Relevant Land Research Articles

Analysing DEM errors over an urban region across various scales with different elevation sources

ABSTRACT With scant information available on domestic DEM quality and suitable evaluation methods, particularly in city regions, this study set out to evaluate and compare nine contemporary seamless DEM from different sources and spatial resolutions. The assessment focused on DEM accuracy, as well as determining the variation in data quality across several urban land cover types and slope classes. This was systematically determined against independent LiDAR-derived control points, co-registered reference grids, and resampled data from relevant land cover information. It showed that different sensor configurations and interpolation techniques directly relate to the unique ground cover and topographic variations as manifested by the particular digital surface model (DSM) or terrain model (DTM). An experimental photogrammetric DTM and SA National DEM compared very well with ‘off-the-shelf’ tri-stereo Elevation4™ and WorldDEM™ DTM products. Their good performance eluded to them being the least affected by land surface cover and gradient variations. The accuracy metrics produced by the AW3D30 DEM throughout were on average substantially higher than those calculated for both the National DEM and the SRTM-X DEM. Two local commercial versions, the older SADTM and more recent SUDEM, and lastly the ASTER GDEM2 in particular, yielded noticeably less accurate results that would restrain their usefulness.

A Scheme for the Long-Term Monitoring of Impervious−Relevant Land Disturbances Using High Frequency Landsat Archives and the Google Earth Engine

Impervious surfaces are commonly acknowledged as major components of human settlements. The expansion of impervious surfaces could lead to a series of human−dominated environmental and ecological issues. Tracing impervious surface dynamics at a finer temporal−spatial scale is a critical way to better understand the increasingly human-dominated system of Earth. In this study, we put forward a new scheme to conduct long-term monitoring of impervious−relevant land disturbances using high frequency Landsat archives and the Google Earth Engine (GEE). First, the developed region was identified using a classification-based approach. Then, the GEE-version LandTrendr (Landsat-based detection of Trends in Disturbance and Recovery) was used to detect land disturbances, characterizing the conversion from vegetation to impervious surfaces. Finally, the actual disturbance areas within the developed regions were derived and quantitatively evaluated. A case study was conducted to detect impervious surface dynamics in Nanjing, China, from 1988 to 2018. Results show that our scheme can efficiently monitor impervious surface dynamics at yearly intervals with good accuracy. The overall accuracy (OA) of the classification results for 1988 and 2018 are 95.86% and 94.14%. Based on temporal−spatial accuracy assessments of the final detection result, the temporal accuracy is 90.75%, and the average detection time deviation is −1.28 a. The OA, precision, and recall of the sampling inspection, respectively, are 84.34%, 85.43%, and 96.37%. This scheme provides new insights into capturing the expansion of impervious−relevant land disturbances with high frequency Landsat archives in an efficient way.

Promotion of degraded land consolidation to rural poverty alleviation in the agro-pastoral transition zone of northern China

Land degradation brings about the rural poverty problems impeding county economic development and rural revitalization in fragile ecological regions. Our objectives were to explain the role played by degraded land consolidation in rural poverty elimination and development, and then show the importance of degraded land consolidation in county targeted poverty alleviation by one case study. Degraded land consolidation provides an effective way to improve production and living environment, promote industry development, and activate poor households’ endogenous motivation. Land degradation in Dingbian County is characterized by land sandification, salinization and soil erosion. Dingbian government has arranged 36 projects to consolidate degraded land with areas of 4921.61 ha. Degraded land consolidation optimized rural economic structure and mitigated rural poverty through integration with agriculture, industry and tourism in Dingbian County. Government’s land policy and relevant land engineering eradicated the poverty trap through interaction with the raised poor households’ awareness, skill and motivation. Targeted poverty alleviation is a complex systematic engineering. Specific issues should be noted in poverty alleviation promoted by innovated land policy and land consolidation, such as regional precision diagnosis, rational industry development plan and ecological risky evaluation.

Defining scales of the land use effect to map the urban heat island in a mid-size European city: Rennes (France)

The Urban Heat Island (UHI) is a climatic phenomenon linked to urbanization. In the context of climate change, municipalities have to adapt the city to increase in heat waves by managing the UHI. This study aims to map the UHI of a mid-size city (Rennes, France) and to define the relevant land use factors. The UHI was measured by 22 weather stations in different contexts: urban, suburban and peri-urban. After investigating the UHI weather conditions, we used a multi-criteria method by linear regression to build a model of the UHI. It explained 82% of UHI spatial variability for an average year. This method was automated to map the UHI for several periods (annual, seasonal, and daily). The influence of the land use on the UHI fluctuated with weather conditions. We tested different land use factors for several scales (100 m to 900 m). The results show the preponderance of low vegetation fraction and built-up fraction variables to explain the UHI with a buffer radius of 200 m and 900 m respectively. We conclude that these variables are relevant to define indexes for town planners.

