Cities and villages are components of a specific organism. Only the sustainable development of two parts can support the prosperous development as a whole. According to the theory of man-earth areal system, urban-rural integrated system and rural regional system are the theoretical bases for entirely recognizing and understanding urban-rural relationship. To handle the increasingly severe problems of "rural disease" in rapid urbanization, accelerating rural revitalization in an all-round way is not only a major strategic plan for promoting the urban-rural integration and rural sustainable development, but also a necessary requirement for solving the issues related to agriculture, rural areas, and rural people in the new era and securing a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. This study explores the basic theories of urban-rural integration and rural revitalization and analyzes the main problems and causes of rural development in the new era, proposing problem-oriented scientific approaches and frontier research fields of urban-rural integration and rural revitalization in China. Results show that the objects of urban-rural integration and rural revitalization is a regional multi-body system, which mainly includes urban-rural integration, rural complex, village-town organism, and housing-industry symbiosis. Rural revitalization focuses on promoting the reconstruction of urban-rural integration system and constructs a multi-level goal system including urban-rural infrastructure networks, zones of rural development, fields of village-town space and poles of rural revitalization. Currently, the rural development is facing the five problems: high-speed non-agricultural transformation of agriculture production factors, over-fast aging and weakening of rural subjects, increasingly hollowing and abandoning of rural construction land, severe fouling of rural soil and water environment and deep pauperization of rural poverty-stricken areas. The countryside is an important basis for the socioeconomic development in China, and the strategies of urban-rural integration and rural revitalization are complementary. The rural revitalization focuses on establishing the institutional mechanism for integrated urban-rural development and constructs the comprehensive development system of rural regional system, which includes transformation, reconstruction and innovation in accordance with the requirements of thriving businesses, pleasant living environments, social etiquette and civility, effective governance, and prosperity. Geographical research on rural revitalization should focus on the complexity and dynamics of rural regional system and explore new schemes, models and scientific approaches for the construction of villages and towns, which are guided by radical cure of "rural disease", implement the strategy of rural revitalization polarization, construct the evaluation index system and planning system of rural revitalization, thus providing advanced theoretical references for realizing the revitalization of China's rural areas in the new era.

Cities and villages are components of a specific organism. Only the sustainable development of two parts can support the prosperous development as a whole. According to the theory of man-earth areal system, urban-rural integrated system and rural regional system are the theoretical bases for entirely recognizing and understanding urban-rural relationship. To handle the increasingly severe problems of "rural disease" in rapid urbanization, accelerating rural revitalization in an all-round way is not only a major strategic plan for promoting the urban-rural integration and rural sustainable development, but also a necessary requirement for solving the issues related to agriculture, rural areas, and rural people in the new era and securing a decisive victory in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. This study explores the basic theories of urban-rural integration and rural revitalization and analyzes the main problems and causes of rural development in the new era, proposing problem-oriented scientific approaches and frontier research fields of urban-rural integration and rural revitalization in China. Results show that the objects of urban-rural integration and rural revitalization is a regional multi-body system, which mainly includes urban-rural integration, rural complex, village-town organism, and housing-industry symbiosis. Rural revitalization focuses on promoting the reconstruction of urban-rural integration system and constructs a multi-level goal system including urban-rural infrastructure networks, zones of rural development, fields of village-town space and poles of rural revitalization. Currently, the rural development is facing the five problems: high-speed non-agricultural transformation of agriculture production factors, over-fast aging and weakening of rural subjects, increasingly hollowing and abandoning of rural construction land, severe fouling of rural soil and water environment and deep pauperization of rural poverty-stricken areas. The countryside is an important basis for the socioeconomic development in China, and the strategies of urban-rural integration and rural revitalization are complementary. The rural revitalization focuses on establishing the institutional mechanism for integrated urban-rural development and constructs the comprehensive development system of rural regional system, which includes transformation, reconstruction and innovation in accordance with the requirements of thriving businesses, pleasant living environments, social etiquette and civility, effective governance, and prosperity. Geographical research on rural revitalization should focus on the complexity and dynamics of rural regional system and explore new schemes, models and scientific approaches for the construction of villages and towns, which are guided by radical cure of "rural disease", implement the strategy of rural revitalization polarization, construct the evaluation index system and planning system of rural revitalization, thus providing advanced theoretical references for realizing the revitalization of China's rural areas in the new era.

For the sake of adapting to the changes of elements in both kernel system and external system of rural development, rural restructuring is a process of optimally allocating and efficiently managing the material and non-material elements affecting rural development, reshaping social and economic structures in rural areas and optimizing spatial pattern in rural territory, and approaching the structure optimization and function promotion of rural territorial system as well as the structure coordination and function complementation of urban-rural territorial system. Based on elaborating the concept and connotations of rural restructuring and the mechanism of promoting rural restructuring due to the evolution of "elements-structure-function", the paper probed the approaches of rural restructuring from the aspects of spatial restructuring, economic restructuring and social restructuring. In order to meet the current national strategic demands and meet the challenges of rural development in the process of urban-rural development transformation, it is in great urgency to strengthen the study on the patterns and processes, dynamic mechanism, differentiated development models, rural planning technology systems, strategies and policies for rural development, and the impacts of globalization on China's rural restructuring in the future. Finally, focusing on a series of problems in the implementation of some important government intervention policies, which is aimed at boosting the social and economic development of rural areas in recent years, a critical analysis and discussion is carried out.

For the sake of adapting to the changes of elements in both kernel system and external system of rural development, rural restructuring is a process of optimally allocating and efficiently managing the material and non-material elements affecting rural development, reshaping social and economic structures in rural areas and optimizing spatial pattern in rural territory, and approaching the structure optimization and function promotion of rural territorial system as well as the structure coordination and function complementation of urban-rural territorial system. Based on elaborating the concept and connotations of rural restructuring and the mechanism of promoting rural restructuring due to the evolution of "elements-structure-function", the paper probed the approaches of rural restructuring from the aspects of spatial restructuring, economic restructuring and social restructuring. In order to meet the current national strategic demands and meet the challenges of rural development in the process of urban-rural development transformation, it is in great urgency to strengthen the study on the patterns and processes, dynamic mechanism, differentiated development models, rural planning technology systems, strategies and policies for rural development, and the impacts of globalization on China's rural restructuring in the future. Finally, focusing on a series of problems in the implementation of some important government intervention policies, which is aimed at boosting the social and economic development of rural areas in recent years, a critical analysis and discussion is carried out.

Rural transformation is a leading human process accompanying urban-rural development and the transformation of economic development mode, under the background of rapid urbanization in the past few decades in China. In the study of rural transformation process, spatial reconstruction mechanism and optimal rural spatial reconstruction are of great significant. Using the theory of human-nature relationship in the territorial system, the process of rural transformation and interaction mechanism between this process and land use transformation should be analyzed in future studies to examine the mechanism of rural spatial reconstruction and the pattern of optimal spatial reorganization that affect the process of rural transformation. The integration of remote sensing and GIS and sampling survey and modeling methods should be used to: (1) analyze the process and dynamic patterns of rural transformation and its geographical types; (2) explore the collaborative mechanism between rural transformation and land use transformation; (3) establish models for optimal spatial reorganization that affects rural transformation; (4) identify typical patterns of rural transformation and land use allocation that affect rural spatial reconstruction indifferent functional types; and (5) systematically analyze the mechanism of different rural development patterns and the main regional geographical features. Combined with empirical studies, this research compares and analyzes typical development patterns in terms of the evolution process and interaction mechanism among various factors, to explore geographical patterns and methods for rural spatial reconstruction.

