The Production–Living–Ecological Land Classification System and Its Characteristics in the Hilly Area of Sichuan Province, Southwest China Based on Identification of the Main Functions

Abstract

Production–living–ecological land (PLEL) is one of the research focuses of land planning and regional sustainable development in China. This paper builds a three-level classification system of PLEL based on the identification of the main land use functions (LUFs). Taking 215 typical towns in the hilly area of Sichuan Province, Southwest China as samples, the quantitative, spatial, and functional characteristics and impact factors of PLEL were studied. The results showed that (1) production land holds a dominant role in the hilly area of Sichuan Province, and production land (PL), living land (LL) and ecological land (EL) account for 66.06%, 7.60%, and 26.34% of the area, respectively. The area of agricultural production land is the largest; forestland and rural living land rank second and third. (2) The spatial patterns of PLEL in different regions of hilly area have differences. The proportion of PL gradually decreases from north to south, while the proportion of EL gradually increases from north to south, and the difference in LL is not obvious. The EL is mainly distributed in the upper and middle parts of hills, and the PL and LL are mainly distributed in the foot slopes and valleys. (3) The main functions of PLEL in the hilly area of Sichuan are production and ecology. The production function is mainly for agricultural and forestry products, and the living function is mainly for cultural leisure and residential functions. There are little differences among the ecological sub-functions. (4) There is a strong correlation between PLEL and natural–social–economic factors in the hilly area of Sichuan. Natural conditions such as latitude, relative height, and surface roughness have significant impacts on PL and EL. Social and economic factors such as population density, location and total industrial output value have a significant impact on LL. The results of this study provide valuable implications for the spatial planning and sustainable development in the Sichuan Basin and upstream of the Yangtze River.

Spatially Explicit Evaluation and Driving Factor Identification of Land Use Conflict in Yangtze River Economic Belt

“…Land use functions (LUFs) refer to the capacity of providing private and public products or services through diversified land use types and patterns [61]. Territorial space is a multifunctional comprehensive system and each piece of land provides one or combines several space functions in various forms [62]. According to the land use and functional statuses of various land use types in the study area, this article established a spatial classification system of construction, agricultural, and ecological areas [63].…”

Spatial Conflict of Production–Living–Ecological Space and Sustainable-Development Scenario Simulation in Yangtze River Delta Agglomerations

“…Subsequently, the connotation and definition of PLES was systematically developed by Li and Fang [9]. Recently, Chinese scholars have done much research around PLES, and results are plentiful, including on the theoretical content and framework of PLES [10,11], the land-classification system on PLES [12,13], the bearing-capacity analysis of PLES [14][15][16], and the quantitative function identification and analysis of PLES [9]. However, the research perspective still needs diversity, and the studied scale needs to shift from macroscopic to regional geography.…”

Regional assessment of human-caused ecological risk in the Poyang Lake Eco-economic Zone using production–living–ecology analysis

“…Unfortunately, the economic statistics data method used in that study [ 12 ] is only able to express spatial differences of production and living functions, i.e., human disturbance level, between different administrative units on the regional scale; in other words, this method is unable to exactly manifest the spatial pattern of intensities of regional production and living functions based on land use/land cover data. Given that the production-living-ecology function division scheme is acquired based on land use function concept, the artificial assignment method [ 17 , 18 ] based on land-use data could be the more accurate way to characterize spatial heterogeneities of regional production and living functions regionally. Therefore, using the artificial assignment method of regional production–living–ecology function based on land-use data, this research aims to examine the effectiveness of this new method for human-caused RERA purpose.…”