Identifying erosion hotspots in Lake Tana Basin from a multisite Soil and Water Assessment Tool validation: Opportunity for land managers

AbstractExtensive catchment degradation throughout the Ethiopian Highlands induced by long‐term intensified land use, erosion‐prone topography, and climate causes substantial soil erosion that limits agricultural productivity and results in lake sedimentation. However, before taking soil conservation measures, management of the soil loss problem essentially needs catchment‐level modelling to estimate the geographic distribution of erosion hotspots. With the increasing availability of sediment and spatial data and development of physically based models, this study aims multisite calibration of Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to map erosion hotspot areas and to assess the effect of well‐known land management alternatives in sediment reduction in the Lake Tana Basin. The SWAT simulations indicated that the goodness of fit between predicted and observed data was satisfactory for all gauge stations except for one, and the model performance was within acceptable evaluation ratings. Simulated average sediment yield (SY) for the period 2001–2016 at subbasin level varies from negligible to about 169 Mg ha−1 yr−1 (basin average 32 Mg ha−1 yr−1). High potential SY (>50 Mg ha−1 yr−1) was simulated for 23% of the subbasins in Megech, upper Rib, upper Gumara, and Gilgel Abay catchments due to steep slope topography, aggressive rainfall, croplands dominance, and low rock fragment cover. The differences in level of erosion risk among subbasins help to prioritize and target specific areas of the basin that need urgent soil conservation activities. Scenario analysis also showed that implementing stone bunds, Acacia decurrens‐based crop rotation, reforestation, and grass contour strips reduces the existing SY by 51–61% at basin level. The potential sediment production could reach tolerable levels by implementing stone bunds, tree‐based crop rotation, reforestation in steep slope areas, and grass contour strips on gentle slopes. Overall, the multisite calibration of SWAT model using the measured run‐off and sediment data produces reasonable results that may support decision makers and planners to implement relevant land management measures and thereby reduce the alarming problems of soil loss in the basin and sedimentation of Lake Tana.

SPECIFIC FEATURES OF FORENSIC EXAMINATION OF LAND MANAGEMENT DOCUMENTATION IN ESTABLISHING THE BOUNDARIES OF ADMINISTRATIVE-TERRITORIAL UNITS

The paper considers the administrative-territorial system of Ukraine. The procedure of boundary determination, in particular the development of the relevant land management project, the procedure for conducting the state land survey of the project, its approval and certification of the borders are analyzed.
 The problematic aspects of the execution of the judicial examination of documentation on the establishment of boundaries of administrative-territorial units are characterized. The emphasis is placed on the importance of adhering to the procedure of analysis of normative-legal and regulatory-technical documents in force at the moment of making the relevant decisions and development of relevant documentation.
 Ways to improve scientific and methodological support of forensic activities in Ukraine are proposed.

Problems of Legal Regulation of Land and Property Relations in Russian Resorts

The paper is devoted to the consideration of current theoretical and practical issues of legal regulation of land and property relations in the territories of resorts in the Russian Federation. The relevance of the research topic is due to the imperfection of the current land and special legislation governing these relations, which leads to numerous violations of the legal regime of the land resorts, land and property rights of individuals and public interests, as evidenced by judicial practice. Based on retrospective analysis of land and environmental legislation of the Russian Federation, materials of law enforcement practice and scientific developments, the paper considers both theoretical problems of limiting the turnover of land within the territory of Russian resorts, and the problems of the application of legislation in practice, including in judicial practice. The author shows the inefficiency of the current legal regulation of land and property relations within the territory of resorts, the main reasons for the situation, the ways to improve land and special legislation in this area. It is concluded that the unjustified restriction of land turnover within the boundaries of the territories of resorts and the delimitation of state ownership of the relevant land, depending on the classification of the resort to Federal, regional and local significance, which prevents the development of these territories and violates the property rights of the local population and the owners of real estate. The problems of establishing the borders of districts and zones of sanitary (mountain-sanitary) protection of resorts in documents and when being identified on site are shown. The author justifies the conclusion about the need for development of a new scientific technique of definition of borders of the specified districts and zones and on its basis of revision of their existing borders that is necessary for establishment of reasonable restrictions of use and turnover of the parcels of land in borders of resorts is proved.