Rural transformation is a leading human process accompanying urban-rural development and the transformation of economic development mode, under the background of rapid urbanization in the past few decades in China. In the study of rural transformation process, spatial reconstruction mechanism and optimal rural spatial reconstruction are of great significant. Using the theory of human-nature relationship in the territorial system, the process of rural transformation and interaction mechanism between this process and land use transformation should be analyzed in future studies to examine the mechanism of rural spatial reconstruction and the pattern of optimal spatial reorganization that affect the process of rural transformation. The integration of remote sensing and GIS and sampling survey and modeling methods should be used to: (1) analyze the process and dynamic patterns of rural transformation and its geographical types; (2) explore the collaborative mechanism between rural transformation and land use transformation; (3) establish models for optimal spatial reorganization that affects rural transformation; (4) identify typical patterns of rural transformation and land use allocation that affect rural spatial reconstruction indifferent functional types; and (5) systematically analyze the mechanism of different rural development patterns and the main regional geographical features. Combined with empirical studies, this research compares and analyzes typical development patterns in terms of the evolution process and interaction mechanism among various factors, to explore geographical patterns and methods for rural spatial reconstruction.

Agricultural structure adjustment and upgrading is the main engine of Chinese rural transformation development, while large-scale and specialized production is the direction of such transformation in agriculture internationally. This study took an industrialized transformation county—Gongyi City and an agricultural modernization transformation county—Yanling County as examples, and used location quotient, structural change index, and specialization index, to analyze agricultural structure adjustment and reconstruction of rural landscape on the township level under the background of rural economic transformation. The conclusions are as follows: (1) The interaction between demand-based agricultural structure adjustment and rural transformation comes into being through the modernized change of cultivated land use, the quality improvement of agricultural products, and the multi-functional reconstruction of rural landscape. In the future, large-scale agriculture in grain production and specialized precision agriculture will co-exist in China; (2) Basically non-agricultural transformation and agricultural modernization transformation of rural economy both can bring the large-scale as well as specialized use of rural land and internal structure adjustment of agriculture. The industrialized transformation county takes grain crops as the main agricultural structure adjustment direction, and the county with agricultural modernization transformation adjusts towards grain crops and featured crops, forming specialized villages or agricultural clusters for production; (3) The adjustment of agricultural structure is aligned with natural conditions and resource endowments better than before, and spatial distribution is more optimized.

Agricultural structure adjustment and upgrading is the main engine of Chinese rural transformation development, while large-scale and specialized production is the direction of such transformation in agriculture internationally. This study took an industrialized transformation county—Gongyi City and an agricultural modernization transformation county—Yanling County as examples, and used location quotient, structural change index, and specialization index, to analyze agricultural structure adjustment and reconstruction of rural landscape on the township level under the background of rural economic transformation. The conclusions are as follows: (1) The interaction between demand-based agricultural structure adjustment and rural transformation comes into being through the modernized change of cultivated land use, the quality improvement of agricultural products, and the multi-functional reconstruction of rural landscape. In the future, large-scale agriculture in grain production and specialized precision agriculture will co-exist in China; (2) Basically non-agricultural transformation and agricultural modernization transformation of rural economy both can bring the large-scale as well as specialized use of rural land and internal structure adjustment of agriculture. The industrialized transformation county takes grain crops as the main agricultural structure adjustment direction, and the county with agricultural modernization transformation adjusts towards grain crops and featured crops, forming specialized villages or agricultural clusters for production; (3) The adjustment of agricultural structure is aligned with natural conditions and resource endowments better than before, and spatial distribution is more optimized.

There is a big gap between general rural modernization paradigm and huge empirical rural geography studies. This gap results in impotent development strategies on regionally differentiated countryside. Based on multifunctional agriculture theory and multifunctional rural theory which emerged in Western World as a new paradigm, this paper discusses the multiple objectives, differentiated pathways and policies of agriculture and rural development in China. Firstly, this paper reflects the problems and challenges caused by modernization paradigm in rural China on economic, social, and environmental aspects, as well as that of western developed countries. It can be concluded that conventional agricultural and rural modernization is developed largely at the expense of rural environment, social fabric and economic viabilities. Obviously, "modernization development paradigm" alone is not enough for healthy agricultural and rural development in such booming economy as China. A better paradigm should be developed which takes economic development, social justice and environmental sustainability into account at the same time. After a brief review of multifunctional agriculture theory and multifunctional rural theory overseas, the multiple objectives of agriculture and rural development in China are put forward. These multiple objectives, however, should not and could not be a burden on rural space indiscriminatingly due to the enormous differentiation of natural and socio-economic conditions. Thus, the final but main part of this paper envisions the differentiated pathways and policy portfolios of agricultural and rural development in China from the perspective of territorial division.

There is a big gap between general rural modernization paradigm and huge empirical rural geography studies. This gap results in impotent development strategies on regionally differentiated countryside. Based on multifunctional agriculture theory and multifunctional rural theory which emerged in Western World as a new paradigm, this paper discusses the multiple objectives, differentiated pathways and policies of agriculture and rural development in China. Firstly, this paper reflects the problems and challenges caused by modernization paradigm in rural China on economic, social, and environmental aspects, as well as that of western developed countries. It can be concluded that conventional agricultural and rural modernization is developed largely at the expense of rural environment, social fabric and economic viabilities. Obviously, "modernization development paradigm" alone is not enough for healthy agricultural and rural development in such booming economy as China. A better paradigm should be developed which takes economic development, social justice and environmental sustainability into account at the same time. After a brief review of multifunctional agriculture theory and multifunctional rural theory overseas, the multiple objectives of agriculture and rural development in China are put forward. These multiple objectives, however, should not and could not be a burden on rural space indiscriminatingly due to the enormous differentiation of natural and socio-economic conditions. Thus, the final but main part of this paper envisions the differentiated pathways and policy portfolios of agricultural and rural development in China from the perspective of territorial division.

Rapid industrialization and urbanization in China has produced a unique phenomenon of 'village-hollowing', shaped by the dual-track structure of socio-economic development. This paper analyzes the phenomenon of 'village-hollowing', identifying the processes and influences that have driven their evolution, and highlighting the challenge that the locking-up of unused rural housing land in 'hollowed villages' presents for China in the context of concerns over urban development and food security. The paper examines the 'increasing vs. decreasing balance' land-use policy has been adopted by the Chinese government in response to the problem, which seeks to balance increases in urban construction land with a reduction in rural construction land. The implementation of the scheme is discussed through a case study of Huantai county in Shandong province, drawing attention to its contested and contingent nature. It is argued that the policy is a top-down approach to rural restructuring that necessarily requires the acquiescence of local actors. However, it is noted that failures to adequate engage with local actors has led to resistance to the policy, including violent protests against the demolition of housing. The paper suggests that lessons might be learned from Europe by incorporating elements of 'bottom-up' planning into the process. As such, the paper demonstrates that rural restructuring in China is a dynamic, multi-scalar and hybrid process that shares common elements and experiences with rural restructuring in Europe and elsewhere. but which is also strongly shaped by the distinctive political, economic, social and cultural context of China. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

Farmland marginalization has become the main trend of land-use change in the mountainous areas of China. Using the China Agricultural Production Costs and Returns Compilation (annual survey data of major agricultural production costs and earnings at national and provincial levels), this paper first analyzed the changes in the cost structure of agricultural production and the farmers' responses, under the context of the rapid rise in agricultural labor prices since 2003, and further compared the responses from the mountainous and plain regions. We found that farmers on the plains have reduced their labor input effectively through intensive use of agricultural machinery, which has minimized the impact of the increase in labor price. However, it is a severe challenge for farmers in the mountainous areas to use the same method due to the rough terrains. Thus, the agricultural labor productivity in these areas has increased relatively slowly, causing a widening gap in agricultural labor productivity between the two regions. With the rapid rise in labor costs, the marginalization of cultivated land in the mountainous areas is evident. In 2013, the profit of agricultural production in mountainous China, which takes maize cultivation as a representative, has fallen below zero. Since 2000, the land-use and land cover change in these areas has been characterized by the reduction of farmland area, reforestation, and the enhancement of the NDVI value. The high correlation between the NDVI change rate and the ratio of change in farmland (r = -0.70) and forest (r = 0.91) areas in mountainous areas at provincial level from 2000 to 2010, attests to the trend of farmland marginalization there. Finally, according to the analysis results, we summarized the mechanism of such marginalization against the backdrop of the rapid increase in the opportunity cost of farming and the sharp fall of agricultural labor forces. This study contributes to a deep understanding of the development process of farmland abandonment and forest transformation in the mountainous areas of China.

