The Spatial-Temporal Distribution of the Coupling between Urbanization and Farmland Resources in the Mainland of China

Transcription

1 Journal of Energy and Natural Resources 206; 5(5): do: 0.648/.enr ISSN: (Prnt); ISSN: (Onlne) The Spatal-Temporal Dstrbuton of the Couplng between Urbanzaton and Farmland Resources n the Manland of Chna Xang Gao *, Le Cao, Xaohua Ma, Hao Zhao College of Earth and Envronmental Scences, Lanzhou Unversty, Lanzhou, P. R. Chna Emal address: xgao@lzu.edu.cn (Xang Gao) * Correspondng author To cte ths artcle: Xang Gao, Le Cao, Xaohua Ma, Hao Zhao. The Spatal-Temporal Dstrbuton of the Couplng between Urbanzaton and Farmland Resources n the Manland of Chna. Journal of Energy and Natural Resources. Vol. 5, No. 5, 206, pp do: 0.648/.enr Receved: September 20, 206; Accepted: October 2, 206; Publshed: October 3, 206 Abstract: An evaluaton ndex system was constructed for the couplng between urbanzaton and farmland resources, based on data from 3 provnces n the manland of Chna. Usng the Grey Relatonal Analyss method, the spatal-temporal varatons of the couplng between them can be revealed. The conclusons of ths study were: () the stress of urbanzaton on farmland resources s domnated by economc urbanzaton, whle ths knd of constrant also produces the strongest nfluence on the status (endowment) of the arable resources; (2) vewed over tme, the couplng degree n Chnese provnces between urbanzaton and farmland resources shows volatlty and nternal dfferences: East > West > Central regons, and the causes for these dfferences are also dscussed; (3) The nteracton between them s spatally strong, and the couplng degree s relatvely close and hgh, showng the coexstng features of complexty and specfcty. Combnng the couplng wth the urban level the 3 provnces can be categorzed nto four types: Low-level Coupled Mode, Antagonsm Mode, Transton Mode and Coordnaton Mode. Keywords: Urbanzaton, Farmland Resources, Couplng Degree, Grey Relatonal Analyss, Chna. Introducton Urbanzaton s the nevtable result of modernzaton, especally for the developng countres. The 202 Blue Book of Chnese Socety, publshed by the Chnese Academy of Socal Scences, stated that n 20, for the frst tme n thousands of years, Chna s urban populaton surpassed 50% of the total populaton. Ths mlestone n Chna s development hstory ndcates that Chna has entered nto a new growth phase focused on urban socety. Urbanzaton has now become a ggantc engne pushng the socal and economc development of Chna, followng on the earler phases of ndustralzaton. From a geographcal perspectve, urbanzaton s the process whereby regonal space expands constantly, and the urban landscape evolves ceaselessly. It s therefore unavodable that some types of lands, most notably cultvated lands, have been transformed nto resdental, commercal & publc land, durng urbanzaton. There s, however, an nherent contradcton between urbanzaton and farmland resource protecton. Arable land, the most basc non-renewable natural resource, s essental to human lfe, and keepng a certan quantty and qualty of arable land s key to sustanable development []. In the past 30 years, Chnese farmland resources have steadly decreased. Economc and spatal urbanzaton have led to an ncreasng takeover of farmland by urban development and to the conflct between eat versus buld. Farmland protecton s ncreasngly crtcal [2]. In 20, land devoted to new urban constructon n Chna came to mllon hectares, compared to mllon hectares n 200, an annual ncrease of about 4.7%[3]. Undoubtedly, the next decade or so wll be a crtcal perod for the development of Chnese urbanzaton as well as a tme of ncreasng land-use conflcts. Therefore, research on the relatonshp between urbanzaton and farmland resources has become a maor focus for geographers and land-use planners, and achevng a balance between these two land uses s essental to contnued sustanable development.