Barriers and Facilitators to Food Security among Adult Burundian and Congolese Refugee Females Resettled in the US

ABSTRACT Sub-Saharan African refugees in the US have reported food security rates seven times below the national average. Dietary acculturation issues may be a contributing factor. Criterion-specific sample (n = 18) was recruited using network then snowball sampling methods. Semi-structured interviews were facilitated with the aid of a culturally and linguistically appropriate interpreter. An iterative, two cycle coding analytic process was completed within NVivo 11 by two coders who sought inter-rater reliability. Codes were organized into hierarchical maps and coding matrices for direct content analysis, and pattern and theme detection. Saturation was achieved and validated with an additional two interviews. Participants were primarily Burundian (67% vs. 33% Congolese), married (72%), held no high school degree (72%), unemployed (56%) and reported limited English proficiency (72%). Barriers and facilitators to food security across all levels of the Socio-Ecological Model (SEM) were noted. Emerging themes included difficulty with language, cooking, and shopping; transportation; social network support; orientation services; reliance on nutrition assistance programs; limited culturally relevant food and land access; and program policy miscomprehension. The complex relationship between dietary acculturation barriers and facilitators at various SEM levels demonstrates the need for a multi-level intervention to improve food security among refugees.

On‐Ground extension of soil information to improve land management

AbstractThe NSW Soil Knowledge Network (SKN) is a small group of senior ex‐government soil scientists concerned that more needs to be done to improve soil management and stem land degradation with on‐ground extension and training workshops. Widespread attendance and positive feedback from SKN training courses and workshops indicate their extension success and confirm a strong demand for practical independent soil management advice aided by government‐based databases to enhance on‐site workshops. We argue that effective soil knowledge transfer requires interaction and discussion between soil scientists and land managers. This can bridge the gap between data and useful knowledge about soil and land management. The workshop format, where specific soil management issues of specific interest, such as soil acidity, nutrient management or soil sodicity, are discussed between land managers and soil scientists, has been a useful approach. A major concern is that soil scientists with knowledge and practical experience are getting older and fewer in number but few replacements are being appointed in private or government agencies. Also, despite soil electronic data and information being freely available, many land managers and advisors have difficulties accessing and translating soil data into relevant land management decisions. Dialogue with SKN members helps solve this problem because of their hands‐on and face‐to‐face approach with their audiences. The combination of data with effective soil knowledge transfer is successfully exhibited at SKN workshops for advisory groups and the ‘pits and kits’ field days as shown in the paper.

Analysis of productivity of sloping land with solum shallow for maize plant development

Utilization of land resources that slope and shallow solum need to get attention, so that agricultural business can be profitable and sustainable. The more intensive the land use for agriculture, the slope of land is currently experiencing quite heavy pressure, in addition to the uncertain climate conditions and changes. On the one hand there are demands of some communities for agricultural land to produce maximally and on the other side there are also demands for land slope used wisely and sustainably, while the ability and condition of society in the utilization of the land is quite diverse. This is a matter of concern, because it will increase the area of land for the successful development of agriculture. Thus a study is needed to model the specific dominant land aspects of the site in the development of a crop species on a sloping and shallow solum agricultural area. This research is aimed at: (1) to formulate productivity model of shallow slopes and solum in corn cultivation area in Timbuseng Village, Pattallassang District, Gowa regency of South Sulawesi; (2) Determine or map potential sites or areas for corn plant development based on existing climatic conditions in the research area. This research was conducted in Gowa District, South Sulawesi Province. Location determination is done deliberately, because this area is generally sloped, has a shallow solum and climatic conditions are changing. Soil sampling is done on each profile that has been made, and there are 32 points of observation that is divided into 17 units of land, then conducted a laboratory analysis to determine the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil. The land productivity model was established on the basis of relevant land characteristics and influenced the production of maize, the range of each land characteristic determined by regression analysis. Analysis of the relationship between land characteristics with corn production using correlation analysis. The results showed that the potential area for the development of maize in Timbuseng Village, Pattallassang District, Gowa regency of South Sulawesi, is located on 01, 05 and 14, with corn yields rather high (above 6 tons per hectare).