Farmland marginalization has become the main trend of land-use change in the mountainous areas of China. Using the China Agricultural Production Costs and Returns Compilation (annual survey data of major agricultural production costs and earnings at national and provincial levels), this paper first analyzed the changes in the cost structure of agricultural production and the farmers' responses, under the context of the rapid rise in agricultural labor prices since 2003, and further compared the responses from the mountainous and plain regions. We found that farmers on the plains have reduced their labor input effectively through intensive use of agricultural machinery, which has minimized the impact of the increase in labor price. However, it is a severe challenge for farmers in the mountainous areas to use the same method due to the rough terrains. Thus, the agricultural labor productivity in these areas has increased relatively slowly, causing a widening gap in agricultural labor productivity between the two regions. With the rapid rise in labor costs, the marginalization of cultivated land in the mountainous areas is evident. In 2013, the profit of agricultural production in mountainous China, which takes maize cultivation as a representative, has fallen below zero. Since 2000, the land-use and land cover change in these areas has been characterized by the reduction of farmland area, reforestation, and the enhancement of the NDVI value. The high correlation between the NDVI change rate and the ratio of change in farmland (r = -0.70) and forest (r = 0.91) areas in mountainous areas at provincial level from 2000 to 2010, attests to the trend of farmland marginalization there. Finally, according to the analysis results, we summarized the mechanism of such marginalization against the backdrop of the rapid increase in the opportunity cost of farming and the sharp fall of agricultural labor forces. This study contributes to a deep understanding of the development process of farmland abandonment and forest transformation in the mountainous areas of China.

Rural restructuring is an important means of implementing and pushing forward the strategy of rural vitalization. A complete process of rural restructuring usually consists of different stages, including initial period, development period, stabilizing period and stable period. Based on the established theoretical framework of analyzing the process of rural restructuring, by introducing the concepts of rural development index, the intensity of rural restructuring and the contribution rate of rural restructuring, the quantitative research and comparative analysis of the driving factors of rural restructuring process at village scale were carried out in the typical villages in metropolitan suburbs and plain farming areas. The results show that: (1) Since the 1990s, along with the transformation of industrial structure from traditional agriculture to industrial mining and tourism service industry, the socio-economic forms and territorial spatial structure of Huangshandian Village have undergone drastic restructuring, and the process of rural restructuring has experienced the initial stage and the development stage successively, and in a stabilizing stage now. The industrial development of Yangqiao Village has experienced the stages of traditional agricultural leading and concurrent farming production. Since 2000, it has taken on a sign of socio-economic restructuring. Recently, the living space has been reconstructed under the promotion of local governments, but the economic form has not changed significantly. At present, the village is still at a low level of development as a whole. (2) The rapid rural restructuring in Huangshandian Village is the results of combined action of exogenous and endogenous factors. The exogenous factors include market requirement pull, government macro-policy guidance, and so on. The endogenous factors include resources and environment, location conditions, behavioral agent, economic foundation, cultural trait, and so on. The restructuring process of Yangqiao Village is mainly dominated by socio-economic development course including urbanization, industrialization and technological progress as well as some exogenous policies such as "building new countryside" and "increasing vs. decreasing balance" land-use policy. The root cause for its relatively slow restructuring speed is lacking of endogenous development impetus.

Rural restructuring is an important means of implementing and pushing forward the strategy of rural vitalization. A complete process of rural restructuring usually consists of different stages, including initial period, development period, stabilizing period and stable period. Based on the established theoretical framework of analyzing the process of rural restructuring, by introducing the concepts of rural development index, the intensity of rural restructuring and the contribution rate of rural restructuring, the quantitative research and comparative analysis of the driving factors of rural restructuring process at village scale were carried out in the typical villages in metropolitan suburbs and plain farming areas. The results show that: (1) Since the 1990s, along with the transformation of industrial structure from traditional agriculture to industrial mining and tourism service industry, the socio-economic forms and territorial spatial structure of Huangshandian Village have undergone drastic restructuring, and the process of rural restructuring has experienced the initial stage and the development stage successively, and in a stabilizing stage now. The industrial development of Yangqiao Village has experienced the stages of traditional agricultural leading and concurrent farming production. Since 2000, it has taken on a sign of socio-economic restructuring. Recently, the living space has been reconstructed under the promotion of local governments, but the economic form has not changed significantly. At present, the village is still at a low level of development as a whole. (2) The rapid rural restructuring in Huangshandian Village is the results of combined action of exogenous and endogenous factors. The exogenous factors include market requirement pull, government macro-policy guidance, and so on. The endogenous factors include resources and environment, location conditions, behavioral agent, economic foundation, cultural trait, and so on. The restructuring process of Yangqiao Village is mainly dominated by socio-economic development course including urbanization, industrialization and technological progress as well as some exogenous policies such as "building new countryside" and "increasing vs. decreasing balance" land-use policy. The root cause for its relatively slow restructuring speed is lacking of endogenous development impetus.

As a frontier and hot topic in ecology and geography, the study of ecosystem services has attracted the interest of many scholars and research institutions. By changing the structure and processes of ecosystems, landuse change affects the provisioning capability of ecosystems for products and services. Study of the relationships between ecosystem processes and services, the relationships among multiple ecosystem services, and the integration and optimization of these services at the regional scale in the context of land-use change urgently needs to be enhanced. The results of such research will be critically important for informing and supporting activities of ecosystem management. This paper introduces the concepts and methods of the study of land- use change and ecosystem services and discusses the shortcomings of existing studies and future prospects of land-use change and ecosystem services research.

As a frontier and hot topic in ecology and geography, the study of ecosystem services has attracted the interest of many scholars and research institutions. By changing the structure and processes of ecosystems, landuse change affects the provisioning capability of ecosystems for products and services. Study of the relationships between ecosystem processes and services, the relationships among multiple ecosystem services, and the integration and optimization of these services at the regional scale in the context of land-use change urgently needs to be enhanced. The results of such research will be critically important for informing and supporting activities of ecosystem management. This paper introduces the concepts and methods of the study of land- use change and ecosystem services and discusses the shortcomings of existing studies and future prospects of land-use change and ecosystem services research.

Abstract

Building on the contributions of Mather and others, this paper offers an approach for developing a more comprehensive theory of the forest transition. We argue that long-run changes in forest cover in a country or region cannot be separated from the overall pattern of land use changes. Moreover, this pattern is determined by relative land values; forest cover changes over time as the value of one land use relative to the value of its competing use changes over time. However, the actual values that are used to allocate land may be far from optimal; that is, the presence of market, policy and institutional failures can distort economic and political incentives that can lead to bias in favour of one type of land use over the other, and may ultimately explain why a forest transition may be delayed unnecessarily in some countries and regions.

Abstract

The concept of land use transition highlights that land use change is non-linear and is associated with other societal and biophysical system changes. A transition in land use is not a fixed pattern, nor is it deterministic. Land use transitions can be caused by negative socio-ecological feedbacks that arise from a depletion of key resources or from socio-economic change and innovation that take place rather independently from the ecological system. Here, we explore whether the sources of land use transitions are mostly endogenous socio-ecological forces or exogenous socio-economic factors. We first review a few generic pathways of forest transition as identified in national case studies, and evaluate the varying ecological quality of expanding forests associated with these pathways. We then discuss possible explanatory frameworks of land use transitions. We use the case of the recent forest transition in Vietnam as an illustration. Socio-ecological feedbacks seem to better explain a slowing down of deforestation and stabilization of forest cover, while exogenous socio-economic factors better account for reforestation. We conclude by discussing the prospects of accelerating land use transitions in tropical forest countries.

