Spatiotemporal evolution and driving forces of changes in rural settlements in the poverty belt around Beijing and Tianjin： a case study of Zhangjiakou city, Hebei Province

The rural settlement is one of important aspects to understand regional human-environment relationships. Zhangjiakou city, located in the poverty belt around Beijing and Tianjin, was used as an example to analyze the evolution of rural settlements during 1985–2010 through the use of statistical and spatial analysis methods. The results demonstrate the following:(1) the area of rural settlements expanded from 665.76 to 928.14 km2 during 1985–2010. Rural settlements in prefecture city of Zhangjiakou were significantly agglomerated in terms of their spatial distribution, which presented an approximately normal distribution over the entire period. Rural settlements were usually distributed within regions where the terrain niche had an elevation of between 900 and 1500 m, and a slope from 5? to 20?;(2) there were significant regional differences in the density and size distribution of rural settlements in Zhangjiakou. The density of rural settlements in 2010 was higher than that in 1985, while there was a clustered distribution of rural settlements in 2010. There was a significant high value cluster in the size distribution, and a local negative correlation between the size and density distribution of rural settlements in Zhangjiakou;(3) rural economic development, investment in agricultural technology, and infrastructure improvement played important roles in the evolution of rural settlements. There were spatial differences in the relationship between the distribution of rural settlements and socio-economic factors in Zhangjiakou. This study provides practical guidance for the achievement of urban and rural integration development and the promotion of a new form of countryside construction.

Change of Ecological Footprint and Analysis of Ecological Sustainability——Taking Zhangjiakou City as an Example

This paper researches the ecological sustainability of Zhangjiakou City, Hebei Province, China, using the ecological footprint model. According to the study we find that Zhangjiakou City was in the situation of ecological deficit from 1990 to 2000 and the deficit had the enlarging tendency. In 1990 the per capita ecological footprint was 0.964 and the per capita ecological capacity was 0.5 l 8, thus it can be calculated that the per capita ecological deficit was 4）.446. However in 2000, the per capita ecological footprint increased to 1.068, at the same time the per capita eco- logical capacity decreased to 0.471, then the per capita ecological deficit in 2000 was 4）.597. Furthermore, this paper studies the ecological sustainability of the city from the changes of the ecological footprint of per 10,000 yuan GDP and the productivity of ecological system. Finally the authors point out the shortage of the model and the way to improve it.

The Development Status and Countermeasures of Foxtail Millet Industry in Zhangjiakou City Under the Background of the Constructing Two Districts of the Capital

Foxtail millet is drought-resistant and water-saving.It is a typical environmentally friendly crop with high economic and social benefits.In the context of constructing"Two districts of the capital",it is imperative to develop the foxtail millet industry in view of the ecological conditions of Zhangjiakou City.Based on the analysis of the development status of the foxtail millet industry in Zhangjiakou City,this study pointed out the current problems in the development of the foxtail millet industry in Zhangjiakou City,and put forward specific suggestions for the development of the foxtail millet industry in Zhangjiakou City in the future.

Analysis on the Gale and Dust Weather in Zhangjiakou City on May 11,2011

On May 11,2011, the gale and dust weather appeared in Zhangjiakou City. By analyzing the conventional meteorological data, it was found that the gale and dust weather occurred by the combined effect of the cold air splitting from the bottom of the high-altitude cold vortex and the Mongolian cyclone. The strong cold advection in the middle and lower layers provided the gale weather with driving force. The humidity conditions at middle and lower layers in Zhangjiakou City and its upstream region contributed to the weather process. Finally, the strong and wide rise district provided a more favorable power condition for the maintenance and transmission of the dust to the eastern region.