2 60 Xang Gao et al.: The Spatal-Temporal Dstrbuton of the Couplng between Urbanzaton and Farmland Resources n the Manland of Chna It has been tradtonally assumed that ncreased urbanzaton nevtably leads to dwndlng plantaton acreage and decreased qualty of the remanng arable land. Accordng to regresson analyss on urbanzaton and the total cultvated area of Jangsu provnce from 978 to 997, performed by Yu [4], the amount of arable land decreases by 3,688.3 hectares wth every % ncrease n the level of urbanzaton. After researchng the relatonshp between urbanzaton and farmland n Chengdu cty from 978 to 2007, Chen et al. [5] concluded that urbanzaton ncrease and farmland acreage decrease showed a sgnfcant degree of correlaton. Tan et al. [6] and Zhang [7] also carred out research on ths correlaton and proposed three explanatons: (a) The real-estate and development crazes resulted n the converson of excessve amounts of farmland; (b) Large ctes have expanded horzontally rather than vertcally, resultng n a pancake type of development, often absorbng nearby small towns; and (c) Central governmental control over land use s weak n some regons. Although government theoretcally has the frst clam on avalable land, n practce ths authorty s often abdcated, resultng n multple approval and multple control as varous prvate enttes ve for land development. Whle t s undenable that urban development brngs wth t a seres of farmland problems (e.g., loss of farmland, lowered qualty of farmland), ths vewpont consders only the converson of farmland to urban use caused by urban populaton ncrease, gnorng the space saved by more ntensve utlzaton of land. Therefore, many scholars doubt the tradtonal vewponts enumerated above and suggest there s a Kuznets curve relatonshp between urbanzaton level and farmland loss [8]. That s, farmland loss shows a reversed U shape relatonshp wth urban development, frst rsng and then fallng. The proposed response to ths phenomenon s an urbanzaton strategy of developng large and md-szed ctes whle lmtng the horzontal expanson of small towns [9][0], meanwhle enhancng the ntensty of land use []. Currently, studes on the relatonshp between urbanzaton and farmland loss, both at home and abroad, use the method of problem statement - causal mechansm - regulatons and standards - scenaro predcton - response strateges [2] [3]. Yet research on the feedback loop between urban development and farmland varaton has been nsuffcent, addng lttle to the understandng of how these two trends nteract. To address ths defct, ths study adopted Grey Relatonal Analyss (GRA), usng secondary data from 3 Chnese provnces for the years 990 to The purpose was to assess the couplng mechansm between urbanzaton and farmland, on both a temporal and a spatal bass, and to propose countermeasures and suggestons for the coordnated development of these two resources. 2. Methodology 2.. Indcators The nteractons between urbanzaton and farmland resources are so complex that a sngle ndcator cannot truly reflect the nternal mechansm and laws between the two uses. Therefore, whle referencng prevous studes [4] and adherng to prncples of scentfc research (.e., comprehensveness, unversalty, and avalablty), ths study adopted an analyss approach, usng theoretcal and expert consultaton to develop a common measurement ndex. To arrve at ths base ndex, the correlaton coeffcent method and prncpal component analyss were appled to screen the general assessment ndcator system, n an effort to maxmze nformaton ncluded n the correlaton coeffcents, whle mnmzng overlap nformaton. Urbanzaton s a complex system nvolvng nteractons among populaton, socety, and economy. Populaton growth, economc development, socal progress, and spatal expanson are nterrelated and buld on each other [5]. Among these four elements, economc development represents the foundaton; populaton ncrease and geographc expanson are the manfestatons of urbanzaton; and socal progress s the ultmate result or goal. Therefore, usng as a foundaton the urban ntegrated measurement ndex system confrmed by Chen et al. [], from the four aspects populaton, economy, socety, and spatal expanson we sought the maxmum number of features to create a comprehensve pool of urbanzaton features, choosng 8 tems to form an ndex of urbanzaton. Because the ndex centers on the human use of farmland resources, t reveals the mpacts of human actvtes. As one of the basc supports for urban development, farmland resources are both the endogenous varable and the mportant external force for urbanzaton and socoeconomc development. The ndcator system of farmland resources can therefore be descrbed by the quantty descrptor, whch reflects the status and changes of the farmland resources affected by human actvty. Ths study, based on Press-State-Response (PSR) from three aspects of farmland resource-stress, status and socoeconomc response-descrbes the farmland resource system [6]. Twelve tems were selected to form the ndex system of the farmland resources (Table ). Table. Indcators for Urban Systems and Farmland Resource Systems. System Urbanzaton Index X : Proporton of urban populaton X 2: Secondary ndustry employment proporton X 3: Tertary ndustry employment proporton X 4: Bult-up area populaton densty X 5: Per Capta GDP X 6: Per Capta Total Industral Output Value