The Huang-Huai-Hai Plain (HHH) is typical of China's farming area, and was predicted as one of the fastest growing areas of urbanization in the world. Since the turn of the new millennium, construction land and farmland transitions in this region driven by rapid urbanization have resulted in dramatic loss of farmland, which triggered a serious threat to regional even national food security. In this paper, the coupling relationships between per capita construction land transition (PCCT) and per capita farmland transition (PCFT) in the HHH and their implications for regional food security are analyzed. During 2000-2015, the farmland decreased by 8.59%, 72.25% of which were occupied by construction land. There are two major coupling types between PCCT and PCFT, one is the double increasing of per capita construction land area (PCCA) and per capita farmland area (PCFA); another is the increasing of PCCA and the decreasing of PCFA. The fluctuant increasing of PCCT and decreasing of PCFT coexisted and presented symmetrical coupling characteristics in space. Physical, location, transportation and socio-economic factors play significantly different roles in driving PCCT and PCFT. The implications for ensuring food security involve promoting the reclamation and redevelopment of inefficient and unused urban-rural construction land, reducing inefficient occupation of farmland resources, developing appropriate scale management of agriculture, and establishing a better social security system to smoothly settle down the floating rural population in the city.

Land use transition refers to the changes in land use morphology (both dominant morphology and recessive morphology) of a certain region over a certain period of time driven by socio-economic change and innovation, and it usually corresponds to the transition of socio-economic development phase. In China, farmland and rural housing land are the two major sources of land use transition. This paper analyzes the spatio-temporal coupling characteristics of farmland and rural housing land transition in China, using high-resolution Landsat TM (Thematic Mapper) data in 2000 and 2008, and the data from the Ministry of Land and Resources of China. The outcomes indicated that: (1) during 2000-2008, the correlation coefficient of farmland vs. rural housing land change is -0.921, and it shows that the change pattern of farmland and rural housing land is uncoordinated; (2) the result of Spearman rank correlation analysis shows that rural housing land change has played a major role in the mutual transformation of farmland and rural housing land; and (3) it shows a high-degree spatial coupling between farmland and rural housing land change in southeast China during 2000-2008. In general, farmland and rural housing land transition in China is driven by socio-economic, bio-physical and managerial three-dimensional driving factors through the interactions among rural population, farmland and rural housing land. However, the spatio-temporal coupling phenomenon and mechanism of farmland and rural housing land transition in China are largely due to the “dual-track” structure of rural-urban development.

This paper establishes a model of coupling relationship between grain yield and agricultural labor changes, and preliminarily discusses the coupling process of the changes of grain yield and agricultural labor proportion at county level. Using county-level statistical data of farmland and agricultural labor in 1991, 2000 and 2010, two coefficients were developed to analyze the coupling relationship between grain yield and agricultural labor changes, one is grain-labor elasticity coefficient (GLEC), and the other is agricultural labor-transfer effect coefficient (ALTEC). Results showed that: (1) During the process of agricultural development transformation in China, different types of coupling relationship modes between grain yield and agricultural labor changes coexist at the same time. During 1991-2010, the number of counties with three different coupling modes, i.e., grain yield increasing and agricultural labor decreasing, both increasing of grain yield and agricultural labor and both decreasing of grain yield and agricultural labor, account for 48.85%, 29.11% and 19.74% of the total counties in the study area, respectively. Interestingly, the coupling mode of grain yield increasing and agricultural labor decreasing is mainly found in the traditional farming area of China. The coupling mode of both increasing of grain yield and agricultural labor is located in the pastoral areas and agro-pastoral ecotone in the underdeveloped western China, while the coupling mode of both decreasing of grain yield and agricultural labor is distributed in the areas experiencing rapid agricultural development transition, especially in the developed southeastern coastal China. (2) From 1991 to 2010, the number of counties which experienced a decline of agricultural labor proportion was 1961, among which 1452 counties with an increasing of grain yield, accounting for 72.38% of the total number of counties. The coupling curve between grain yield and agricultural labor proportion changes showed a stepped fluctuation, and the discrete trend of the coupling relationship was continually strengthened. (3) The mean of GLEC and ALTEC increased from -0.25 and -2.93 during 1991-2000 to -0.16 and -1.78 during 2000-2010, respectively. The changes of GLEC and ALTEC illustrated that the influence of agricultural labor changes on increasing grain yield is diminishing gradually. (4) "Hu Huanyong Line" is a significant boundary presenting the coupling relationship between grain yield and agricultural labor changes.

This paper establishes a model of coupling relationship between grain yield and agricultural labor changes, and preliminarily discusses the coupling process of the changes of grain yield and agricultural labor proportion at county level. Using county-level statistical data of farmland and agricultural labor in 1991, 2000 and 2010, two coefficients were developed to analyze the coupling relationship between grain yield and agricultural labor changes, one is grain-labor elasticity coefficient (GLEC), and the other is agricultural labor-transfer effect coefficient (ALTEC). Results showed that: (1) During the process of agricultural development transformation in China, different types of coupling relationship modes between grain yield and agricultural labor changes coexist at the same time. During 1991-2010, the number of counties with three different coupling modes, i.e., grain yield increasing and agricultural labor decreasing, both increasing of grain yield and agricultural labor and both decreasing of grain yield and agricultural labor, account for 48.85%, 29.11% and 19.74% of the total counties in the study area, respectively. Interestingly, the coupling mode of grain yield increasing and agricultural labor decreasing is mainly found in the traditional farming area of China. The coupling mode of both increasing of grain yield and agricultural labor is located in the pastoral areas and agro-pastoral ecotone in the underdeveloped western China, while the coupling mode of both decreasing of grain yield and agricultural labor is distributed in the areas experiencing rapid agricultural development transition, especially in the developed southeastern coastal China. (2) From 1991 to 2010, the number of counties which experienced a decline of agricultural labor proportion was 1961, among which 1452 counties with an increasing of grain yield, accounting for 72.38% of the total number of counties. The coupling curve between grain yield and agricultural labor proportion changes showed a stepped fluctuation, and the discrete trend of the coupling relationship was continually strengthened. (3) The mean of GLEC and ALTEC increased from -0.25 and -2.93 during 1991-2000 to -0.16 and -1.78 during 2000-2010, respectively. The changes of GLEC and ALTEC illustrated that the influence of agricultural labor changes on increasing grain yield is diminishing gradually. (4) "Hu Huanyong Line" is a significant boundary presenting the coupling relationship between grain yield and agricultural labor changes.

