The scientific evaluation of landscape fragmentation and connectivity is important for habitat conservation. It is strongly influenced by the spatial resolution of source maps, particularly in urban environments. However, there is limited comprehensive investigation of the spatial grain effect on urban habitat and few in-depth analysis across different urban gradients. In this paper, we scrutinize the spatial grain effects of urban green space (UGS) cover maps (derived from remote sensing imagery and survey data) with respect to evaluating habitat fragmentation and connectivity, comparing among different urban gradient scenarios (downtown, urban periphery, and suburban area) in Hangzhou, a megacity in China. The fragmentation was detected from three indices, including Entropy, Contagion, and Hypsometry. Then morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) was applied for the landscape element identification. The possibility of connectivity (PC) and patch importance (dPC) were proposed for measuring the landscape connectivity based on Cores and Bridges from MSPA results. The results indicate that the farther the location is from downtown, the less sensitive the landscape element proportion to the spatial resolution. Among the three fragmentation indices, the overall hypsometry index has the lowest sensitivity to the spatial resolution, which implies this index’s broader application value. Considering connectivity, high spatial resolution maps are appropriate for analyzing highly heterogeneous urban areas, while medium spatial resolution maps are more applicable to urban periphery and suburban area with larger UGS patches and less fragmentation. This study suggests that the spatial resolution of UGS maps substantially influence habitat fragmentation and connectivity, which is critical for decision making in urban planning and management.

In the context of ensuring national food security, high-intensity agricultural production and construction activities have aggravated the conflicts between agricultural and ecological spaces in ecologically fragile areas, which have become one of the most important factors hindering regional sustainable development. This study took Lin’an District, a typical hilly region of southeastern China, as an example. By constructing a landscape ecological risk evaluation model, land-use conflicts between agricultural and ecological spaces were identified, spatial autocorrelation and topographic gradient characteristics were analyzed, and land-use conflict trade-off mechanisms were proposed. During 2008 and 2018, the degree of land-use conflict in Lin’an District displayed an increasing trend, and the proportion of severe conflicts increased obviously. Slope is the main factor affecting land-use conflicts in a hilly region and shows a negative correlation, mainly because areas with flat terrain are more conducive to human activities. Based on the characteristics of land-use conflicts in Lin’an District, conflict trade-off mechanisms were proposed to provide a theoretical basis and practical support for land-use conflict management. Our study provides scientific evidence for sustainable land-use planning and ecological management in ecologically fragile areas.

Evaluating and revealing the spatial differentiations of quality of rural life (QRL) is the basis for formulating rural revitalization planning to promote rural transformation and achieve common prosperity. Taking the Lin’an District of Hangzhou city in China, an economically developed mountainous area, as an example, this study explored the connotation of QRL from the perspective of common prosperity and constructed a QRL evaluation framework involving living, employment, consumption, and leisure aspects. Then, based on multi-sourced data of 270 administrative villages as the assessment unit, we revealed the spatial patterns of QRL and proposed optimization paths to improving QRL. The results showed that (1) differences in the spatial distribution of quality of rural living, employment, consumption, and leisure of Lin’an District were significant, presenting stepped, block clustering, irregularity, and scattered patterns, respectively. (2) The overall QRL was mainly at a low level, clustered spatially, distributed in a strip pattern, and with obvious road directionality. (3) Based on the evaluation results of QRL, we divided the 270 administrative villages into six types of improvement: livability, employment, consumption, leisure, and balanced and lagged development types. This study could provide a scientific cognitive basis for the improvement of QRL and a useful reference for rural revitalization in China.

Facility agriculture is an important initiative to adopt an all-encompassing approach to food and build a diversified food supply system. Understanding the evolution of facility agricultural land and the factors that drive it can contribute to the development of scientifically strategic agricultural planning and agricultural modernization. Therefore, this paper constructs a “situation-structure-behavior-value” theoretical framework; quantifies the relevant driving factors (physical, proximal, and socioeconomic) and their impacts on the development and layout of facility agriculture land by using a multivariate logistic regression model; and provides a strategy for optimizing land use. The results showed that the area of facility agriculture in Huzhou is rapidly expanding. Regarding drivers, facility agricultural land tends to be located in areas with higher slopes according to plot selection. Facility agriculture is more likely to develop in plots with convenient transportation and closer proximity to markets. At the economic level, economic efficiency, agricultural resource superiority, and policies significantly impact facility agriculture expansion. Finally, we propose three land use policy options to facilitate the sustainable development of facility agriculture. This study elucidates the underlying factors driving different types of facility agricultural land and offers methodological guidance for policy support, planning, control, and optimization strategies for facility agriculture.