3 Journal of Energy and Natural Resources 206; 5(5): System Farmland Resources Index X 7: Proporton of Output Value of Tertary Industry X 8: Fxed assets nvestment per capta X 9: Average wage for on-post staff X 0: Per capta dsposable ncome for urban dwellers X : Unversty students for every ten thousand people X 2: Doctors for every ten thousand people X 3: Techncans for every ten thousand people X 4: Per capta publc green areas X 5: Rato of bult-up areas X 6: Per capta area of bult-up areas X 7: Per capta road area X 8: Town densty Y : Populaton densty Y 2: GDP densty Y 3: Unt area water resources quantty Y 4: Unt area applcaton quantty of chemcal fertlzer Y 5: Per capta farmland Y 6: Rato of effectve rrgaton area Y 7: Productvty of arable land Y 8: Dstrbuton coeffcent of land ncome Y 9: Per-hectare mechancal power Y 0: Per-hectare output Y : Entropy of ndustral structure Y 2: Dscharge rate of Industral wastewater 2.2. Data Sources and Preprocessng Thrty-one provnces and autonomous regons n the manland of Chna comprsed the basc unts of research. The man data sources ncluded the Statstcal Yearbook (2009) for each provnce, the Chna Statstcal Yearbook ( ), the Statstcal Bulletn for Natonal Economc and Socal Development (2009), and the Chna Agrcultural Statstcs Yearbook (2009). In order to consder the dfferences among the orgnal ndex data dmensons and more convenently calculate crosswse comparson among the 3 provnces, before GRA analyss, the range and standard devaton were calculated to reduce the varable to one dmenson [7]: Z = ( Z mn Z )/(max Z mn Z ) () Where Z s the attrbute value of a gven ndex, maxz, mnz are the maxmum and mnmum values of a target Methods Grey Relatonal Analyss (GRA) supples a quantzed measurement for examnng trends n system development, whch s approprate for dynamc analyss [8]. To reveal the spatal-temporal dfferentaton of couplng between Chnese urbanzaton and farmland resources requres relatng degree mode and couplng mode to form the prmary measurement, as seen by Lu and L [9]. The measurement starts wth the GRA degree. Its correlaton coeffcent s: X Y X Y mnmn Z ( t) Z ( t) + ρ maxmax Z ( t) Z ( t) ξ( )( t) = X Y X Y Z ( t) Z ( t) + ρ maxmax Z ( t) Z ( t) X Y Where Z ( t ) and Z ( t ) s the standard value of the ndexes of the farmland resources system and the urbanzaton system n each sesson, respectvely; ρ s the resoluton rato, whch s generally 0.5; and ξ ( )( t) s the correlaton coeffcent of t moment. Accordng to the sample K, the average correlaton coeffcent and an mx degree of assocaton matrx γ can be calculated, reflectng the complex couplng relatonshp between urbanzaton and farmland resources. (K can use a tme seres to reveal the sequental varaton n the varables, and, wth cross-secton data, calculate the spatal nteracton among the varables). Through the comparson of the γ dmensons of each degree of assocaton, t can be shown that some factors n the farmland resources have close relatonshps wth urbanzaton development, whle some other factors have few mpacts on the role of urbanzaton. If Y γ =, then a gven ndex Z ( t ) of farmland resources s X hghly correlated wth a correspondng ndex Z ( t ) of X Y urbanzaton, and states Z ( t ) and Z ( t ) have the same varaton rules. If γ falls between 0 and : If the value of γ s larger, the relevance s larger, and accordngly the couplng s stronger, and vce versa. When the ndex s 0< γ 0.35, the degree of assocaton, and thereby the couplng effect between the two systems, s weak. When the ndex s 0.35< γ 0.65, the degree of assocaton, and thereby the couplng effect, s moderate. When the ndex s 0.65<γ 0.85, the degree of assocaton, and the couplng effect, s relatvely strong. When the ndex s 0.85<γ, the degree of assocaton, and the couplng effect, s very strong. Next, the average value by rows or columns was determned by the correlaton calculaton, resultng n the average correlaton degree shown n Equaton (3). The man coercon factors were chosen accordng to the sze and correspondng range of the value, such as the stressng factors of the urbanzaton on farmland resources and the restranng factors of plantaton resources wth urbanzaton. l d = γ( =,2,, m; =,2,, l) l = l d = γ(,2,, m;,2,, l) m = = = where γ s the degree of assocaton; l and m are the ndex numbers of the urbanzaton system and the farmland resources system, respectvely. In order to udge the overall couplng degree between urbanzaton and farmland resources usng Equaton (), a couplng degree mode was bult between urbanzaton and farmland. The strength of couplng between the two elements can be evaluated quanttatvely from the angle of space-tme (2) (3)