Based on data sources (e.g., SPOT-5 images, 1:1 million topographic maps, distribution maps of returning farmland to forest and Chongqing forest project, social and economic statistics information, etc.) this paper identified the characteristics and influencing factors of farmland marginalization. The results indicated that: (1) During the last 10 years (2002-2012), the rate of farmland marginalization was 16.18% in the study area. This phenomenon was mainly found in high mountainous areas of northern Qiyao mountain and middle mountain areas of southern Qiyao mountain. Moreover, farmland marginalization, to a great extent, will increase, associated with non-agriculturalization of rural labors and aging of remaining labors. (2) Elevation, relative distribution radius from village and road connection degree had a greater influence on farmland marginalization in the study area. Farmland marginalization rate showed an increasing trend with the increase of elevation, and 60.88% of the total farmland marginalization area is found at an altitude above 1000 m asl. The marginalization trend for slope and distribution radium was similar with altitude. (3) Farmland area per labor and average age of farm labor were major driving factors of farmland marginalization. Farmland transfer and small agricultural machinery sets affected the farmland marginalization in the aspects of management and productivity efficiency. (4) Farmland with "comparative disadvantage dominated marginalization" accounted for 55.32% of the total farmland marginalization area, followed by "location dominated marginalization"(33.80% ). (5) According to the specific real situation, different policies are suggested to mitigate the marginalization as follows: "continuous marginalization" policy will further exert the impact of returning farmland to forest on "terrain dominated marginalization"; "anti-marginalization" policy is suggested from arranging new rural residence and improving rural road system for "location dominated marginalization"; while "anti-marginalization" policy is planned from improving management and micro-mechanization point of view for "comparative disadvantage dominated marginalization". A new idea was promoted by integrating high resolution remote sensing and statistical data as well as survey information to identify land marginalization and driving forces in mountainous areas, and hence solved the scale problem on patches and villages.

Based on data sources (e.g., SPOT-5 images, 1:1 million topographic maps, distribution maps of returning farmland to forest and Chongqing forest project, social and economic statistics information, etc.) this paper identified the characteristics and influencing factors of farmland marginalization. The results indicated that: (1) During the last 10 years (2002-2012), the rate of farmland marginalization was 16.18% in the study area. This phenomenon was mainly found in high mountainous areas of northern Qiyao mountain and middle mountain areas of southern Qiyao mountain. Moreover, farmland marginalization, to a great extent, will increase, associated with non-agriculturalization of rural labors and aging of remaining labors. (2) Elevation, relative distribution radius from village and road connection degree had a greater influence on farmland marginalization in the study area. Farmland marginalization rate showed an increasing trend with the increase of elevation, and 60.88% of the total farmland marginalization area is found at an altitude above 1000 m asl. The marginalization trend for slope and distribution radium was similar with altitude. (3) Farmland area per labor and average age of farm labor were major driving factors of farmland marginalization. Farmland transfer and small agricultural machinery sets affected the farmland marginalization in the aspects of management and productivity efficiency. (4) Farmland with "comparative disadvantage dominated marginalization" accounted for 55.32% of the total farmland marginalization area, followed by "location dominated marginalization"(33.80% ). (5) According to the specific real situation, different policies are suggested to mitigate the marginalization as follows: "continuous marginalization" policy will further exert the impact of returning farmland to forest on "terrain dominated marginalization"; "anti-marginalization" policy is suggested from arranging new rural residence and improving rural road system for "location dominated marginalization"; while "anti-marginalization" policy is planned from improving management and micro-mechanization point of view for "comparative disadvantage dominated marginalization". A new idea was promoted by integrating high resolution remote sensing and statistical data as well as survey information to identify land marginalization and driving forces in mountainous areas, and hence solved the scale problem on patches and villages.

In order to break through the segmentation between urban and rural land markets, and achieve the target of integrated land use of ‘mountain-water-forest-cropland-lake’, integrated urban and rural land markets need to be developed. This study explored the mechanism impacts of urban land market, informal rural collective construction land market, and rural agricultural land circulation market on land use/land cover change (LUCC). The results show that, first, the segmentation between urban and rural land markets still existed, and resulted in a great effect on LUCC. Second, the different development degree of urban state-owned construction land market has a direct impact on relationship between land supply and demand, as well as land use structure, and even on the efficiency of land use allocation. Third, the rural collective construction land market has appeared, which accelerated the speed of the transformation of land use types because of the vagueness of property rights and the lack of legal supervision and protection. Fourth, the segmentation of urban land rural land markets affected the sustainability of land use systems and the ecosystem and environmental systems. Finally, on the basis of above results, we thought that the future research will strengthen the analysis of the integration of urban land rural land markets. Moreover, the response mechanism (pattern, process and effect) of the integration of urban and rural land markets on LUCC will be revealed.

In order to break through the segmentation between urban and rural land markets, and achieve the target of integrated land use of ‘mountain-water-forest-cropland-lake’, integrated urban and rural land markets need to be developed. This study explored the mechanism impacts of urban land market, informal rural collective construction land market, and rural agricultural land circulation market on land use/land cover change (LUCC). The results show that, first, the segmentation between urban and rural land markets still existed, and resulted in a great effect on LUCC. Second, the different development degree of urban state-owned construction land market has a direct impact on relationship between land supply and demand, as well as land use structure, and even on the efficiency of land use allocation. Third, the rural collective construction land market has appeared, which accelerated the speed of the transformation of land use types because of the vagueness of property rights and the lack of legal supervision and protection. Fourth, the segmentation of urban land rural land markets affected the sustainability of land use systems and the ecosystem and environmental systems. Finally, on the basis of above results, we thought that the future research will strengthen the analysis of the integration of urban land rural land markets. Moreover, the response mechanism (pattern, process and effect) of the integration of urban and rural land markets on LUCC will be revealed.

Global energy demands and environmental concerns are a driving force for use of alternative, sustainable and clean energy sources. Solar and wind are among the most promising sources and have been developing steadily in recent years. However, these energy developments are not free of adverse environmental consequences, which require appropriate reclamation procedures. The environmental issues caused by solar and wind plants were reviewed in this paper by summarizing existing studies and synthesizing the principles that could underlie development of reclamation practices. The major environmental drawback of solar and wind energy plants are bird mortality, biodiversity, and habitat loss; noise; visual impact; and hazardous chemicals used in solar panels. Available mitigation measures to minimize these adverse environmental impacts, and appropriate reclamation protocol for the disturbed ecosystems, including key research needs are discussed. We include socio-economic perspectives of solar and wind energy, such as policy related to re-powering initiatives, decommissioning, and reclamation liability. The intent of this paper is to provide current perspectives on environmental issues associated with solar and wind energy development, strategies to mitigate environmental impacts, and potential reclamation practices to solar and wind energy planners and developers.

Recently, related researches on land use transition combining with the characteristics of China’s socio- economic development have been carried out rapidly since the research field of land use transition was introduced to China. Land use morphology is the key content of land use transition research. However, the concept and connotation of land use morphology has been developed continuously with the in-depth research and socio- economic change and innovation. Based on the analysis of the evolvement of the concept and connotation of land use morphology, this paper argues that there are two formats for depicting land use morphology: one is dominant morphology, and the other is recessive morphology. The dominant land use morphology refers to the quantity, structure and spatial pattern of land use, and the recessive land use morphology includes the land-use features in the aspects such as quality, property rights, management mode, fixed input and productive ability. Then, a conceptualization of the models of land use transition was annotated based on the two formats of land use morphology. Land use transition refers to the changes in land use morphology of a certain region over a certain period of time driven by socio-economic change and innovation, and it usually corresponds to the transition of socio-economic development phase. Rural transformation development means the restructuring of rural socio- economic morphology and territorial spatial patterns resulted from local actors’responses and readjustments to the change, recombination and interaction of socio-economic development factors and rural-urban migration in the process of rapid urbanization and industrialization, including the changes in traditional rural industries, the employment mode, the consumption structure, and the social structure. Such transformation radically changes the urban-rural relationship and the relationship between agriculture and industry. Since farmland and rural settlement are the engines driving land use transition and rural transformation development, the interaction between rural transformation development and farmland and rural settlement transition was analyzed to understand the relationship between land use transition and rural transformation development. Finally, the future research fields concerning land use transition and rural transformation development were suggested as follows: the dynamic pattern and territorial type of land use transition and rural transformation development; the interaction and dynamical mechanism of land use transition and rural transformation development; the resources and environment effects of land use transition and rural transformation development; and the ways and countermeasures of optimizing and adjusting land use transition and rural transformation development.