Legislative Based Analysis on the Implementation of Rural Land Laws in Oromia Region: Bale Zone in Focus

The article has explored the legislative analysis on the implementation of rural land laws of Oromia region state with special focus on Bale Zone, Ethiopia. Assessing the implementation of Oromia rural land proclamation and identifying possible challenges have been the main objective of this research. In order to achieve this objective, qualitative research methods were employed. Land administration head and experts, Judges, Kebele administrators, Kebele land administration committees and legal attorneys were used as the key informants. Observation, interview and focus group discussions were also utilized for the success of the study. Relevant rural land proclamations and literatures of most highly qualified scholars on the area were deeply examined. Finally, the research article has found that rural land law of region is not fully implementing in the study area. Absence of specific rural land implementation guidelines, weak and understaffed institutions, lack of effective dispute resolutions system, inadequate financial sources, land grabbing, existence of double holding certificates, d land sale and absence of legal knowledge are identified as the main challenges for the implementation of rural land laws in Oromia Region.

The Correlation between Industrial Organization and Sustainable Growth of City Cluster Spatial: A Case Study of Harbin-Changchun City Cluster

The Harbin-Changchun City Cluster (HCCC) is an important growth engine for the revitalization of the Northeast, and it is also the main mode and spatial platform for the implementation of the new urbanization of the country. Industrial functional organization, structural upgrading and spatial transfer are important driving force for the growth of City Cluster. According to the statistical data of the employed population and industrial output value, we study the industrial spatial layout features and structural evolution of the HCCC and then explore the correlation between industrial organization and the City Cluster spatial based on the Industrial Agglomeration Indicators Analysis and the Locational Gini Coefficient. At the macro level, it is found that the industrial structure and specialized division of labor affect the spatial network and the axis pattern of the City Cluster; at the meso level, the industrial quantity and spatial distribution affect the layout of key cities and node towns in the City Cluster; at the micro level, the industrial level and transformation and upgrading affect the changes of urban spatial structure and the optimal allocation of relevant land.

Environmental and transport effects of warehouse relocationing: evidence from Norway

ABSTRACT Reducing traffic volumes and CO2-emissions from freight transport has proven difficult in many countries. Although the increasing suburbanization of warehouses is seen as a relevant land use trend, comprehensive analyses of their impact remain scarce. This study uses real data in modeling transport, costs, environmental and modal effects from warehouse relocations around Oslo and Trondheim (Norway). Results indicate that for Oslo, traffic performance (ton-km), CO2-emissions, and transport costs increase following warehouse suburbanization. For Trondheim, transport performance and CO2-emissions increase less, while transport costs decrease marginally. We conclude that specific case characteristics (geography and trade patterns) are important in determining the strength and direction of effects, and expect that common concomitant developments (warehouse centralization and consolidation) would lead to more pronounced results. Our findings confirm some, but challenge other, findings from the relatively scarcely literature available. Finally, the study's more general insights and observations can help advance similar analyses beyond Norway.

Rewilding as a restoration strategy for lowland agricultural landscapes: Stakeholder-assisted multi-criteria analysis in Dorset, UK

The ongoing loss of global biodiversity suggests that established conservation practices have not been fully successful at halting species decline. Rewilding, a restoration strategy focused on restoring ecological processes, has become increasingly prominent as a potential means of addressing this problem. Rewilding has been described as a versatile approach that is applicable even in areas with dense human populations and productive agricultural landscapes such as the lowlands of Western Europe. Yet little is known about the options that might exist for rewilding such landscapes, or about their relative suitability. The present study addresses this knowledge gap by assessing the relative popularity and suitability of different rewilding scenarios in the county of Dorset, south-west England, involving the consultation of local stakeholders. Survey results showed strong support for rewilding among stakeholders, with the reintroduction of beavers (Castor fiber) and pine martens (Martes martes) being especially popular. Yet stakeholder perceptions also differed regarding how rewilding should be defined, and what it comprises. The suitability of the proposed rewilding approaches was measured through a spatial multi-criteria analysis using the following variables: popularity among stakeholders, suitability within relevant land cover types, and suitability at the landscape-scale. Naturalistic grazing and farmland abandonment emerged as the most suitable rewilding options overall, although these were not the most popular choices. Overall, these results suggest that land managers in lowland agricultural landscapes could consider rewilding as one of the land management options available to them, provided that the options being considered are ecologically appropriate and local stakeholders have been consulted. In the UK, such rewilding options might be supported by new national agricultural land use policies currently under development. In areas of continental Europe where agricultural land abandonment is more widespread, policy-makers seeking to address the issue could look towards the EU’s wilderness guidelines for potential solutions that promote rewilding while offsetting the costs incurred by local stakeholders. In either context, integrated exploration of stakeholder values and ecological data as presented here can potentially be used to evaluate the relative suitability and popularity of different rewilding approaches, and thereby establish priorities.

