Texture features based on the gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) can effectively improve classification accuracy in geographical analyses of optical remote sensing (RS) images, with the parameters of scale of the GLCM texture window greatly affecting the validity. By analyzing human visual attention characteristics for geo-texture cognition, it was found that there is a strong correlation between the texture scale parameters and the domain shape knowledge in a specified geo-scene. Therefore, a new approach for quickly determining the multi-scale parameters of the texture with the assistance of a geographic information system (GIS) and domain knowledge is proposed in this paper. First, the validity of domain knowledge from an existing GIS database is measured by spatial data mining algorithms, including spatial partitioning, image segmentation, and space-time system evaluation. Second, the general domain shape knowledge of each category is described by the GIS minimum enclosing rectangle indices and rectangular-degree indices. Then, the corresponding multi-scale texture windows can be quickly determined for each category by a correlation analysis with the shape indices. Finally, the Fisher function is used to evaluate the validity of the scale parameters. The experimental results show that the multi-scale value keeps a one-to-one relationship with the classified objects, and their value ranges are from a few to tens, instead of the smaller values of a traditional analysis; thus, effective texture features at such a scale can be built to identify categories in a geo-scene. In this way, the proposed method can increase the total number of categories for a certain geo-scene and reduce the classification uncertainty, as well as better meet the requirements of large-scale image geo-analysis. It also has as high a calculation efficiency and as good a performance as the traditional enumeration method.

Low-carbon economic development has become the orientation of high-quality economic construction in the era of climate change. Because it involves multi-dimensional elements and is driven by the concept of regional integration and common development, the development pattern among China’s provinces should show the characteristics of complex networked spatial correlation. However, most of the existing research are for is based on attribute data and combined with traditional spatial econometric models, which cannot describe the complex networked spatial correlation. Concurrently, the network construction is mainly based on undirected-unweighted sparseness, which makes it difficult to truly restore the asymmetric detailed spatial relationship, making the related research about development pattern recognition and its evolution based on the detailed spatial relationship relatively lacking. Therefore, based on the perspective of relational data, this study constructs a multi-dimensional gravity model by using the comprehensive quality of China’s provincial low-carbon economic development, measured by the multi-dimensional evaluation index system and dynamic weight method, and the comprehensive distance based on geography, society, economy, and adjacency. And then the spatial correlation strength among China’s provincial low-carbon economic development is determined, and constructs a directed-weighted complex network. Then, it further explores the inter-provincial detailed spatial relationship of low-carbon economy development from the three dimensions of overall, individual and group, to recognize the development patterns and evolution rules of low-carbon economic development in different provinces, and clarify the development orientation. The results show that, during the study period, the spatial correlation of China’s provincial low-carbon economic development has become increasingly close, showing a complex networked correlation structure with multi-linearity, asymmetry, and geographical proximity as a whole. The division of general structure is consistent with China’s regional economic development strategy. The unbalanced development of China’s provincial low-carbon economy is the result of multi-center drive in the eastern and central regions, and the distance from the network center in the western regions. In general, China’s provincial low-carbon economic development patterns can be roughly divided into spillover, main bridge, auxiliary bridge, and benefit type. In the future, we should make full use of the power source role of spillover provinces, and the bridge support role of bridge provinces to drive the development of benefit provinces. Among them, Chongqing, Shaanxi, Hebei and Sichuan are expected to become new regional growth poles. The research on the inter-provincial spatial correlation effect and development pattern recognition of low-carbon economic development is expected to provide guidance for the sustainable development of low-carbon economy in China.

Heavy metal contamination in urban land has become a serious environmental problem in large cities. Visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (vis-NIR) has emerged as a promising method for monitoring copper (Cu), which is one of the heavy metals. When using vis-NIR spectroscopy, it is crucial to consider sample similarity. However, there is limited research on studying sample similarities and determining their relative importance. In this study, we compared three types of similarities: spectral, compositional, and spatial similarities. We collected 250 topsoil samples (0–20 cm) from Shenzhen City in southwest China and analyzed their vis-NIR spectroscopy data (350–2500 nm). For each type of similarity, we divided the samples into five groups and constructed Cu measurement models. The results showed that compositional similarity exhibited the best performance ($R_p^2$ = 0.92, RPD = 3.57) and significantly outperformed the other two types of similarity. Spatial similarity ($R_p^2$ = 0.73, RPD = 1.88) performed slightly better than spectral similarity ($R_p^2$ = 0.71, RPD = 1.85). Therefore, we concluded that the ranking of the Cu measurement model’s performance was as follows: compositional similarity > spatial similarity > spectral similarity. Furthermore, it is challenging to maintain high levels of similarity across all three aspects simultaneously.