Recently, related researches on land use transition combining with the characteristics of China’s socio- economic development have been carried out rapidly since the research field of land use transition was introduced to China. Land use morphology is the key content of land use transition research. However, the concept and connotation of land use morphology has been developed continuously with the in-depth research and socio- economic change and innovation. Based on the analysis of the evolvement of the concept and connotation of land use morphology, this paper argues that there are two formats for depicting land use morphology: one is dominant morphology, and the other is recessive morphology. The dominant land use morphology refers to the quantity, structure and spatial pattern of land use, and the recessive land use morphology includes the land-use features in the aspects such as quality, property rights, management mode, fixed input and productive ability. Then, a conceptualization of the models of land use transition was annotated based on the two formats of land use morphology. Land use transition refers to the changes in land use morphology of a certain region over a certain period of time driven by socio-economic change and innovation, and it usually corresponds to the transition of socio-economic development phase. Rural transformation development means the restructuring of rural socio- economic morphology and territorial spatial patterns resulted from local actors’responses and readjustments to the change, recombination and interaction of socio-economic development factors and rural-urban migration in the process of rapid urbanization and industrialization, including the changes in traditional rural industries, the employment mode, the consumption structure, and the social structure. Such transformation radically changes the urban-rural relationship and the relationship between agriculture and industry. Since farmland and rural settlement are the engines driving land use transition and rural transformation development, the interaction between rural transformation development and farmland and rural settlement transition was analyzed to understand the relationship between land use transition and rural transformation development. Finally, the future research fields concerning land use transition and rural transformation development were suggested as follows: the dynamic pattern and territorial type of land use transition and rural transformation development; the interaction and dynamical mechanism of land use transition and rural transformation development; the resources and environment effects of land use transition and rural transformation development; and the ways and countermeasures of optimizing and adjusting land use transition and rural transformation development.

Land change has been a hot topic in geographical research. The overarching and convincing theories of land change science, however, have not emerged. Establishment of land use transition theory is of significance for the theory basis of land change science. This paper attempts to establish a research framework of land use transition based on summarizing the development and implications of land use transition research and clarifying the differences between land use transition and land use change. Results show that transition research of artificial ecosystems, such as cultivated land, rural housing land and urban land, is of significance. Land use transition is distinguished from land use change on several aspects, such as fundamental types, temporal scale, spatial scale, agents, driving forces, trajectory, and results or effects. Research framework of land use transition covers transition diagnosis, mechanism research and effects research. Key issues of transition diagnosis are the establishment of measuring indices and diagnosis principles of land use spatial and functional morphologies from the perspectives of quantity change, landscape pattern change and management pattern change, and of land use externality and land use policy development. Mechanism of land use transition behaves as cascading effects of underlying driving factors of land use change, including demographic, economic, technological, institutional, cultural, and location factors. Mechanism research should place emphasis on interaction between land use spatial transition and functional transition. Effects of land use transition covers at least 17 themes relating to social, economic and environmental dimensions. Cultivated land use transition in France in 1961-2011 confirms the research framework of land use transition and is beneficial to the innovation of cultivated land protection in China.

Land change has been a hot topic in geographical research. The overarching and convincing theories of land change science, however, have not emerged. Establishment of land use transition theory is of significance for the theory basis of land change science. This paper attempts to establish a research framework of land use transition based on summarizing the development and implications of land use transition research and clarifying the differences between land use transition and land use change. Results show that transition research of artificial ecosystems, such as cultivated land, rural housing land and urban land, is of significance. Land use transition is distinguished from land use change on several aspects, such as fundamental types, temporal scale, spatial scale, agents, driving forces, trajectory, and results or effects. Research framework of land use transition covers transition diagnosis, mechanism research and effects research. Key issues of transition diagnosis are the establishment of measuring indices and diagnosis principles of land use spatial and functional morphologies from the perspectives of quantity change, landscape pattern change and management pattern change, and of land use externality and land use policy development. Mechanism of land use transition behaves as cascading effects of underlying driving factors of land use change, including demographic, economic, technological, institutional, cultural, and location factors. Mechanism research should place emphasis on interaction between land use spatial transition and functional transition. Effects of land use transition covers at least 17 themes relating to social, economic and environmental dimensions. Cultivated land use transition in France in 1961-2011 confirms the research framework of land use transition and is beneficial to the innovation of cultivated land protection in China.

The hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus is an interesting organism for research and application, especially owing to its unique NADPH-dependent hydrogenase I. However, mass production of P. furiosus through fermentation is susceptible to fault because of its sensitivity to oxygen, a short exponential and stationary phase and a rapid cell lysis in typical cultivation process. In this study, significant improvement for pilot plant scale production processes for P. furiosus biomass was made by investigations of the fermentation process with subsequent hydrogenase I enzyme purification. Scale-up in a 300-L stirred tank bioreactor was successfully achieved. A repeated-batch cultivation process with high reproducibility and productivity was realized. Furthermore, the enzyme hydrogenase I was purified, and its activity tested and verified. The improvements in this production process for the production of large amount of P. furiosus biomass and hydrogenase I have been achieved, especially by successfully implementing the following key measures and steps: unsterile cultivation setup, skipping typical intermediate preculture and inoculation steps, accelerating the cultivation process by defining an optimal state of the inoculation, optimal time point of biomass harvesting and finally by choosing a one-step purification procedure for enzyme recovery.

The hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus is an interesting organism for research and application, especially owing to its unique NADPH-dependent hydrogenase I. However, mass production of P. furiosus through fermentation is susceptible to fault because of its sensitivity to oxygen, a short exponential and stationary phase and a rapid cell lysis in typical cultivation process. In this study, significant improvement for pilot plant scale production processes for P. furiosus biomass was made by investigations of the fermentation process with subsequent hydrogenase I enzyme purification. Scale-up in a 300-L stirred tank bioreactor was successfully achieved. A repeated-batch cultivation process with high reproducibility and productivity was realized. Furthermore, the enzyme hydrogenase I was purified, and its activity tested and verified. The improvements in this production process for the production of large amount of P. furiosus biomass and hydrogenase I have been achieved, especially by successfully implementing the following key measures and steps: unsterile cultivation setup, skipping typical intermediate preculture and inoculation steps, accelerating the cultivation process by defining an optimal state of the inoculation, optimal time point of biomass harvesting and finally by choosing a one-step purification procedure for enzyme recovery.

This paper makes a deep analysis of the influencing factors in rural settlements evolution, including natural environment constraints, infrastructure, regional cultural inheritance and integration, urbanization and rural industry transformation, land use reformation and innovation, rural household behavior conversion, macro-control policy factors, and so on. Based on the differences between their effective way and degree to rural settlements evolution, these factors are classified into base factors, new-type factors and mutation factors. The driving of base factors is mainly focused on traditional inheritance of rural settlements, the new-type factors mainly have effect on rural settlements transition, and the mutation factors may bring about sudden change. All these factors constitute "three-wheel" driving mechanism of rural settlements evolution, and shape three typical driver paths, which are slow smooth path under the base factors, new path to rapid development under the new-type factors, sudden change path under the mutation factors.
The paper also investigates the overall situation of rural settlements evolution in the aspects of the settlement system, settlements scale, settlements morphology, settlements function, settlements culture, settlements environment, and so on. And the general process of rural settlements evolution is divided into four stages, i.e., initial stage, transitional stage, development stage and mature stage.

This paper makes a deep analysis of the influencing factors in rural settlements evolution, including natural environment constraints, infrastructure, regional cultural inheritance and integration, urbanization and rural industry transformation, land use reformation and innovation, rural household behavior conversion, macro-control policy factors, and so on. Based on the differences between their effective way and degree to rural settlements evolution, these factors are classified into base factors, new-type factors and mutation factors. The driving of base factors is mainly focused on traditional inheritance of rural settlements, the new-type factors mainly have effect on rural settlements transition, and the mutation factors may bring about sudden change. All these factors constitute "three-wheel" driving mechanism of rural settlements evolution, and shape three typical driver paths, which are slow smooth path under the base factors, new path to rapid development under the new-type factors, sudden change path under the mutation factors.
The paper also investigates the overall situation of rural settlements evolution in the aspects of the settlement system, settlements scale, settlements morphology, settlements function, settlements culture, settlements environment, and so on. And the general process of rural settlements evolution is divided into four stages, i.e., initial stage, transitional stage, development stage and mature stage.