4 62 Xang Gao et al.: The Spatal-Temporal Dstrbuton of the Couplng between Urbanzaton and Farmland Resources n the Manland of Chna through ths mode. m l C( t) = ξ( t) (4) m l = = where C( t ) s the couplng degree of both systems. The couplng degree has been used prevously to refer to the degree of lnk tghtness n the feld of computers; however, n the relatonal analyss of urbanzaton and farmland resources, couplng degree refers to both ther relaton tghtness degree and ther nteracton degree. Thus, ts physcal sgnfcance s, f the couplng degree s hgher, the relaton between urbanzaton and farmland resources s tghter, the mutual effects are ncreased, and the condtonalty s strong and vce versa. 3. Results and Dscusson 3.. The Couplng Features Between Chnese Urbanzaton and Farmland Resources In 2009, the calculated correlaton degree between Chnese urbanzaton and farmland resources was above 0.5, a medum effect, showng a strong connecton between the two systems. The couplng detals between the two elements n terms of the man stressng factors of urbanzaton on the farmland resources (Table 2) and the man restranng factors of the farmland resources wth urbanzaton (Table 3) can be made clear based on Equaton (3) Characterstcs of Urbanzaton Stress on Cultvated Land The stress of urbanzaton on arable land s a drect result of Urbanzaton Table 2. Stress Factor Matrx between Urbanzaton and Farmland Resources. Populaton Urbanzaton (0.678) Economc Urbanzaton (0.693) the expanson and propulson of the urban area, the pattern of change, and the extenson of landscape. In the process of the urbanzaton stress, all knds of economc actvtes (e.g., productve actvtes of urban resdents, producton and marketng of enterprses, traffc, utlzaton of resources, and energy consumpton) act upon regonal farmland resources. Thus, the stress on cultvated land from economc urbanzaton s exacerbated. Table 2 shows the correlaton degree between each subsystem of urbanzaton and farmland resources, from large to small: economc urbanzaton (0.693) > socal urbanzaton (0.68) > populaton urbanzaton (0.678) > spatal urbanzaton (0.655). At the same tme, all of the assocaton degrees of the four knds of urbanzaton wth farmland resources are greater than 0.65, ndcatng that the stress of urbanzaton on farmland resources can be classfed n the stronger stress category. The development of Chnese urbanzaton has elmnated the top-down government-led model snce the reform and openng-up to the outsde world, but now development s domnated by ndustralzaton wth notable urbanzaton level and dstnct acceleraton. In ts early stages, gans n urbanzaton and ndustralzaton resulted only n ncreased resource consumpton and envronmental polluton. Now, however, wth the dfferent development pattern between urbanzaton and ndustralzaton, a more serous consequence s that regulatons protectng farmland from urbanzaton have not kept up wth the demand for development land, and farmland depleton s out of control. Chna s economc development s drvng urban development along the route of pollute frst, treat later. Therefore, t has become essental to determne the urbanzaton stress on farmland resources n the manland of Chna. Farmland Resources X X 2 X 3 X 4 X 5 X 6 X 7 X 8 X Socal Urbanzaton (0.68) Spatal Urbanzaton (0.655) X 0 X X 2 X 3 X 4 X 5 X 6 X 7 X Among all ndcators of urbanzaton, the top fve that threaten farmland resources are (a) per capta fxed assets nvestment (0.735), (b) number of scence and technology personnel per 0,000 people (0.735), (c) per capta GDP (0.729), (d) per capta gross ndustral output value (0.7), and (e) per capta publc green areas (0.709). Urbanzaton s stress on farmland resources s manly reflected n economc and socal structures. The research by Chen et al.[] on each subsystem of urbanzaton showed that rapd ndustral development s the man factor n the evoluton of economc urbanzaton. In the early stages of urbanzaton, Chna showed a typcal pattern of urban expanson and extensve land development, wth lttle thought to effcent land use. In some ctes, where the concepts of urban development were not appled, suburban sprawl domnated. Some medum-szed and small towns, whch had weak governmental regulatons and lmted economc resources, raced to lower land prces and desgnate development zones for attractng nvestment, resultng n large areas of neffcent land use and loss of ths valuable natonal asset. It s thus clear that the pattern of extensve land use n early urban development went aganst the ntensve utlzaton of land, and put a heavy stress on farmland resources Characterstcs of the Restrctve Effect of Farmland on Urbanzaton The restrctve effect of farmland on urbanzaton s due to a process of nteractons between urbanzaton and land resources. Wth the advance of urbanzaton, urban land scale,

