanzhong region and constructs an evaluation index system which includes three dimensions based on the logical framework of “spiritual attachment-functional dependence-developmental cognition”. Next, the questionnaire method was used to collect data and the empirical analysis was conducted using the obstacle degree model and the network analysis model. The research shows that: (1) the overall level of the traditional village residents’ emotional perception is in the middle-upper class and there are significant differences, and there is a non-equilibrium in different evaluation dimensions. (2) The main obstacle to the improvement of the level of traditional village residents’ emotional perception is perception of development, followed by the sense of belonging, and the sense of happiness has a greater supportive role. (3) “Sustainable development of the village” (D-07) is the central node of the network analysis model of traditional village residents’ emotional perception. Meanwhile, the nodes “willingness to live” (G-02) and “basic rights are guaranteed” (X-10) are the central nodes of the sub-networks of sense of belonging and sense of happiness. (4) The residents’ education level and the frequency of community participation have a significant positive effect on their emotional perception level. Finally, the paper explores the dynamic compensation mechanism of traditional village residents’ emotional perception. Our results provide policy guidance for achieving sustainable development of traditional villages.

Understanding the Sustainable Mechanisms of Poverty Alleviation Resettlement in China’s Developed Regions under the Background of Land Relocation: Drivers, Paths and Outcomes

In the context of land relocation, poverty alleviation resettlement (PAR) is considered an effective approach to improve the man–land relationship and development issues. However, current studies pay little attention to PAR and its spillover effects within developed regions. Furthermore, the complete mechanism chain has received little research concentration. Thus, employing a qualitative survey, this study aims to investigate the overall mechanisms of developed regions’ PAR in the context of land relocation. The study will deal with the following questions: Why does PAR occur in developed regions? How does the resettlement approach to poverty alleviation (i.e., paths)? What are the effects of resettlement on poverty alleviation, including its own effects and spillover effects? Through answering these questions, this study will highlight PAR in developed regions and investigate the spillovers from social, economic and ecological perspectives. Particularly, a comprehensive mechanism analysis framework for PAR will be presented to motivate future studies. Results indicate that PAR is generally caused by ecological poverty alleviation, geological disaster prevention and county town urbanisation promotion and that emigration and resettlement are the paths to PAR. In addition, the direct outcome is the overall rise in the number of resettlers over time, and the spillovers show the sustainable collaboration of economic, social and ecological dimensions. These findings will influence future land reform and housing initiatives.

The evolution and driving mechanism of land use classification systems in China

It is of great value to explore the evolution and dynamic mechanism of land use classification systems, such as improving the current classification system and providing guidance for scientific land use methodologies. In this study, the evolution process of land use classification systems in China is analyzed, the characteristics of which in terms of content-form, the urban–rural land use relationship and land functionality are compared, and the evolution mechanism of which is evaluated. The findings reveal that: (1) The land use classification systems in China have undergone a three-stage evolution process, comprising an initial "exploration stage", followed by an "improvement stage", culminating in a "maturity stage"; (2) The content and form of these systems exhibit distinct characteristics, marked by the refinement of construction land, stability in hierarchy, and an increase in the number of classifications. The urban–rural land use relationships have transitioned from a state of "urban–rural separation" to "urban–rural coordination", and ultimately to "urban–rural integration". Moreover, land functions have evolved from single to comprehensive; (3) The evolution of land use systems is primarily driven by national policies, socioeconomic development, and resource endowments, and in essence, it is constrained by the man-land relationship. To meet the needs of global village development, future land classification systems should strive to establish universal international standards.

Evolution characteristics, drivers and trends of rural residential land in mountainous economic circle: A case study of Chengdu-Chongqing area, China

