Changes in land use conflict and zoning optimization in rapidly developing mountainous cities: a case study of Guiyang, China
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3846/jeelm.2025.24555Abstract
Mountainous cities, influenced by complex human activities and terrain, face severe land use conflict issues. However, the spatiotemporal characteristics of land use conflict changes and the scientific questions regarding their management in rapidly developing mountainous cities remain unresolved. Therefore, Guiyang, a typical mountainous city in China, was chosen as the study area. With the support of ArcGIS technology, this research analyzed land use conflict changes and conducted zoning optimization. The study reveals a rapid intensification of land use conflicts, with high conflict areas increasing by 369%, while moderate, general, and low conflict areas declined. The conflict between production and living spaces is the predominant one, expanding by 385%. Additionally, high conflict areas between production and ecological spaces rose by 760%. Integrating land suitability, conflict, and functional differences in zoning optimization enhances core functions, mitigates conflicts, and guides land use management. The results are valuable for optimizing land use patterns and promoting healthy urban development in mountainous cities.
Keywords:
conflict characteristics, production-living-ecological spaces, suitability evaluation, spatial distribution, zoning optimization, mountainous citiesHow to Cite
Share
License
Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s). Published by Vilnius Gediminas Technical University.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Bao, W. K., Yang, Y. Y., & Zou, L. L. (2021). How to reconcile land use conflicts in mega urban agglomeration? A scenario-based study in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, China. Journal of Environmental Management, 296, Article 113168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113168
Bayer, A. D., Lautenbach, S., & Arneth, A. (2023). Benefits and trade-offs of optimizing global land use for food, water, and carbon. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 120(42), Article e2220371120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2220371120
Bellout, A., Rezzaz, M. A., & Bryant, C. (2020). Urban development in the cities of the Tell Atlas mountains region of northern Algeria: Medea as a model. Journal of Settlements and Spatial Planning, 11(1), 45–55. https://doi.org/10.24193/JSSP.2020.1.05
Chen, D. R., Zhou, X., Hu, F., Pei, Y., Hu, Y. X., & Luo, W. W. (2023). Analysis of spatial and temporal changes in land use conflicts in Guiyang city in the last 30 years. Research of Soil and Water Conservation, 30(6), 337–344.
Chen, X. H., Wu, S. Q., & Wu, J. (2024). Characteristics and formation mechanism of Land use conflicts in northern Anhui: A case study of Funan county. Heliyon, 10, Article e22923. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e22923
Cheng, Z. L., Zhang, Y. J., Wang, L. Z., Wei, L. Y., & Wu, X. Y. (2022). An analysis of land-use conflict potential based on the perspective of production-living-ecological function. Sustainability, 14(10), Article 5936. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14105936
Dong, G. L., Ge, Y. B., Jia, H. W., Sun, C. Z., & Pan, S. Y. (2021). Land use multi-suitability, land resource scarcity and diversity of human needs: A new framework for land use conflict identification. Land, 10(10), Article 1003. https://doi.org/10.3390/land10101003
Fang, S., Zhao, M., Zhao, P., & Zhang, Y. (2024). Evolution characteristics of landscape ecological risk patterns in Shangluo City in the Qinling Mountains, China. Journal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management, 32(4), 255–269. https://doi.org/10.3846/jeelm.2024.22304
Han, H. Q., Wei, Y., Liu, Y., Zhang, Y. J., Wang, J. W., Luo, T., & Zhang, Y. T. (2023). Response of the landscape to fragmentation due to human disturbance in a mountain city: Evidence from Guiyang in southwest China. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 21(4), 3109–3122. https://doi.org/10.15666/aeer/2104_31093122
Han, H. Q., Zhang, Y. J., Liu, Y., Yu, X., & Wang, J. W. (2022). Spatiotemporal changes of the habitat quality and the human activity intensity and their correlation in mountainous cities. Journal of Environmental Engineering and Landscape Management, 30(4), 472–483. https://doi.org/10.3846/jeelm.2022.18054