5 Journal of Energy and Natural Resources 206; 5(5): structure, and effcency are lkely to change. Or, from the farmland perspectve, farmland shortage, reduced qualty, and unbalanced dstrbuton wll restran urbanzaton. From Table 3, t can be seen that the restrant of farmland resources upon urbanzaton s strongest (0.687), followed by cultvated land resource pressure (0.683), and relatvely weak economc response (0.663). In total, all three reflect a strong constrant. Urbanzaton tself s an approach of ntensvely usng land, mtgatng the pressure on farmland by transferrng rural populatons to urban bult-up areas. Accordng to the Chnese Statstcal Yearbook, for 30 years, from 978 to 2008, the Chnese urbanzaton level rose to 45.68% from 7.92%, and the urban constructon area expanded from 8,842 km 2 to 36,295 km 2. In other words, the annual urbanzaton level ncreased by almost %, whle the urban bult area expanded by 989 km 2 (0.35%), far hgher than n other countres. Especally notable s that, despte leadng the world n constructon per capta, Chna has made lmted contrbutons to urban mprovement. It s thus clear that the excessve scale and expanson of urban land use wll lead not only to an extremely low ntensty of urban land use, but also to the urban development of a large amount of land. Ths stuaton wll create a shortage of farmland, lower farmland qualty, and to some degree restrct the process of Chnese urbanzaton. From the ndex level, the constranng effect of farmland resources on urbanzaton belongs n the category of ntermedate strong effect (the degree of assocaton s 0.35 to 0.85). The fve hghest ndcators of urbanzaton restrcton are (a) farmland productvty (0.732), (b) populaton densty (0.727), (c) the attanment rate of ndustral waste water dscharge (0.724), (d) per capta farmland area (0.699), (e) and nformaton entropy of ndustral structure (0.693). These ndcators reflect lmted farmland, an unsustanable ndustral structure, and serous polluton-evdence of an obvous restrctng effect of the farmland resources on urbanzaton. Chna s a huge agrcultural country, feedng about 22% of the world populaton usng only 7% of the world s arable land. The relatve lack of per capta farmland s a fundamental realty n Chna. Thus, t can be seen that the neffcency and the unreasonable development and utlzaton of farmland resources are the key factors restrctng the development of Chnese urbanzaton. Table 3. Factors Matrx of Constrant of Chnese Farmland Qualty on Urbanzaton. Urbanzaton Farmland Resources Pressure of Farmland Resources Condton of Farmland Resources (0.683) (0.687) Socoeconomc Response (0.663) Y Y 2 Y 3 Y 4 Y 5 Y 6 Y 7 Y 8 Y 9 Y 0 Y Y The sequental varaton of couplng between urbanzaton and farmland resources The couplng between urbanzaton and farmland resources s expressed not only by the nteracton complexty of respectve factors, but also by tme sequence and spatal dversty. To reveal the temporal-spatal varaton of the couplng between Chnese urbanzaton and farmland resources, the sample ponts of every provncal calendar year for cross secton data were calculated usng Equaton (4). The tme-seres changes of the couplng of urbanzaton and farmland resources from are shown for Chna as a whole, as well as for the eastern, central, and western regons of Chna. Fgure summarzes the characterstcs of temporal couplng changes. Fgure. The couplng degree shows a fluctuatng downward trend wth an obvous overall volatlty. In 996, Chnese urbanzaton reached 30.68% (the proporton of urban populaton). Accordng to nternatonal experts, the development of Chnese urbanzaton has entered nto the phase of rapd development (urban populaton proporton >30%). Urbanzaton development needs the support of fundng, resources, and populaton transfer; therefore, the urbanzaton and farmland resources should show a state of constant adustment between the modes of antagonsm and coordnaton, and the trend lnes n Fgure support ths vew. From 990 to 2008, the couplng degree of urbanzaton and farmland resources fluctuated between and 0.635, peakng n 996 at approxmately and then declnng after The changes could be dvded nto