Spatial systematic competition definitely contributes to rural residential evolution. Rural residential land of mountainous economic circle is generally hard to govern due to the disturbances from natural factors and economic activities. This study established a framework and adopted Kernel Density Estimation (KDE), Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA), Geographical detector (Geo-detector) and Patch-generating Land Use Simulation (PLUS) to examine the evolution characteristics, drivers and trends of rural residential land of Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle(CCEC). Our research uncovered that: 1) The competitions between rural living space (RLS), rural production space (RPS) and rural ecological space(RES) substantially contribute to the evolution of rural residential land according to the conceptual framework, and the evolution in mountainous economic zone is greatly impacted by the close coupling interaction of macro driving factors and micro farmers’ housing selection. 2)The characteristics of rural residential evolution of Chengdu-Chongqing area presents “dense in the west and sparse in the east”, and the majority of which are concentrated in Sichuan Basin and Chengdu plain area. 3) Although the size of rural residential land in Chengdu-Chongqing area presents a fluctuant downward trend according to the simulation results, the spatial distribution pattern will remain nearly unchanged in the long run. 4) Rural residential evolution reflects the interactional process of muti-factors, as well as the matching result between man-land relationship and regional development goals under the land use policies. Overall, The theoretical and empirical research form the perspective of spatial competition in this paper provides a new idea for future studies on the evolution of rural residential land.

The relationship evolution between urbanization and urban ecological resilience in the Northern Slope Economic Belt of Tianshan Mountains, China

Revealing the relationship between urbanization and urban ecological resilience (UER) is essential for high-quality urbanization and urban ecosystem sustainability. In this study, we evaluated the comprehensive urbanization level (CUL) and UER in the Northern Slope Economic Belt of Tianshan Mountains (NSEBTM), and analyzed the relationship evolution between CUL and UER using the Pearson correlation analysis, four-quadrant model and Markov transition matrix. The results showed that the overall CUL and UER in the NSEBTM gradually increased from 2005 to 2020 while presenting significant spatial heterogeneity. The distribution of CUL displayed a decrease from middle to both sides, and the UER in the western area was generally higher than that in the central and eastern areas. In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between CUL and UER, with the number of double-high cities increasing whereas the number of double-low cities decreasing during the research period. Compared with the UER-lagging cities, the CUL-lagging cities faced more pressure to upgrade and develop the two systems coordinately. This paper provides a useful reference for analyzing the man-land relationship in arid regions and contributes to urban sustainable development.

Coupling and Coordination Relationship between Urbanization Quality and Ecosystem Services in the Upper Yellow River: A Case Study of the Lanzhou–Xining Urban Agglomeration, China

The study of the man–land relationship in the urbanization process is the current frontier and focus of international research. How to balance urban development and ecosystem conservation in the Upper Yellow River is a key issue for sustainable development in China. In this study, we evaluated the Lanzhou–Xining urban agglomeration (LXUA) by constructing a multi-dimensional assessment system for urbanization quality and ecosystem services. The efficacy function model, entropy weight method, and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model were used to quantitatively assess the subsystems’ state of development. Then, the coupling model (CD) and the coordination degree (CCD) model were used to explore the coupling coordination relationship and spatial-temporal change characteristics of the composite system. The findings indicate that: (1) In 2020, the quality of urbanization in the LXUA showed the pattern of “double core”. The development of urban centers in each city is insufficient, and the proportion of counties with a low level is too high. (2) Integrated ecosystem services showed an increasing distribution pattern from the northeast to the southwest. Water provision services, soil conservation services and carbon fixation services all showed growth trends. (3) Each county’s composite system was in the run-in stage or highly coupled stage. The subsystems were closely related to each other. (4) The CCD was decreased by 6% between two decades. The number of counties on the verge of disorder was the highest. About 80% of the counties were relatively lagging behind in ecosystem services.

The Impact of Technology Innovation on Urban Land Intensive Use in China: Evidence from 284 Cities in China

How to improve the level of urban land intensive use (ULIU) has been of wide concern to academic circles. Technology innovation, as the internal driving force of economic development, has an important impact on ULIU. To clarify the impacts of technology innovation on ULIU, this study measures the ULIU level index of China from 2006 to 2019 from four dimensions: the input-output level of economic efficiency, the carrying capacity of ecological environment, the harmony of the man-land relationship and the rationality of relationships between regions. On this basis, as there are different production technologies and land use technologies between cities, the differences of ULIU in different regions are analysed. Using the spatial econometric model, this study empirically analyzes the impact of technology innovation on ULIU. In addition, considering the differences in geographical distribution, natural resource endowment and technological type, this study analyzes the heterogeneous impact of technology innovation on ULIU. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) The level of ULIU and technology innovation in China is increasing year by year. The level of ULIU and technology innovation in the eastern region is higher than that in the central and western regions. (2) From the spatial perspective, ULIU has a significant positive spatial spillover effect. (3) On the whole, technology innovation significantly improves the level of ULIU. (4) The impact of technology innovation in different regions, different types of cities and different types of technologies on ULIU is heterogeneous. Our results not only enrich the research on the relationship between technology innovation and ULIU, but also provide a reference for the formulation of relevant policies.

