PROGRESS IN GEOGRAPHY ›› 2016, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (9): 1087-1099.doi: 10.18306/dlkxjz.2016.09.004

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Progress and prospects of multi-functionality of land use research

Chao LIU, Yueqing XU*(), Piling SUN, Jia LIU   

  1. College of Resource and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
  • Received:2016-04-01 Revised:2016-07-01 Online:2016-09-20 Published:2016-09-20
  • Contact: Yueqing XU E-mail:xmoonq@sina.com

Abstract:

Land use research has progressed from examining the change of land use patterns to the change of land use functions and the sustainable development of land resources. Multi-functionality of land use is of great significance to improving land use efficiency and promoting regional sustainable development, which has become one of the hot topics and new research directions in land science and geography. Based on an extensive review of related literature, this article systematically summarizes the concept and connotation, identification and classification, and evaluation of multi-functionality of land use and analyzes the current situation of multi-functionality of land use research. Currently, consensus exists on the understanding of the connotation and characteristics of multi-functionality of land use, but commonly accepted classification criteria of multi-functionality of land use are yet to be developed; analysis frameworks of multi-functionality of land use are basically formed, but the evaluation index system and evaluation methods need further improvement, and applied research is relatively weak; multi-functionality of land use are influenced by natural, social, economic, and policy factors. We propose some future research directions on the basis of the analysis, including developing an interdisciplinary research framework for multi-functionality of land use; constructing a classification system; improving evaluation study and applied study of multi-functionality of land use, with the hope to help promote in-depth studies in China on multi-functionality of land use, as well as provide references for the development of land use planning and land management.

Key words: land use, multi-functionalities, concept and classification, evaluation, research progress and prospect