two stages wth the year 996 as the boundary. The perod from 990 to 996 was the secular change stage, when change throughout the entre naton and across regons appeared to be mld, whle the change from 996 to 2008 was acute. From 989 to 2000, due to the polcy of strctly controllng the scale of ctes and allowng reasonable development of medum-szed and small ctes, the comprehensve constructon of an affluent socety was the goal, wth full prosperty of the rural economy and acceleraton of the urbanzaton process. The urbanzaton strategy adhered to the coordnated development of large, medum, and small ctes and small towns. Urbanzaton promoted the development of ntensve utlzaton of farmland resources. Thus, the ntensty of the nteracton between urbanzaton and farmland resources was abated, and ther couplng degree was on the declne. There are obvous dfferences n the fluctuatons of the couplng degree between urbanzaton and farmland resources

6 64 Xang Gao et al.: The Spatal-Temporal Dstrbuton of the Couplng between Urbanzaton and Farmland Resources n the Manland of Chna among eastern, central, and western Chna. Overall, the couplng degree ncreased n the east, then the central, and then the west, n turn. Specfcally, the couplng degree of the eastern regon ncreased slowly before 996, fluctuated between 996 and 200, and then sgnfcantly declned after 200. The couplng degree of the central regon gradually changed by approxmately 0.6 between 990 and The couplng degree of the western regon slowly decreased before 996, and then fluctuated between 996 and These results demonstrate the complex changes of the couplng degree, whch were due manly to unbalanced development strateges snce Chnese reform and openng up to the outsde world. Under the unbalanced development strategy, the amount of constructon land n the eastern regon s much greater than n the central or western regons. In addton, non-farm confguraton of farmland resources and other factors of producton, both spatal and temporal, have been concentrated n the eastern coastal regon. Rapd ndustralzaton and urbanzaton have transformed that area nto the most economcally developed regon of Chna, whle resource utlzaton and economc development n the md-west regon have lagged behnd those n the east. Consequently, the couplng degree of urbanzaton and farmland resources n the md-west regon s less than that of the eastern regon Spatal Dfferences n the Couplng Between Urbanzaton and Cultvated Land Usng cross-secton data from 3 provnces from 990 to 2008, ths study appled Equaton 4 to fnd out the degree of couplng between Chnese urbanzaton and farmland resources (Fgure 2). The degree of couplng n these provnces changed from 0.62 to 0.72, ndcatng that the nteracton between them s relatvely strong, and the relaton degree s accordngly tght. As seen n Fgure 2, the couplng degrees of 2 provnces n the eastern part of Chna showed large dfferences. The maxmum was Hebe Provnce (0.70), the mnmum was Guangx (0.673), and the dfference between the maxmum and mnmum was The couplng degree varatons n the nne provnces n the mddle part of Chna were smaller compared wth those of the eastern part of Chna; the maxmum was Henan Provnce (0.69), the mnmum was Jangx Provnce (0.653); the dfference between them, The couplng degree changes n the 0 provnces n the mddle part of Chna were most pronounced between the eastern and mddle part; the maxmum was Xnang (0.702), the mnmum Tbet (0.652), s the dfference Combned wth the urbanzaton of each provnce n 2008 and the movng averages of the adacent four provnces (Fgure 2), we know that the average urbanzaton values of the three larger belts namely eastern, central, and western Chna are 59.30%, 45.63%, and 37.8%, respectvely. All three regonal belts are n the accelerated development perod of urbanzaton. However, the three belts have large nternal dfferences: The nternal dfferences among the eastern provnces are apparently larger than those n the central and western parts. These regonal urban dfferences may be one of causes of the sgnfcant dfferences n couplng degrees, whch we can explan wth the Kuznets curve of urbanzaton and farmland varaton. Fgure 2. The relatonshp between the spatal varaton of couplng degree and dfferent urban levels. In the ntal phase of urban development, the level of urbanzaton s relatvely low and the speed of urban development s accordngly slow. The urban extenson shows eptaxal expanson across the land, leadng to the overall decrease of farmland quantty and the declne of farmland qualty to some extent, whle the regonal farmland resources reman wthn the range of bearng capacty. The nteracton mpact between urbanzaton and farmland resources s small, wth a low degree of couplng, such