Jiang, Z. M., Wu, H., Lin, A. Q., Shariff, A. R. M., Hu, Q., Song, D. X., & Zhu, W. C. (2022). Optimizing the spatial pattern of land use in a prominent grain-producing area: A sustainable development perspective. Science of the Total Environment, 843, Article 156971. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156971
Karunaratne, S., Athukorala, D., Murayama, Y., & Morimoto, T. (2022). Assessing surface urban heat island related to land use/land cover composition and pattern in the temperate mountain valley city of Kathmandu, Nepal. Remote Sensing, 14(16), Article 4047. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs14164047
Li, L., Huang, X. J., & Yang, H. (2023a). Optimizing land use patterns to improve the contribution of land use planning to carbon neutrality target. Land Use Policy, 135, Article 106959. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2023.106959
Li, S. A., An, W. Z., Zhang, J., Gan, M. Y., Wang, K., Ding, L. L., & Li, W. Q. (2023b). Optimizing limit lines in urban-rural transitional areas: Unveiling the spatial dynamics of trade-offs and synergies among land use functions. Habitat International, 140, Article 102907. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2023.102907
Li, W. J., Kang, J. W., & Wang, Y. (2024). Land use conflicts identification and multi-scenario simulation in mountain cities, Southwest China: A coupled structural and functional perspective. Land Degradation & Development, 36(5), 1492–1512. https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.5440
Li, W., Chen, Z. J., Li, M. C., Qiu, X. Q., Zhao, Q. Q., & Chen, Y. H. (2025). Spatial conflict identification and scenario coordination for construction-agricultural-ecological land use. Environment Development and Sustainability, 27, 1933–1961. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-03950-2
Li, W., Chen, Z. J., Li, M. C., Zhang, H., Li, M. Y., Qiu, X. Q., & Zhou, C. (2023c). Carbon emission and economic development trade-offs for optimizing land-use allocation in the Yangtze river delta, China. Ecological Indicators, 147, Article 109950. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.109950
Li, X., Cheng, S. T., Wang, Y. G., Zhang, G. Z., Zhang, L. Y., & Wu, C. (2023d). Future land use spatial conflicts and habitat quality impacts based on SSPs-RCPs scenarios: Qin-Ba mountain city. Land, 12(9), Article 1708. https://doi.org/10.3390/land12091708
Liu, Z. J., Li, B., Chen, M. Y., & Li, T. (2021). Evaluation on sustainability of water resource in karst area based on the emergy ecological footprint model and analysis of its driving factors: A case study of Guiyang city, China. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 28(35), 49232–49243. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14162-4
Luo, R., & He, D. M. (2023). The dynamic impact of land use change on ecosystem services as the fast GDP growth in Guiyang city. Ecological Indicators, 157, Article 111275. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2023.111275
Luo, S. S., Lai, Q. B., Lin, B., & Zhen, J. H. (2022). Land use conflict identification in southeast hilly area from perspective of “production-living-ecological” space. Bulletin of Soil and Water Conservation, 42(3), 148–156.
Ma, W. B., Li, H. D., Lei, S. G., Tong, Z. M., & Wang, N. N. (2024). A novelty modeling approach to eliminate spatial conflicts and ecological barriers in mining areas of a resource-based city. Ecological Indicators, 169, Article 112858. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112858
Mo, J. X., Sun, P. L., Shen, D. D., Li, N., Zhang, J. Y., & Wang, K. (2023). The dynamic patterns and driving factors of land use conflict in the Yellow river basin of China. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(50), 108649–108666. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-29996-3
Mou, J. S., Chen, Z. F., & Huang, J. D. (2023). Predicting urban expansion to assess the change of landscape character types and its driving factors in the mountain city. Land, 12(4), Article 928. https://doi.org/10.3390/land12040928
Peng, Y. C., Luan, Q. L., & Xiong, C. S. (2023). Evaluation of spatial functions and scale effects of “production-living-ecological” space in Hainan island. Land, 12(8), Article 1637. https://doi.org/10.3390/land12081637
Raska, P., Frantál, B., Martinát, S., & Hruska, V. (2023). Exploring local land use conflicts through successive planning decisions: A dynamic approach and theory-driven typology of potentially conflicting planning decisions. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, 66(10), 2051–2070. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2022.2060806