Introduction: The primary challenge in territorial spatial planning is optimizing land allocation under complex constraints. This study aims to bridge the gap between predictive simulation and normative optimization to support scientific planning.Methods: This study developed an intelligent framework coupling an Artificial Neural Network-Cellular Automata (ANN-CA) model with a Multi-Agent System (MAS) based on an ant colony algorithm. Applied to Hui’an County, China, the framework first simulates a 2035 baseline land use scenario under policy and physical constraints. Subsequently, the MAS optimizes the construction land layout based on multi-objective functions for economic, ecological, and morphological goals.Results: The optimization yielded significant quantitative improvements compared to the baseline scenario. The spatial configuration of construction land became more regular, with the Area-Weighted Mean Shape Index (AWMSI) decreasing by 35.7% from 79.44 to 51.11. The layout also became more compact and less fragmented, evidenced by a 1.0% increase in the Aggregation Index (AI) to 95.03 and a 27.1% reduction in the number of patches.Discussion: This integrated framework provides an effective technical pathway for scientific planning. By coupling simulation with optimization, it ensures that future development patterns are not only efficient and responsive to historical trends but also adhere to strict ecological and farmland protection policies, leading to a more sustainable and well-structured territorial spatial layout.

A polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) has great potential in ground target classification. However, current methods experience difficulties in separating forests and buildings, especially oriented buildings. To address this issue, inspired by the three-component decomposition method, multiple new scattering models were proposed to describe the difference between forest scattering and building scattering. However, this problem cannot effectively be solved with scattering power alone since HV polarization records significant scattering powers from building areas that are similar to vegetation. Therefore, in this study, two new parameters, the polarization orientation angle (POA) variance and helix angle (HA) variance, were defined to describe the distributions of buildings and forests. By combining scattering power with POA and HA variances, the random forest algorithm was used to conduct the land cover classification, focusing on distinguishing between forests and oriented buildings. Finally, the C- and L-band polarimetric SAR data acquired by the GF-3, ALOS1 PALSAR, and SAOCOM systems were selected to test the proposed method. The results indicate that it is feasible to improve PolSAR classification accuracy by introducing polarimetric parameters. Quantitatively, the classification accuracies increased by 23.78%, 10.80%, and 12.97% for the ALOS1 PALSAR, GF-3, and SAOCOM data, respectively.

Soil heavy metal contamination in urban land can affect biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and the health of city residents. Visible and near-infrared (Vis-NIR) spectroscopy is fast, inexpensive, non-destructive, and environmentally friendly compared to traditional methods of monitoring soil Cu, a common heavy metal found in urban soils. However, there has been limited research on using spatially nearby samples to build the Cu estimation model. Our study aims to investigate how spatially nearby samples influence the Cu estimation model. In our study, we collected 250 topsoil samples (0–20 cm) from China’s third-largest city and analyzed their spectra (350–2500 nm). For each unknown validation sample, we selected its spatially nearby samples to construct the Cu estimation model. The results showed that compared to the traditional method ($R_p^2$ = 0.75, RMSEP = 8.56, RPD = 1.73), incorporating nearby samples greatly improved the model ($R_p^2$ = 0.93, RMSEP = 4.02, RPD = 3.89). As the number of nearby samples increased, the performance of the Cu estimation model followed an inverted U-shaped curve—initially increasing and then declining. The optimal number of nearby samples is 125 (62.5% of the total), and the mean distance between validation and calibration samples is 17 km. Therefore, we conclude that using nearby samples significantly enhances the Cu estimation model. The optimal number of nearby samples should strike a balance, covering a moderate area without there being too few or too many.