Rural-spatial restructuring involves the spatial mapping of the current rural development process. The transformation of land-use morphologies, directly or indirectly, affects the practice of rural restructuring. Analyzing this process in terms of the dominant morphology and recessive morphology is helpful for better grasping the overall picture of rural-spatial restructuring. Accordingly, this paper took Zhulin Town in Central China as a case study area. We propose a method for studying rural-spatial restructuring based on changes in the dominant and recessive morphologies of land use. This process was realized by analyzing the distribution and functional suitability of ecological-production-living (EPL) spaces based on land-use types, data on land-use changes obtained over a 30-year observation period, and in-depth research. We found that examining rural-spatial restructuring by matching the distribution of EPL spaces with their functional suitability can help to avoid the misjudgment of the restructuring mode caused by the consideration of the distribution and structural changes in quantity, facilitating greater understanding of the process of rural-spatial restructuring. Although the distribution and quantitative structure of Zhulin’s EPL spaces have changed to differing degrees, ecological- and agricultural-production spaces still predominate, and their functional suitability has gradually increased. The spatial distribution and functional suitability of Zhulin are generally well matched, with 62.5% of the matched types being high-quality growth, and the positive effect of Zhulin’s spatial restructuring over the past 30 years has been significant. We found that combining changes in EPL spatial area and quantity as well as changes in functional suitability is helpful in better understanding the impact of the national macro-policy shift regarding rural development. Sustaining the positive spatial restructuring of rural space requires the timely adjustment of local actors in accordance with the needs of macroeconomic and social development, and a good rural-governance model is essential.

Cultivated land is a vital factor in agricultural production but faces multiple challenges, including declining total area, spatial transformation, and ecological degradation. It is imperative to enhance cultivated land use eco-efficiency (CLUE). This study aimed to evaluate the CLUE that considers both carbon sequestration and emissions using the SBM model at the county level. Next, spatial autocorrelation was employed to measure CLUE’s spatial correlation. The spatial agglomeration pattern of CLUE was determined, then time-series cluster analysis was used to identify the temporal evolution patterns of CLUE in various districts and counties. Furthermore, we explored the spatiotemporal dynamic relationship between CLUE and landscape pattern changes using landscape pattern index and geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR), considering spatiotemporal heterogeneity, and using interaction detectors to identify the interaction between landscape pattern factors on CLUE. The results show that: (1) From 2000 to 2020, CLUE in Henan Province varied between 0.50 and 0.70 in most years, indicating potential for improvement. There are four primary temporal evolution patterns: 26 Late-development, 22 Wave-rising, 27 Fluctuation-rising, and 29 Continuous-rising types of CLUE. (2) CLUE exhibits low values in the middle and eastern regions, i.e., areas with high values are concentrated in the southern districts, counties, and western and northern regions. CLUE has a significant positive spatial correlation with HH agglomeration areas mainly concentrated in Xinyang City, and LL agglomeration areas mainly located in the eastern and central regions. (3) Overall, different landscape factors exhibit varying degrees of spatiotemporal heterogeneity in their impact on CLUE. The total area and aggregation of cultivated land have a positive effect on CLUE, with the area of the positive influence of the total area gradually expanding over time and the aggregation gradually decreasing. The complexity of cultivated land shape has a negative effect. The impact of cultivated land patch density is two-sided, with the area of negative influence gradually expanding over time. (4) The interaction between the total area, shape, and aggregation of cultivated land is enhanced. Additionally, the interaction between cultivated land patch density and other factors has changed from a weakening to a strengthening one, and the “double-edged sword” effect has gradually shifted into a one-way effect. Therefore, in the process of land consolidation, it is recommended to prioritize regularized, larger, and more concentrated cropland patches whenever possible.

Rural recession is a worldwide problem, and rural revitalization will increasingly become an important global issue. The development of specialized villages is the engine of rural revitalization, so the research on it is of great significance for guiding the sustainable development of the rural economy. In this study, by analyzing the evolutionary mechanism of the specialized villages agglomeration (SVA) from the perspective of system theory, we simulated and predicted the evolution of specialized villages agglomeration at the foot of the Taihang Mountains in Henan Province, China. We based this work on the general process of establishing a system dynamics model, and made the following conclusions: (1) According to the boundary suitability, dimensional consistency, structural evaluation, and sensitivity tests, we considered that the model could simulate the evolution of SVA at the foot of the Taihang Mountains and we explored the corresponding evolutionary mechanism; (2) The SVA effect was an “S-shaped” curve, which we divided into three periods: the formation period (0–8 years), the growth period (9–20 years), and the maturation period (21–30 years); (3) The contribution of capital to the agglomeration effect was most significant in the formation period; during the growth period, the contribution of laborers and technologies to the agglomeration effect increased rapidly; and in the maturation period, the contribution of laborers to the agglomeration effect gradually declined, whereas the contribution of technology and capital to the agglomeration effect still increased. The research results provide a theoretical reference for the sustainable development of specialized villages.