Scholl, C., & Coolen, E. (2023). A comparative study of polarization management around energy transition-related land-use conflicts in the Netherlands. Urban Planning, 8(2), 374–388. https://doi.org/10.17645/up.v8i2.6584
Shen, J. K., & Wang, Y. C. (2023). Optimizing landscape structure of hybrid land use in ecological corridors based on comprehensive benefit index in metropolitan area. Forests, 14(9), Article 1714. https://doi.org/10.3390/f14091714
Sun, X. F., Yu, C., Wang, J. B., & Wang, M. (2020). The intensity analysis of production living ecological land in Shandong province, China. Sustainability, 12(20), Article 8326. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12208326
Tan, N. R., Chang, X. Y., & Ma, T. (2023). Study on production-living-ecological function accounting and management in China. Land, 12(6), Article 1163. https://doi.org/10.3390/land12061163
Tang, X. G., Li, H. P., Xu, X. B., Yang, G. S., Liu, G. H., Li, X. Y., & Chen, D. Q. (2016). Changing land use and its impact on the habitat suitability for wintering Anseriformes in China’s Poyang Lake region. Science of the Total Environment, 557, 296–306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.03.108
Wang, D., Fu, J. Y., & Jiang, D. (2022). Optimization of production-living-ecological space in national key poverty-stricken city of southwest China. Land, 11(3), Article 411. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11030411
Wang, H. Y., Qin, F., Xu, C. D., Li, B., Guo, L. P., & Wang, Z. (2021). Evaluating the suitability of urban development land with a Geodetector. Ecological Indicators, 123, Article 107339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2021.107339
Wang, M. M., Jiang, Z. Z., Li, T. B., Yang, Y. C., & Jia, Z. (2023). Analysis on absolute conflict and relative conflict of land use in Xining metropolitan area under different scenarios in 2030 by PLUS and PFCI. Cites, 137, Article 104314. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2023.104314
Wang, Q., & Wang, H. J. (2022a). Dynamic simulation and conflict identification analysis of production-living-ecological space in Wuhan, central China. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management, 18(6), 1578–1596. https://doi.org/10.1002/ieam.4574
Wang, X. D., & Wang, R. J. (2022b). Terrain gradient effect of land use and its driving factors in the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 31(6), 5299–5312. https://doi.org/10.15244/pjoes/151107
Wang, Z. Y., Zhang, J. Y., Li, H. Y., & Su, W. C. (2024). Multi-scale spatio-temporal evolution and multi-scenario simulation of land use conflict in Chongqing. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 44(3), 1024–1039.
Wu, B., Bao, Y., Wang, Z. T., Chen, X. T., & Wei, W. F. (2023a). Multi-temporal evaluation and optimization of ecological network in multi-mountainous city. Ecological Indicators, 146, Article 109794. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.109794
Wu, J. Y., He, S., Hu, C. X., Zhao, R., Zhou, C. H., Zhu, C. M., & Su, Y. (2023b). Optimizing land-use zonation in coastal areas: Revealing the spatio-temporal patterns and trade-off/synergy relationships among farmland functions. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 11, Article 1298480. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1298480
Xie, X. H., Deng, H. F., Li, S. Y., & Gou, Z. H. (2024). Optimizing land use for carbon neutrality: Integrating photovoltaic development in Lingbao, Henan province. Land, 13(1), Article 97. https://doi.org/10.3390/land13010097
Yang, D., Zhang, P. Y., Zhang, J. B., Liu, Y., Liu, Z. Y., & Chen, Z. (2025). Land use assessment under dynamic evolution: Multi-objective optimization and multi-scenario simulation analysis. Journal of Environmental Management, 373, Article 123456. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123456
Yang, L. Y., Fang, C. L., Chen, W. X., & Zeng, J. (2023a). Urban-rural land structural conflicts in China: A land use transition perspective. Habitat International, 138, Article 102877. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2023.102877
Yang, S., Dou, S. B., & Li, C. X. (2023b). Land-use conflict identification in urban fringe areas using the theory of leading functional space partition. Social Science Journal, 60(4), 715–730. https://doi.org/10.1080/03623319.2020.1758483
Yang, Y. F., Xie, B. H., Lyu, J., Liang, X., Ding, D., Zhong, Y. Q., Song, T. J., Chen, Q., & Guan, Q. F. (2024). Optimizing urban functional land towards “dual carbon” target: A coupling structural and spatial scales approach. Cities, 148, Article 104860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2024.104860