The de-industrialization, re-suburbanization and health risks of brownfield land reuse: Case study of a toxic soil event in Changzhou, China

After over three decades of rapid urbanization and economic boom, China has inevitably entered a phase of economic restructuring of its cities. A process of land re-urbanization has also emerged in the process of inner city regeneration and the consequent reuse of industrialized land in suburb areas. However, as chemical and heavy manufacturing have been the primary industries in most industrialized cities of China, the population has become increasingly subject to the threat of a toxic environment and health risks when suburbanization involves the creation of new residential zones or university towns in old industrial suburbs. In this paper, we investigate a toxic soil event in Changzhou, Jiangsu province and study the re-urbanization of manufacturing suburbs to reveal the extent of the environmental and health risks involved. From this, it is concluded that relevant land use policies, environmental management regulations and improved public health perceptions are needed for ensuring sustainable suburbanization in future in China and other similar newly industrialized counties.

MODELLING THE LAND USE AND LAND COVER CHANGES IN PORTUGAL: A MULTI-SCALE AND MULTI-TEMPORAL APPROACH

The Portuguese territory has undergone a relevant land use and land cover changes (LUCC) over the past decades. The land use and land cover (LUC) datasets revision and new datasets production allow us to understand LUCC over time. This study goes further into this analysis using the most recent LUC datasets, covering the whole Portuguese continental area, from 1990 to 2012 and presents innovative knowledge that helps understanding LUC dynamics within this period. It shows that the trends inducing spatial variation within different LUC classes changed over time, revealing different spatial and temporal dynamics of these LUCC in the Portuguese territory. The main LUCC are related to the reduction of forest and certain types of agricultural areas, and an increase in urban areas, but the main LUCC assume different dynamics when taken at the regional scale (NUTS II). Future tendencies within LUCC are also estimated using CA-Markov, and the results point out the tendency of increase and decrease of the LUC types previously mentioned. The areas of LUC datasets with different properties were compared and large area discrepancies were observed for some LUC classes. These assessments are relevant results for the evaluation and understanding of LUCC and namely for the Portuguese planning process in the near future.

Quantifying temporal variations in water resources of a vulnerable middle eastern transboundary aquifer system

AbstractFreshwater resources in the arid Arabian Peninsula, especially transboundary aquifers shared by Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Iraq, are of critical environmental and geopolitical significance. Monthly Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite‐derived gravity field solutions acquired over the expansive Saq transboundary aquifer system were analysed and spatiotemporally correlated with relevant land surface model outputs, remote sensing observations, and field data to quantify temporal variations in regional water resources and to identify the controlling factors affecting these resources. Our results show substantial GRACE‐derived terrestrial water storage (TWS) and groundwater storage (GWS) depletion rates of −9.05 ± 0.25 mm/year (−4.84 ± 0.13 km3/year) and −6.52 ± 0.29 mm/year (−3.49 ± 0.15 km3/year), respectively. The rapid decline is attributed to both climatic and anthropogenic factors; observed TWS depletion is partially related to a decline in regional rainfall, while GWS depletions are highly correlated with increasing groundwater extraction for irrigation and observed water level declines in regional supply wells.

A Conceptual Model for Delineating Land Management Units (LMUs) Using Geographical Object-Based Image Analysis

Land management and planning is crucial for present and future use of land and the sustainability of land resources. Physical, biological and cultural characteristics of land can be used to define Land Management Units (LMUs) that aid in decision making for managing land and communicating information between different research and application domains. This study aims to describe the classification of ecologically relevant land units that are suitable for land management, planning and conservation purposes. Relying on the idea of strong correlation between landform and potential landcover, a conceptual model for creating Land Management Units (LMUs) from topographic data and biophysical information is presented. The proposed method employs a multi-level object-based classification of Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) to derive landform units. The sensitivity of landform units to changes in segmentation scale is examined, and the outcome of the landform classification is evaluated. Landform classes are then aggregated with landcover information to produce ecologically relevant landform/landcover assemblages. These conceptual units that constitute a framework of connected entities are finally enriched given available socio-economic information e.g., land use, ownership, protection status, etc. to generate LMUs. LMUs attached to a geographic database enable the retrieval of information at various levels to support decision making for land management at various scales. LMUs that are created present a basis for conservation and management in a biodiverse area in the Black Sea region of Turkey.

