The Effect of Urban-Suburban Interaction on Urbanization and Suburban Ecological Security: A Case Study of Suburban Wuhan, Central China

In developing countries like China, urbanization is still occurring at a rapid pace. During urbanization, the urban land expands drastically, which makes suburbs the most affected area facing urban expansion. The land transition has proven to threaten the function and security of ecosystems, and therefore the topics of suburban land transition and ecological security have raised much attention. However, the urban-suburban interaction, which is one of the basic characteristics of suburbs, has been insufficiently considered. The urban-suburban interaction is developed based on the flows of people, materials, and information between urban and suburban areas, and it essentially reveals the relationship between human activities and land-use optimization. To fill the research gap, this study adopts a case study of Wuhan city, and first quantifies the urban-suburban interactions from a symbiotic perspective, and investigates rural residents and public buses to verify the estimated interactions. The results show that there is obvious heterogeneity in urban-suburban interactions in different suburban towns. Correlation analysis and geographic weight regression are then applied to demonstrate the relationship between the urban-suburban interaction and urbanization in the suburbs. Additionally, urbanization potential in the suburbs is estimated. Then, a suburban ecological security assessment is conducted by a “pressure-status-response” (PSR) model, and the urbanization potential that is estimated based on urban-suburban interaction is integrated as a “pressure” indicator. The comparison between the suburban ecological security assessment results based on considering and not considering urban-suburban interaction demonstrates the importance of considering urban-suburban interaction. This study contributes to the understanding of the complicated relationships of urban-suburban socio-economic, spatial, and ecological environments, and offers suggestions for suburban planning and ecological protection

Exploring the impact of integrated spatial function zones on land use dynamics and ecosystem services tradeoffs based on a future land use simulation (FLUS) model

Spatial function zones (SFZs) provide an effective means to determine the function of spatial zone and to optimize land use layout. China has initiated a series of spatial planning policies to delineate SFZs, which influence not only land use configuration but also the structure and function of ecosystems as well as the services ecosystem provides. Taking Wuhan city, China as an example, this study explored the impact of integrated spatial function zones (ISFZs) on four selected ecosystem services (i.e., crop production, CP; water yield, WY; carbon storage, CS; and erosion prevention, EP) and their synergies and tradeoffs. Specifically, by incorporating different spatial functional zones into the land use simulation model, we simulated land use under both business as usual (BAU) and integrated spatial function zones (ISFZs) scenarios. Then, we assessed and compared the ESs and their correlations under the two scenarios. The results showed that compared to the BAU scenario, in the ISFZs scenario, quantities of farmland and forests would be increased by 410.99 km2 and 28.49 km2, while construction land would be decreased by 342.45 km2; average CP, CS and EP would be improved by 0.05, 2.23 t/ha, and 7.3 t/ha, while average WY would be reduced by 6.4 mm; synergies between most pairs of ESs would be slightly promoted. It is concluded that ISFZs are beneficial to sustainable improvement and balanced development of multiple ESs. This study provides theoretical and technical references for the formulation of spatial regulation policy and ecosystem-based management

Habitat Quality Assessment and Ecological Risks Prediction: An Analysis in the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal (Suzhou Section)

With the fast pace of global urbanization, anthropogenic disturbances not only lead to frequent disasters, but also cause direct and indirect ecological and economic losses. To reduce the adverse effects of anthropogenic disturbances as part of sustainable ecosystem management, assessments of habitat quality and ecological risk are necessary. The objectives of this study are to analyze environmental conditions of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal (Suzhou section) for evaluating habitat quality and habitat degradation, and to conduct ecological-risk early warning assessment in this section. The Grand Canal is the longest and first canal in the world to be artificially excavated from natural rivers and lakes. By evaluating habitat quality using the InVEST suite of open-source software models for mapping and valuing the ecosystem, it was found that the natural lands with high habitat quality such as wetlands, forests and lakes along the Suzhou section of the Grand Canal have gradually decreased, while construction lands such as roads and buildings have gradually increased; there is a clear trend of decreasing areas with high habitat quality and increasing areas with low habitat quality, which is likely the result of urbanization. It was also found that the region has a high habitat degradation index, meaning that areas located at the junction of different land types are vulnerable to the surrounding environment due to narrow buffer zones that allow areas with high habitat quality to be easily affected by areas with low habitat quality. In terms of ecological risks, it was found that the natural land area with high habitat quality in the downstream locations was declining, thereby increasing the risks of pollution and flooding events while reducing the ecosystem’s resilience. The valuation model used in this study can be used as an effective decision-support tool to prioritize important ecological areas for conservation in the Grand Canal, and can also be adapted for use in the ecosystem management of other regions

Habitat Quality Assessment and Ecological Risks Prediction: An Analysis in the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal (Suzhou Section)

With the fast pace of global urbanization, anthropogenic disturbances not only lead to frequent disasters, but also cause direct and indirect ecological and economic losses. To reduce the adverse effects of anthropogenic disturbances as part of sustainable ecosystem management, assessments of habitat quality and ecological risk are necessary. The objectives of this study are to analyze environmental conditions of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal (Suzhou section) for evaluating habitat quality and habitat degradation, and to conduct ecological-risk early warning assessment in this section. The Grand Canal is the longest and first canal in the world to be artificially excavated from natural rivers and lakes. By evaluating habitat quality using the InVEST suite of open-source software models for mapping and valuing the ecosystem, it was found that the natural lands with high habitat quality such as wetlands, forests and lakes along the Suzhou section of the Grand Canal have gradually decreased, while construction lands such as roads and buildings have gradually increased; there is a clear trend of decreasing areas with high habitat quality and increasing areas with low habitat quality, which is likely the result of urbanization. It was also found that the region has a high habitat degradation index, meaning that areas located at the junction of different land types are vulnerable to the surrounding environment due to narrow buffer zones that allow areas with high habitat quality to be easily affected by areas with low habitat quality. In terms of ecological risks, it was found that the natural land area with high habitat quality in the downstream locations was declining, thereby increasing the risks of pollution and flooding events while reducing the ecosystem’s resilience. The valuation model used in this study can be used as an effective decision-support tool to prioritize important ecological areas for conservation in the Grand Canal, and can also be adapted for use in the ecosystem management of other regions