A Comparative Study on the Coevolution and Drivers of Environmental Risks and Man–Land Relationship between China and the United States from the Perspective of LUCC

The study of geography is centered on the regional system of the human-land relationship, and the core of the study of the geographical system of the human-land relationship is land use change. Land use is the most direct manifestation of human activities, accompanied by changes in land cover. This is the most appropriate entry point to reveal the evolution of human-land relationships. The past 300 years have been the most intense period of social change in China and the United States. In this study, we investigated the differences and evolution of human-land relations between China and the United States from the perspective of land cover change. We found: (1) Cultivated land, forest land, and grassland areas in China and the United States have changed significantly in the past 300 years. The cultivated land area has generally increased, and the extent of forest land and grassland has declined. According to the speed of land cover change, it can be roughly divided into three different stages. The change in cultivated land in China is mainly based on the enhancement of cultivation intensity. The change in cultivated land in the United States is mainly based on expansion of cultivated land. (2) The difference in land cover change between China and the United States in the past 300 years is mainly caused by the difference in social development, interpreting human-land relationships with honest feedback and social feedback. In general, with the continuous development of land, environmental issues have become increasingly prominent, and people’s awareness of environmental protection has also increased. (3) The evolution of human-land relations in China and the United States has been influenced by natural and social factors for nearly 300 years. China is dominated by population, whereas the United States is dominated by technology. The relationship between humans and land differs between the two countries in some respects, with similarities in other areas. In both countries, this relationship can be characterized by the stages of relying on the environment, understanding the environment, transforming the environment, and protecting the environment. This evolution is in line with the law of social development, according to which human beings constantly recognize, utilize, and adapt to nature.

Evaluation of Land Carrying Capacity of 31 Provinces in China Based on a Natural–Societal-Supply–Demand Framework

Land carrying capacity (LCC) refers to the ability of land resources to support human activities, and has become an important tool for research into the man–land relationship. Due to the 31 provinces of China possessing huge differences in resource and social development, it is necessary to understand the key factors and differences in LCC in each province. This paper provided a framework for the Natural–Societal-Supply–Demand of LCC, and analyzed the LCC of the 31 provinces of China via the cross relationship between the four subsystems. In total, 22 indicators were selected, and the weight of the indicators was calculated via the gray correlation coefficient. Through this framework, the LCC is endowed by natural resources and is improved by social development; the comprehensive LCC of the 31 provinces was evaluated using geographic information data and statistical data, and the main causes of overload were analyzed by using the obstacle model. The results show that (1) The natural resources of most provinces in China cannot support the current population; (2) Social development has significantly improved the LCC; and (3) The shortage of natural resources is the key factor in LCC overloading in most provinces. Insufficient food supply, insufficient carbon sequestration, the shortage of construction land, and insufficient water supply are the main causes of overload in China.

The Neolithic Culture and Paleogeographic Environment Evolution in the Eastern Jianghuai Area

According to previous studies, the Lixiahe area in the east of the Jianghuai River was an alternate environment of land and sea in the middle Holocene, and it was not until the late Holocene that the eastern Jianghuai completely became a terrestrial environment. However, recent archaeological studies have found that the extensive Neolithic sites in the Lixiahe area have recorded the rich human activities and cultural connotations of the prehistoric civilization in the Middle Holocene. In this paper, the Gangxi section of Jianhu Lake, Jiangsu Province (GX2) was selected and pollen analysis was fulfilled, then the geomorphic evolution process of the study area from sea to land was investigated according to the palynological assemblages and algae fossils of brackish water, semi-saline water, fresh water and terrestrial in the section strata. During the period of 8500–3800 cal. BP, GX2 was affected by multiple factors such as sea surface fluctuation, ocean flow and sediment deposition carried by seagoing rivers. Since 5800 cal. BP, the area east of the Grand Canal between the Yangtze River and the Huaihe River, and the west of the Yangzhai town, Funing–Longgang town, Yancheng–Dagang town and Yancheng–west of the Dongtai–Hai’an line, have become a terrestrial environment. After the eastern Jianghuai became a land, the Liangzhu culture (5300–4300 cal. BP) in the Taihu Lake basin in the south wing of the Yangtze River delta expanded to the eastern Jianghuai area, and the Longshan culture and Yueshi culture in the Haidai area in the north also migrated south to the eastern Jianghuai area. Admittedly, the main reason in the process of Neolithic cultural development is the internal motivation that the ancient ancestors struggled with nature and pushed forward the continuous development of civilizations. However, our study explains the palaeogeographical origin of Neolithic culture in the eastern and coastal areas of Jianghuai in the middle Holocene, and meanwhile, provides an example for the man–land relationship research on Neolithic culture.

