Identifying and warning against spatial conflicts of land use from an ecological environment perspective: A case study of the Ili River Valley, China.

Spatial conflicts of land use (SCLU) arise during land-use change, which causes an imbalance of land-use spatial patterns and negatively affects society, the economy, and ecology. Previous research has focused on identifying and measuring SCLU, with less attention on the negative effects. The incorporation of risk assessment methods to evaluate potential conflict risks has been limited. The current study presents methods for measuring SCLU and assessing potential conflict risks from the ecological environment perspective. The spatial comprehensive conflicts index and potential conflict risk index were used to identify and measure the SCLU and to assess and warn against potential conflict risks, respectively, based on a case study in the Ili River Valley in China. The impacts of terrain restriction and land-use change on the SCLU were explored. Results indicate that (1) the SCLU area in the Ili River Valley decreased by 2,608 km2 from 2010 to 2020, compared to the previous decade, the degree of conflict weakened, and the main body of the SCLU gradually shifted northwest. (2) The potential risk areas cover 20,268 km2 in 2020-2030 and are mainly distributed in the "Khorgas City-Huocheng County-Yining City-Yining County" group of towns, as well as along the Ili-Kunes rivers and in the ecological protection zone in the south of the Ili River Valley, which shows the clustering along the city and distribution along the river in the spatial pattern. (3) Topography had a significant impact on the SCLU, and the main types of land-use change in the severe-conflict zone were the reduction of grassland and the expansion of arable and built-up land. For future conflict mitigation in the Ili River Valley, cautioning against urban sprawl and safeguarding land ecological security is critical. This study systematically investigates and analyzes SCLU across three dimensions: theory, methodology, and application to produce a theoretical and practical framework to identify SCLU and assess potential conflict risks.

A diagrammatic method for the identification and resolution of urban spatial conflicts.

Spatial conflicts are formed in the process of urbanization and become the primary drivers of urban ecological and environmental problems. The defining trait of a spatial conflict is the occupation of ecological or agricultural spaces by construction spaces. This work presents a classification scheme for spatial conflicts in China, including source-area conflicts, corridor conflicts, safety conflicts, and farmland conflicts. Also, it constructs a model for the determination of spatial conflicts and conflict intensity using diagrammatic method. Based on a case study performed using our methods on Shenzhen, we proposed a timeline and policy roadmap for the resolution of spatial conflicts in Shenzhen according to the severity and characteristics of spatial conflicts in the city. The results show that the total spatially conflicted area of Shenzhen is 10.57 km2, and the percentage of construction land-use in these areas is 1.37%. The spatial conflicts are mainly source-area or corridor conflicts, and minor conflicts account for approximately 60% of the total conflicted area. Most of the spatial conflicts are either "easy to resolve" or "moderately easy to resolve". Overall, in terms of the severity of spatial conflict, Shenzhen remains at the "stable and under control" level. Considering the primary aim of spatial conflict resolution is to revert built-up lands into urban green spaces, we proposed a timeline for the resolution of spatial conflicts in Shenzhen over the next 15 years, as well as a system of supporting policies. The results of this study shall serve as a guide for the optimization of urban spatial structures and the promotion of sustainable urban development.

Addressing ocean planning challenges in a highly crowded sea space: a case study for the regional sea of Catalonia (Western Mediterranean).

Background: This study performs an exploratory analysis of current-future sustainability challenges for ocean planning for the regional seas of Catalonia located in the Western Mediterranean (Spain). Methods: To address the challenges we develop an Maritime Spatial Planning (MSP)-oriented geodatabase of maritime activities and deploy three spatial models: 1) an analysis of regional contribution to the 30% protection commitment with Biodiversity Strategy 2030; 2) a spatial Maritime Use Conflict (MUC) analysis to address current and future maritime activities interactions and 3) the StressorGenerator QGIS application to locate current and anticipate future sea areas of highest anthropogenic stress. Results & Conclusions: Results show that the i) study area is one of the most protected sea areas in the Mediterranean (44-51% of sea space protected); ii) anthropogenic stressors are highest in 1-4 nautical miles coastal areas, where maritime activities agglomerate, in the Gulf of Roses and Gulf of Saint Jordi. iii) According to the available datasets commercial fishery is causing highest conflict score inside protected areas. Potential new aquaculture sites are causing highest conflict in Internal Waters and the high potential areas for energy cause comparably low to negligible spatial conflicts with other uses. We discuss the added value of performing regional MSP exercises and define five challenges for regional ocean sustainability, namely: Marine protection beyond percentage, offshore wind energy: a new space demand, crowded coastal areas, multi-level governance of the regional sea and MSP knowledge gaps.

Spatial Transformation Characteristics and Conflict Measurement of Production-Living-Ecology: Evidence from Urban Agglomeration of China.

The land development by human beings has changed from the initial small-scale and low-level transformation to the comprehensive utilization of large-scale and high-intensity implementations. The contradiction between production-living-ecology space (PLES) has become increasingly prominent while drawing land dividends. As one of the important birthplaces of Chinese civilization and the ecological barrier in the northern region, the rapid urbanization and industrialization of the Yellow River Basin (YRB) make the ecological environment very fragile, and the imbalance of land and space development is extremely serious. Therefore, according to the multifunctional characteristics of land use, this paper establishes a classification system of production space (PS), living space (LS) and ecology space (ES), and discusses the spatiotemporal evolution and conflict distribution characteristics of the PLES with the help of the transfer matrix and spatial conflict index (SCI). The results are as follows. In 1990-2020, agricultural production space (APS), grassland ecology space (GES) and other ecology space (OES) yielded the largest proportion of PLES in the YRB. However, compared with 1990, the area of these spatial types decreased in 2020, while the urban living space (ULS) expanded rapidly. The distribution pattern of PLES was generally consistent, and the transformation between PLES in Ningxia, central Inner Mongolia, Loess Plateau and downstream areas was relatively intense. The conflict index of PLES showed an upward trend, but it was generally in a controllable range. The stable and controllable areas were concentrated in the upstream of the urban agglomeration, and the midstream and downstream were basic out of control and seriously out of control, respectively.