Yang, Y., Wang, W., Qiao, J. J., & Zhang, E. (2022). An improved gray neural network method to optimize spatial and temporal characteristics analysis of land-use change. Computational Intelligence and Neuroscience, 2022(1), Article 2699031. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/2699031
Ye, Q., Wei, R., & Zhang, P. (2018). A conflict identification method of urban, agricultural and ecological spaces based on the space conversion matrix. Sustainability, 10, Article 3502. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10103502
Yin, S., Guo, J., & Han, Z. (2022). County-level environmental carrying capacity and spatial suitability of coastal resources: A case study of Zhuanghe, China. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, Article 1022382. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1022382
Yu, H., Yang, J., Sun, D., Li, T., & Liu, Y. (2022). Spatial responses of ecosystem service value during the development of urban agglomerations. Land, 11(2), Article 165. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11020165
Zhang, H. C., Bai, J., Zhao, J., Guo, F., Zhu, P. S., Dong, J., & Cai, J. (2024). Application and future of local climate zone system in urban climate assessment and planning-Bibliometrics and meta-analysis. Cities, 150, Article 104999. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2024.104999
Zhang, M., Liu, X. J., & Yan, D. (2023a). Land use conflicts assessment in Xiamen, China under multiple scenarios. Land, 12(2), Article 424. https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020424
Zhang, X. D., Cui, W. G., Han, H. Q., Mei, Y., Wang, T. G., & Pan, S. (2023b). Identification and analysis of land use conflicts in typical karst villages based on production-living-ecology suitability. Research of Soil and Water Conservation, 30(4), 412–422.
Zhao, S. J., Dong, J., Guo, F., Zhang, H. C., & Zhu, P. S. (2024). Optimization of green space in high-density built-up areas based on cooling simulations: A case study in Xi’an, China. Urban Climate, 58, Article 102225. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.uclim.2024.102225
Zhao, T. Y., Cheng, Y. N., Fan, Y. Y., & Fan, X. N. (2022). Functional tradeoffs and feature recognition of rural production-living-ecological spaces. Land, 11(7), Article 1103. https://doi.org/10.3390/land11071103
Zhao, Y. R., Zhao, X. M., Huang, X. Y., Guo, J. X., & Chen, G. H. (2023). Identifying a period of spatial land use conflicts and their driving forces in the Pearl river delta. Sustainability, 15(1), Article 392. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010392
Zheng, W. W., Ke, X. L., Xiao, B. Y., & Zhou, T. (2019). Optimising land use allocation to balance ecosystem services and economic benefits: A case study in Wuhan, China. Journal of Environmental Management, 248, Article 109306. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109306
Zheng, W., Guo, B., Su, H., & Liu, Z. J. (2024). Study on multi-scenarios regulating strategy of land use conflict in urban agglomerations under the perspective of “three-zone space”: A case study of Harbin-Changchun urban agglomerations, China. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 11, Article 1288933. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2023.1288933
Zhong, Y. Q., Zhang, X. X., Yang, Y. F., & Xue, M. H. (2023). Optimization and simulation of mountain city land use based on MOP-PLUS model: A case study of Caijia cluster, Chongqing. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information, 12(11), Article 451. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijgi12110451
Zhou, D., Xu, J. C., & Lin, Z. L. (2017). Conflict or coordination? Assessing land use multi-functionalization using production-living-ecology analysis. Science of the Total Environment, 577, 136–147. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.10.143
Zong, S. S., Hu, Y. C., Bai, Y. P., Guo, Z. L., & Wang, J. Y. (2022). Analysis of the distribution characteristics and driving factors of land use conflict potentials in the Bohai Rim coastal zone. Ocean and Coastal Management, 226, Article 106260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2022.106260
Zuo, Q., Zhou, Y., Wang, L., Li, Q., & Liu, J. Y. (2022). Impacts of future land use changes on land use conflicts based on multiple scenarios in the central mountain region, China. Ecological Indicators, 137, Article 108743. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.108743
View article in other formats
CrossMark check
Published
Issue
Section
Copyright
Copyright (c) 2025 The Author(s). Published by Vilnius Gediminas Technical University.
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.