The Dominant Livelihood Types of Farm Households and Their Determinants in Key Ecological Function Areas

The dominant livelihood types of farm households have become increasingly differentiated in recent years, which has attracted the attention of researchers. Identifying the characteristics and driving factors of household livelihood differentiation is of great significance for revealing man-land relationship and policy making. Based on the interview data of farm households in typical villages in key ecological function areas of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in China, we analyzed the pattern of the dominant diversified livelihood types and the livelihood characteristics among different farm households. Then we assessed the driving forces of livelihood diversification by optimal scaling regression. The results indicated that: (1) In the study area, the dominant livelihood types show two trends of agriculturally dominant livelihood (accounting for 53.07%) and non-agriculturally dominant livelihood (accounting for 46.93%). Moreover, farm households in the agro-pastoral areas are mainly agriculturally dominated (accounting for 75.68%), while farm households in the mountainous areas are mainly non-agriculturally dominated (accounting for 66.93%). (2) The labor allocation and income source of different types of farm households are consistent with their dominant livelihood types. The farm households with agriculturally dominant livelihoods have more natural resources than those with non-agriculturally dominant livelihoods. In terms of housing conditions, farm households with agriculturally dominant livelihoods are inferior to those with non-agriculturally dominant livelihoods. (3) The farm labor, dependency ratio, agricultural income, supplemental income and locational conditions have negative impacts on the non-agricultural trend of farm household livelihood decisions, while off-farm labor, non-farm income, education level and the per capita amount of compensation have significant positive impacts on it.

Understanding the Dynamic Mechanism of Urban Land Use and Population Distribution Evolution from a Microscopic Perspective

With the advancement of urbanization, the contradiction in the man–land relationship becomes more and more difficult to ignore. Investigation of the change in urban land use, population distribution and its mechanism can provide powerful assistance for urban planning. Since the changes in urban land use and population distribution is a complex process with spatial heterogeneity, the current methods for describing them are still lacking in both interpretability and spatial differences. In this paper, we combine the expansion phenomena of urban land use and population distribution with the heat equation to understand the mechanism. The particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is used to identify the diffusion coefficient to obtain the diffusion law in the city’s development. In this way, the diffusion coefficient identified from the data is directly associated with urban changes. The mechanism of changes in urban land use and population distribution can be explained with the diffusion equation and the diffusion coefficient. Our model is first validated on land use and land cover data, followed by further refinement of the spatial differences in the artificial impervious surface data. The experiment’s results imply that by applying the model to the population data, the model’s generalization ability has been significantly improved.

Spatio-Temporal Variation and Influencing Factors of the Coupling Coordination Degree of Production-Living-Ecological Space in China.

Territorial space is a multi-functional complex. The coordinated production-living-ecological space (PLES) effectively coordinates the man-land relationship, promotes regional sustainable development, and maximizes territorial space. How to build a high-quality national spatial layout and support system for development has become a hot topic of concern in all sectors of society. However, few studies have explored the coupling coordination considering the various production-living-ecological functions of land use type and its influencing factors of PLES at the county scale in China. To address the gap, based on the connotation of PLES theory, this study established a classification and evaluation system for PLES and analyzed the spatio-temporal characteristics, coupling coordination degree, spatial autocorrelation, and influencing factors of PLES in China from 2000 to 2020. The results are as follows: (1) The production space index and living space index in China showed a continuous increase tendency, while the ecological space indexs decreased continuously during the study period. The production space and living space were concentrated in the east of Hu Line, and the ecological space indexes in mountainous areas were significantly higher than those in plain areas during the study period. (2) The gravity centers of PLES all migrated to the west of China to different degrees during the study period. (3) From 2000 to 2020, the basically balanced category was the main coupling coordination type, and the number of seriously unbalanced categories accounted for the least. In the west of the Hu Line, the seriously unbalanced category was dominant, while in the east of the Hu Line were the moderately unbalanced categories and above. (4) During the study period, the low-low type was the main relationship type, widely distributed in western China, followed by the high-high type, mainly situated in the North China Plain, Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Jianghan Plain, Chengdu Plain, Northeast China Plain, and some provincial capital cities. (5) Regression results showed that natural factors were the main reason restricting the coordinated development of PLES, and socioeconomic factors could effectively promote the coordinated development of PLES. Landscape pattern also significantly influenced the coordinated development of PLES, but varied greatly. The findings of this study can provide a scientific reference for the optimization of territorial space layout and the promotion of high-quality development of territorial space.