DEMYSTIFYING THE NON-SUSPECTED RETARDANTS OF FORMAL DELIVERY AND ACCESSIBILITY OF URBAN LANDS FOR REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT IN NIGERIA

There appears to be a constantly incontrovertible, yet delicately inseparable cord, between land resource as an all-time invaluable asset, and meaningful socio-economic growth and development. Much as this assertion holds, what enigmatically remains almost unsolvable is the seeming unending mystery that surrounds ‘wilful’ prevention of access to this very non-substitutable resource, in spite of its tangentiality to virtually all endeavours, around which the survival of all human beings revolves. Thence, it is compellingly tempting to reason that, some ‘unseen’ factors are decidedly making the delivery and accessibility of land, especially within urban milieu, extremely difficult, so much that, enviable growth and development might be so perennially elusive, particularly to the poor segment of the populace, which unfortunately forms the largest proportion of any country’s citizenry, Nigeria inclusive. Although, the trend facades itself to be solely caused by economic and other attendant pecuniary factors, but as all the economically-defined strategies seem not too effective over the years, to finally nail several challenges associated with formal land delivery and accessibility; it behoves upon researchers and policy-makers alike, to look beyond the ordinary. Hence, the demystification exercise such as this, which is geared towards unravelling this mystery, reveals more factors that are indeed non-pecuniary, this is the crux of this study. Therefore, this study, which is part of a doctoral research, pre-empirically via literature reviews and two pilot surveys, generated those not-so-suspected non-pecuniary factors that are considered as retardants to the formal delivery and accessibility of urban lands in Nigeria. These retardants are then catalogued and coined into one major determinant variable, which is called policy development and compliance engineering (PDCE) for ease of empirical exercise that was to follow later, as well as for the understanding by all would-be stakeholders. This major determinant variable is then being measured by other three latent constructs, which are calibrated to encompass some integral items of questions as their evaluative components; these constructs are named policy relevance and appropriateness (PRA), contents and context of policies (CCP) and role mediation regime (RMR). Hence, out of the total of 2408 respondents as total sample space, 850 respondents were qualified as the sample frame, from where a total of 450 respondents were considered for the sample size, upon which well structure questionnaires of 5point Likert scale type were administered among career land officers and tenured land regulators in the MDAs, independent land consultants and NGOs with shelter mandate, as well as various categories of land users and developers. After through normality and reliability tests on the 427 retrieved questionnaires, only 11 were considered invalid and thus rejected. Therefore, the remaining 416 questionnaires that were valid went through AMOS’ version 18 software for Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) analyses. The results showed amongst other things that among the three major constituting retardants of formal land delivery and accessibility, contents and context of policies has the highest regression via its estimate of 0.26 with critical ratio of 4.86, which thus makes it to be the greatest among the policy development and compliance engineering constructs, as contributor of retardation upon the propensity of formal lands’ regulo-administrative machineries to efficiently deliver lands for optimum accessibility by the land users and developers. Among other recommendations to address this pathetic scenario, are that the government should strive and ‘nigerianise’ all or very many important provisions of all the relevant land policy instruments, etc. Article visualizations:

Spatial-temporal evolution and classification of marginalization of cultivated land in the process of urbanization

Marginalization of cultivated land, resulting from rapid urbanization, exists as an important form of land use change, and represents a new research direction in land-use and land-cover change (LUCC). This article proposes a classification of such marginalization on the basis of elasticity of input and income, categorizing marginalization of cultivated land as either policy-induced (PIM), nature-induced (NIM) or economy-induced (EIM) marginalization. These classifications are further explored as either positive or negative marginalization, depending on whether the land is transformed from or into cultivated land. This innovative framework is applied to analyses of marginalization in Lianjiang County, located in southeastern coastal China. This research analyzes characteristics of spatial-temporal evolution of categories of marginalization of cultivated land using 3D kernel density methods. Significant findings point to spatial-temporal processes and driving forces of marginalization, including: (1) Concentrations of positive (P-PIM) and negative (N-PIM) policy-induced marginalization both occur and agglomerate in separate spaces, with the former mainly in the southeastern portion of the county and the latter in the northwest. (2) By contrast, patterns of positive (P-NIM) and negative (N-NIM) nature-induced marginalization complement each other in space - N-NIM tends to be more discrete in areas with P-NIM aggregations, and vice versa. (3) Finally, areas with aggregations of positive (P-EIM) and negative (N-EIM) economy-induced marginalization overlap. The research suggests that relevant land use policies should be formulated in response to these characteristics of cultivated land marginalization so as to address marginalization of cultivated land, especially as associated with rapid urbanization.