In agricultural society, the cultivation of mountainous land was a representative of intensified contradiction between human and land which resulted in water loss and soil erosion. With the rapid urbanization and industrialization in poverty-stricken mountainous areas, the labor emigration relieves this contradiction significantly, and leads to land use transition, which results in a series of natural and socio-economic changes. This research built an analysis framework of "Land use transition - driving mechanism - effects - responses" in mountainous land use transition and then put forward the further direction of mountainous land reclamation. The results indicate that: (1) The tendency change of land use morphology was the core of rural land use transition in mountainous areas. The expansion of cropland, as well as the contraction of forest land in agricultural society, has changed to the abandonment of cropland and the expansion of forest land is the main characteristic of the dominant land use morphology transition. Land marginalization and land ecological functional recovery are the main characteristics of the recessive land use morphology transition in mountainous areas. (2) Socio-economic factors are the primary driving forces during the mountainous land use transition. Labor emigration is the direct driving forces. Meanwhile, the rising costs of farming opportunities, and the harsh living environment that lead to labor emigration are the root cause for mountainous land use transition. (3) The transition of rural land use in mountainous areas reduces the vulnerability of land ecosystem and improves its ecological security barrier function. The advantages and disadvantages of its socio-economic effects should focus on rural development of mountainous areas and the livelihood of farmers, and need to be supported by empirical and quantitative researches. (4) The transition of land use in rural areas is a benign process of natural restoration and ecological optimization. The rural land remediation in mountainous areas should conform to the law of land use transition, and the target orientation will shift from the increase of cultivated land to the synergies of ecological and environmental protection.

In agricultural society, the cultivation of mountainous land was a representative of intensified contradiction between human and land which resulted in water loss and soil erosion. With the rapid urbanization and industrialization in poverty-stricken mountainous areas, the labor emigration relieves this contradiction significantly, and leads to land use transition, which results in a series of natural and socio-economic changes. This research built an analysis framework of "Land use transition - driving mechanism - effects - responses" in mountainous land use transition and then put forward the further direction of mountainous land reclamation. The results indicate that: (1) The tendency change of land use morphology was the core of rural land use transition in mountainous areas. The expansion of cropland, as well as the contraction of forest land in agricultural society, has changed to the abandonment of cropland and the expansion of forest land is the main characteristic of the dominant land use morphology transition. Land marginalization and land ecological functional recovery are the main characteristics of the recessive land use morphology transition in mountainous areas. (2) Socio-economic factors are the primary driving forces during the mountainous land use transition. Labor emigration is the direct driving forces. Meanwhile, the rising costs of farming opportunities, and the harsh living environment that lead to labor emigration are the root cause for mountainous land use transition. (3) The transition of rural land use in mountainous areas reduces the vulnerability of land ecosystem and improves its ecological security barrier function. The advantages and disadvantages of its socio-economic effects should focus on rural development of mountainous areas and the livelihood of farmers, and need to be supported by empirical and quantitative researches. (4) The transition of land use in rural areas is a benign process of natural restoration and ecological optimization. The rural land remediation in mountainous areas should conform to the law of land use transition, and the target orientation will shift from the increase of cultivated land to the synergies of ecological and environmental protection.

Oil palm expansion resulted in 2 million hectares (Mha) of forest loss globally in 2000-2010. Despite accounting for 24% (4.5 Mha) of the world's total oil palm cultivated area, expansion dynamics in sub-Saharan Africa have been overlooked. We show that in Southwest Cameroon, a top producing region of Africa, 67% of oil palm expansion from 2000-2015 occurred at the expense of forest. Contrary to the publicized narrative of industrial-scale expansion, most oil palm expansion and associated deforestation is occurring outside large agro-industrial concessions. Expansion and deforestation carried out by non-industrial producers is occurring near low-efficiency informal mills, unconstrained by the location of high-efficiency company-owned mills. These results highlight the key role of a booming informal economic sector in driving rapid land use change. High per capita consumption and rising palm oil demands in sub-Saharan Africa spotlight the need to consider informal economies when identifying regionally relevant sustainability pathways.

Geography is a subject which perceptibly reveals integration and regionalism. The integration means that the diversiform subjects in which geography is involved, and that the regionalism of geography is reflected by the regional differentiation. Through the comprehensive study of the interrelationships among the constituent elements of earth system and the relationship between natural and human systems, it helps us understand the variations of the past, present and future of earth system, and grasp the essence of these changes. Pattern helps us to understand the external features of the world and the process is conducive to the understanding of the internal biophysical mechanism of the world. On the basis of field observations and long-term comprehensive surveys, coupling of patterns and processes at different spatiotemporal scales is an effective way to understand and solve the problems in the field of geography. By analysis of the case studies in the Loess Plateau, the methods of coupling the patterns and processes in the integrated research of geography are discussed and explored.

Geography is a subject which perceptibly reveals integration and regionalism. The integration means that the diversiform subjects in which geography is involved, and that the regionalism of geography is reflected by the regional differentiation. Through the comprehensive study of the interrelationships among the constituent elements of earth system and the relationship between natural and human systems, it helps us understand the variations of the past, present and future of earth system, and grasp the essence of these changes. Pattern helps us to understand the external features of the world and the process is conducive to the understanding of the internal biophysical mechanism of the world. On the basis of field observations and long-term comprehensive surveys, coupling of patterns and processes at different spatiotemporal scales is an effective way to understand and solve the problems in the field of geography. By analysis of the case studies in the Loess Plateau, the methods of coupling the patterns and processes in the integrated research of geography are discussed and explored.

Integrated studies of coupled human and natural systems reveal new and complex patterns and processes not evident when studied by social or natural scientists separately. Synthesis of six case studies from around the world shows that couplings between human and natural systems vary across space, time, and organizational units. They also exhibit nonlinear dynamics with thresholds, reciprocal feedback loops, time lags, resilience, heterogeneity, and surprises. Furthermore, past couplings have legacy effects on present conditions and future possibilities.

It is often either undesirable or unfeasible to conduct an assessment of ecological or social systems, independently or jointly, at a single scale and resolution in time and space. This paper outlines the alternatives, which include 'multi-scale assessments' (conducting the assessment at two or more discrete scales) and 'cross-scale assessments' (multi-scale assessments which deliberately look for cross-scale interactions), and points to some methods which may be useful in conducting them. The additional work and complexity that result from taking a multi-scale or cross-scale approach, while necessary and realistic, needs to be managed. This can be achieved by the informed choice of scales, a priori consideration of the scale-related properties of the phenomena being assessed, and paying attention to the ways in which information and control pass between scales. The conceptual issues associated with choosing the scales and resolutions at which to work are discussed, as are strategies for aggregation and disaggregation and for linking studies at different scales.

Increasing population and consumption are placing unprecedented demands on agriculture and natural resources. Today, approximately a billion people are chronically malnourished while our agricultural systems are concurrently degrading land, water, biodiversity and climate on a global scale. To meet the world's future food security and sustainability needs, food production must grow substantially while, at the same time, agriculture's environmental footprint must shrink dramatically. Here we analyse solutions to this dilemma, showing that tremendous progress could be made by halting agricultural expansion, closing 'yield gaps' on underperforming lands, increasing cropping efficiency, shifting diets and reducing waste. Together, these strategies could double food production while greatly reducing the environmental impacts of agriculture.