Time rupture in urban heritage: based on the case of shanghai

There is a rupture between the past symbolized by urban heritage and the modernity symbolized by urban development. This paper aims to discuss the urban heritage and its protection from the perspective of time, and puts forward the concept of time rupture. A ‘time rupture’ refers to a fault in the expression of time in urban heritage and a discontinuity of people’s sense of time. Based on a case study of Shanghai’s urban heritage, including Xintiandi, Hailun Road and Old City historical area, this paper finds manifestations of time rupture: the fading of local uniqueness, a discontinuity in the urban landscape and an alienation of the man–land relationship. Using a literature review, discourse analysis and on-site observation, this research reveals the specific problems of urban heritage protection in Shanghai. After reflection and discussion on the concept of time rupture, this paper argues that time rupture provides new possibilities for urban heritage and inspiration for urban weaving, which are concluded based on forms of past, narration timeline and heritage images.

Study on the Influence Mechanism of Intangible Cultural Heritage Distribution from Man–Land Relationship Perspective: A Case Study in Shandong Province

Spatial autocorrelation, cold and hot spot analysis, and standard deviation ellipse analysis were used to analyze the spatial distribution of intangible cultural heritage (ICH). Geodetectors were used to reveal the factors that influenced the distribution in Shandong Province. The results showed that: (1) The ICH in Shandong Province covered most ICH types with the difference in the number of expressions of ICH of a different type. Traditional artistry, traditional art, traditional sports, recreation and acrobatics, and folk literature are the main types of ICH. (2) The spatial distribution of ICH showed a great difference. Multiple concentration areas and deficient areas were presented that followed the direction from southwest to northeast. (3) Man–land relationship-related factors such as population, waters, urban–rural size, and air temperature showed important influence on ICH distribution. The influence of interaction among influence factors is higher than a single factor. In summary, man–land relationships are the key factors that influenced ICH distribution.

The man-land relationship in Qing China: an overview

ABSTRACT The Qing era witnessed a continuation of the man-land problem that had haunted Chinese history. Since the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, China has developed a unique mode of small-scale peasant production, which required enormous manpower on the one hand and could support a huge population on the other. Taking the Taiping Rebellion arising in 1850 as the watershed, this paper examines the changes in the man-land relationship during two periods of the Qing era and criticizes both the Malthusian Theory of Population from the West and the “overpopulation” argument indigenous in China. This paper concludes that the Malthusian Theory cannot fully explain the complexities of man-land relationship in China and that “overpopulation” was not the root cause for the collapse of dynasties in the Chinese history.

Spatial distribution data of cultural sites from the Paleolithic to Bronze Age in Xinjiang, China

The published map recording cultural sites in Xinjiang shows that there is a lack of data collection on the distribution of sites in the area, and no relevant data sets have been released. Existing written materials indicate that there are more cultural sites in this area. For this reason, we have collected and sorted out information. Our cultural site database provides the geographic location and corresponding geographic environment of each site in Xinjiang from the Paleolithic to the Bronze Age. The data record the human development and settlement process, settlement environment landscape characteristics, scale, type, quantity, and spatial distribution in Xinjiang in prehistoric China. These data not only are the basis for further understanding the spatial distribution of prehistoric humans in Xinjiang, but also provide references for understanding prehistoric human behavior and prehistoric man-land relationship, and the exchange of eastern and western civilizations. It is of great significance to modern social planning, site protection, and resource utilization.