Zhangjiakou City

Zhangjiakou, a famous and historical, city in northwest Hebei Province, borders Beijing and Chengde in the east, Baoding in the south. Shanxi Province in the west, and Inner Mongolia in the northwest and north. The total area is 36, 873 square kilometers. The city is rich in natural resources, mineral resources in particular. There are more than 1, 200 proven deposits and reserves of 26 ores such as gold, silver, coal, iron. lead, zinc and copper are fairly rich. The reserves of gold, silver, zinc, manganese, phosphate, zeolite, graphite, lime. marble, tuff, emerald, bentonite,

Scenario simulation and landscape pattern dynamic changes of land use in the Poverty Belt around Beijing and Tianjin: A case study of Zhangjiakou city, Hebei Province

Land use/cover change has been recognized as a key component in global change and has attracted increasing attention in recent decades. Scenario simulation of land use change is an important issue in the study of land use/cover change, and plays a key role in land use prediction and policy decision. Based on the remote sensing data of Landsat TM images in 1989, 2000 and 2010, scenario simulation and landscape pattern analysis of land use change driven by socio-economic development and ecological protection policies were reported in Zhangjiakou city, a representative area of the Poverty Belt around Beijing and Tianjin. Using a CLUE-S model, along with socio-economic and geographic data, the land use simulation of four scenarios-namely, land use planning scenario, natural development sce- nario, ecological-oriented scenario and farmland protection scenario-were explored accord- ing to the actual conditions of Zhangjiakou city, and the landscape pattern characteristics under different land use scenarios were analyzed. The results revealed the following： （1） Farmland, grassland, water body and unused land decreased significantly during 1989-2010, with a decrease of 11.09%, 2.82%, 18.20% and 31.27%, respectively, while garden land, forestland and construction land increased over the same period, with an increase of 5.71%, 20.91% and 38.54%, respectively. The change rate and intensity of land use improved in general from 1989 to 2010. The integrated dynamic degree of land use increased from 2.21% during 1989-2000 to 3.96% during 2000-2010. （2） Land use changed significantly throughout 1989-2010. The total area that underwent land use change was 4759.14 km2, accounting for 12.53% of the study area. Land use transformation was characterized by grassland to for- estland, and by farmland to forestland and grassland. （3） Under the land use planning sce- nario, farmland, grassland, water body and unused land shrank significantly, while garden land, forestland and construction land increased. Under the natural development scenario, construction land and forestland increased in 2020 compared with 2010, while farmland and unused land decreased. Under the ecological-oriented scenario, forestland increased dra-matically, which mainly derived from farmland, grassland and unused land. Under the farm- land protection scenario, farmland was well protected and stable, while construction land expansion was restricted. （4） The landscape patterns of the four scenarios in 2020, compared with those in 2010, were more reasonable. Under the land use planning scenario, the land- scape pattern tended to be more optimized. The landscape became less fragmented and heterogeneous with the natural development scenarios. However, under the ecologi- cal-oriented scenario and farmland protection scenario, landscape was characterized by fragmentation, and spatial heterogeneity of landscape was significant. Spatial differences in landscape patterns in Zhangjiakou city also existed. （5） The spatial distribution of land use could be explained, to a large extent, by the driving factors, and the simulation results tallied with the local situations, which provided useful information for decision-makers and planners to take appropriate land management measures in the area. The application of the combined Markov model, CLUE-S model and landscape metrics in Zhangjiakou city suggests that this methodology has the capacity to reflect the complex changes in land use at a scale of 300 m×300 m and can serve as a useful tool for analyzing complex land use driving factors.

Evolution of Landscape Pattern and Tourism Service Value in Zhangjiakou City

Zhangjiakou is a northern Chinese city that hosted the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. As an important ice and snow tourist destination, it is essential to investigate Zhangjiakou’s rate of landscape pattern change,the landscape ecological security level, and ecosystem service value, particularly the tourism ecological service value during its construction. With land use data from 2000 to 2020, this study comprehensively analyzed the dynamic changes in Zhangjiakou, including land use dynamics, the land use transfer matrix, landscape vulnerability,landscape disturbance, ecosystem service value, tourism ecological service value, and other aspects. The results show that the landscape pattern in Zhangjiakou was greatly disturbed from 2015 to 2018, and the landscape ecological security was threatened in the process of landscape pattern adjustment. By 2020, after the landscape pattern was adjusted and stabilized, the landscape ecological security was restored, and the ecosystem service value was significantly improved, especially the tourism ecological service value. The results of this study will play an important role in promoting the optimization of Zhangjiakou’s ice and snow landscape pattern and the improvement of tourism ecological value. In addition, it provides important lessons for the development of other ice and snow tourist destinations.