The core objective of rural vitalization is to systemically establish a coupling pattern of various rural development elements including population, land and industry. As one of the prerequisites, land resources is required to be optimally allocated via land consolidation. Consequently, land consolidation contributes greatly in population agglomeration, industry development and resources support under the context of combating rural decline. In light of these facts, this paper conducts an elementary analysis on the connotation of land consolidation and rural vitalization in the new era, as well as their relationships. Furthermore, the issues on the alternative paths for achieving rural vitalization via land consolidation in different regions were also discussed. Main conclusions are drawn as follows: (1) It is manifested that rural vitalization in the new era can be explained as a comprehensive process of tackling the loss and decline of rural development elements through political, economic and cultural means. Most importantly, vitalizing the interior motivation and absorbing the external power are essential for the efficient reconfiguration and utilization of rural population, land and industry, thus achieving the goals of arousing rural vitality, optimizing elements structure, enhancing territorial function and restructuring rural morphology. (2) From the perspective of rural vitalization, land consolidation, which adheres to the path of connotative development, should not only target at stimulating the key elements of rural development, but also place emphasis on the coordination of material space and spirit core, so as to realize the co-prosperity of the urban and the rural areas. (3) Regional natural indigenous factors and the corresponding phases of socio-economic development should be both taken into account in the process of implementing rural land consolidation. Following the principle of adjusting measures to local conditions, appropriate paths or modes are supposed to be chosen in different regions constrained by the territorial development pattern. Finally, focusing on a series of problems and new concepts, which is aimed at achieving urban-rural integration development and boosting socio-economic growth in rural areas, we propose further discussions.

The core objective of rural vitalization is to systemically establish a coupling pattern of various rural development elements including population, land and industry. As one of the prerequisites, land resources is required to be optimally allocated via land consolidation. Consequently, land consolidation contributes greatly in population agglomeration, industry development and resources support under the context of combating rural decline. In light of these facts, this paper conducts an elementary analysis on the connotation of land consolidation and rural vitalization in the new era, as well as their relationships. Furthermore, the issues on the alternative paths for achieving rural vitalization via land consolidation in different regions were also discussed. Main conclusions are drawn as follows: (1) It is manifested that rural vitalization in the new era can be explained as a comprehensive process of tackling the loss and decline of rural development elements through political, economic and cultural means. Most importantly, vitalizing the interior motivation and absorbing the external power are essential for the efficient reconfiguration and utilization of rural population, land and industry, thus achieving the goals of arousing rural vitality, optimizing elements structure, enhancing territorial function and restructuring rural morphology. (2) From the perspective of rural vitalization, land consolidation, which adheres to the path of connotative development, should not only target at stimulating the key elements of rural development, but also place emphasis on the coordination of material space and spirit core, so as to realize the co-prosperity of the urban and the rural areas. (3) Regional natural indigenous factors and the corresponding phases of socio-economic development should be both taken into account in the process of implementing rural land consolidation. Following the principle of adjusting measures to local conditions, appropriate paths or modes are supposed to be chosen in different regions constrained by the territorial development pattern. Finally, focusing on a series of problems and new concepts, which is aimed at achieving urban-rural integration development and boosting socio-economic growth in rural areas, we propose further discussions.

Currently, the "farmland red line" management has made major achievements in the quantitative protection of Chinese farmland. However, the increase of grain production as well as the improvement of peasants' incomes still calls for more researches concentrated on the recessive farmland transition based on the current resources endowment. The recessive farmland morphology has multi-properties referring different disciplines. So the study of farmland transition needs a multi-disciplinary comprehensive research framework. This paper drew an outline of the farmland transition in China since its founding, and made an in-depth literature review from multi-disciplinary perspectives of management, economics and sociology. Previous research shows an inefficient performance from the aspect of locality, integrity and systematicness. The shortcomings above may weaken its application due to lack of popularization and operability. So the authors argue that, geographical ideology and analytical method should be introduced into current researches on recessive farmland transition. And multi-disciplinary comprehensive researches should be constructed to make up the existing deficiencies. Ultimately, from the conceptual level, the overall design level, and the practical application level, this paper puts forward a multi-disciplinary comprehensive research framework for the recessive farmland transition, and illustrates a concrete application from the problem-oriented perspective.

Currently, the "farmland red line" management has made major achievements in the quantitative protection of Chinese farmland. However, the increase of grain production as well as the improvement of peasants' incomes still calls for more researches concentrated on the recessive farmland transition based on the current resources endowment. The recessive farmland morphology has multi-properties referring different disciplines. So the study of farmland transition needs a multi-disciplinary comprehensive research framework. This paper drew an outline of the farmland transition in China since its founding, and made an in-depth literature review from multi-disciplinary perspectives of management, economics and sociology. Previous research shows an inefficient performance from the aspect of locality, integrity and systematicness. The shortcomings above may weaken its application due to lack of popularization and operability. So the authors argue that, geographical ideology and analytical method should be introduced into current researches on recessive farmland transition. And multi-disciplinary comprehensive researches should be constructed to make up the existing deficiencies. Ultimately, from the conceptual level, the overall design level, and the practical application level, this paper puts forward a multi-disciplinary comprehensive research framework for the recessive farmland transition, and illustrates a concrete application from the problem-oriented perspective.

Abstract

Rural housing land accounted for 67.3% of China's total construction land in 2000. While there are numerous studies analyzing the loss of arable land due to urban sprawl, less attention has been paid to the study of rural housing land in China. This paper develops a theoretical framework for rural housing land transition in China. It introduces a research method, which is using the spatial differentiation in regional development for compensating the deficiencies in time-series data, to analyze the rural housing land transition in the Transect of the Yangtse River (TYR). Detailed land-use data and socio-economic data from both research institutes and government departments were used to test the following hypothesis on rural housing land transition. We assume that rural housing in every region will undergo specific stages—the proportion of rural housing in the increase of total construction land will decline gradually with the development of the local economy, and the end of the transition corresponds to a new equilibrium between rural housing and other construction activities. Five regional types of rural housing land change were defined according to an aggregation index used to reflect landscape patterns. The outcomes indicated that the share of rural housing in the increase of total construction land declines gradually from the upper reaches to the lower reaches of the Yangtse River, i.e. from Ganzi–Yushu to Luzhou–Diqing, Enshi–Chongqing, Tongling–Yichang and to Shanghai–Chaohu. Each region is in a different phase of the rural housing land transition, which corresponds to a particular socio-economic developmental level. Finally, some policy implications were discussed by applying this research to land management issues. The authors argue that there are problems in the current rural housing land managerial system in China, and that the Central Government needs to define uniform regulations for rural housing according to regional socio-economic developmental level, physical conditions and rural housing land transition phase.

This paper focuses on the viewpoint proposed by predecessors of geography and they believed that geography is interdiscipline subject between natural science and social science. From the perspective of national demand and development trend of international geography, this paper explains the objects and nature of geographical science and characters of region as well as comprehensive characteristics and knowledge structure. Besides, it elaborates the differences among geography, natural science and social science and advocates that geographers should concentrate on the China's environmental changes and the issues of sustainable development and further fulfil the advantages of interdiscipline and comprehensive subject. Finally, this paper proposes that China's geographical science is faced with the significant opportunities and some deep-seated crises.

This paper focuses on the viewpoint proposed by predecessors of geography and they believed that geography is interdiscipline subject between natural science and social science. From the perspective of national demand and development trend of international geography, this paper explains the objects and nature of geographical science and characters of region as well as comprehensive characteristics and knowledge structure. Besides, it elaborates the differences among geography, natural science and social science and advocates that geographers should concentrate on the China's environmental changes and the issues of sustainable development and further fulfil the advantages of interdiscipline and comprehensive subject. Finally, this paper proposes that China's geographical science is faced with the significant opportunities and some deep-seated crises.