as seen n Tbet, Qngha, Guangx, and other ethnc mnorty Autonomous Prefectures. The pace of urbanzaton s accelerated, however, n the mddle perod. All of these factors are currently affectng most provnces of Chna. The conflct between urbanzaton and farmland resources ntensfes, ncreasng the nteracton strength and the couplng degree n the provnces wth poor condtons of farmland resources and unreasonable ndustral structure. Wth further development, urbanzaton enters the later stage. Through adustments n the structure of ndustres and effectve deployment and ntensve use of farmland, the strength of the nteracton between urbanzaton and farmland resources decreases. In addton, the couplng degree also decreases, as seen n areas such as Tann, Beng, Shangha, and Guangdong. Thus, when urbanzaton develops to a certan extent, the restrant and lmtaton of the development of land resources taper off. The nteracton between urbanzaton and farmland resources can be strengthened to some extent through balanced, effectve management and control, scentfc confguraton, and ntensve use. Followng s a more detaled descrpton of the spatal dstrbuton patterns and features of couplng between Chnese regonal urbanzaton and ecologcal envronment, nvolvng the dmenson of the couplng degree combned wth the regonal urbanzaton development ndex and the urbanzaton stage dvson [20]. Overall, the 3 provnces n manland Chna

7 Journal of Energy and Natural Resources 206; 5(5): can be dvded nto four modes: Low-level Coupled Mode, Antagonsm Mode, Transton Mode, and Coordnaton Mode. Low-level Coupled Mode. Low-level Coupled Mode encompasses Tbet and Guzhou, two provnces stuated n the southwest, accountng for about 6.45% of the country. Ther urbanzaton level s less than 30%, domnated manly by secondary and tertary ndustry (whch together occupy over 80% of GDP n each provnce). The GDP per capta s $2,000 or less, correspondng wth a generally lower level of socoeconomc standards. Chna has ncreased ts nvestment n the two provnces year by year, despte the provnces vast land and sparse populaton, n accordance wth the Western Development Polcy. Wth the rapd development of the economy of the two provnces, the urbanzaton level has contnuously ncreased and lvng standards have greatly mproved. However, the urbanzaton level s stll n the prelmnary stage, wth low nteracton strength between urbanzaton and farmland resources. Generally, durng ths low-level coordnaton perod, the degree of couplng s relatvely small (wth a value between 0.65 and 0.68). Antagonsm Mode. Thrteen provnces (Gansu, Yunnan, Henan, Schuan, Guangx, Xnang, Anhu, Qngha, Jangx, Hebe, Shaanx, Hunan, and Nngxa) are ncluded n the Antagonsm Mode category. These provnces are located manly n the mddle and western regons, coverng about 4.94% of the naton. The proporton of urban populaton falls between 30% and 45%, belongng to the mddle stage of urbanzaton, whch prmarly focuses on secondary ndustry (up to 40%). GDP per capta s $2,000 to $3,500. The current accelerated pace of urbanzaton n ths regon reles on the urban development of farmland resources. The growng ntensty of human development, combned wth the constrant, lmtatons, and negatve feedback upon farmland resources, s daly growng more promnent, makng these regons hover n the Antagonsm Mode category and lmtng the nteracton between urbanzaton and farmland resources. The couplng degree ranges from 0.63 to It s worth mentonng that Hebe Provnce s couplng degree s the hghest n ths mode (0.70). As the epcenter of regonal growth n northern Chna, Beng has a resource deprvaton effect on the surroundng areas, n accordance wth the center-perphery theory(fang & Lu, 2007), and the shorter the dstance, the stronger the nteracton. Hebe provnce, as the hnterland of Beng, s affected by the ncreased development and ndustry dffuson of the Beng-Tann-Hebe cty cluster. Increases n demand for farmland resources, and the nteracton between urbanzaton and farmland resources, result n a sgnfcantly hgher couplng degree than those seen n other provnces. Transton Mode. Transton Mode encompasses provnces: Shanx, Hube, Shandong, Hanan, Fuan, Chongqng, Inner Mongola, Jln, Jangsu, Helongang, and Zheang, accountng for about 35.48% of the naton. Wth a proporton of urban populaton between 45% and 60%, these provnces belong to the mddle stage of urbanzaton and are manly domnated by secondary and tertary ndustry (whch, except for Hanan provnce, together account for over 85% of GDP). The GDP per capta ranges between $2,500 and $6,500. The economc development of these provnces has reached a relatvely hgh level. The process of urbanzaton s n a transton between mddle and later perods, and the development of urban-rural ntegraton s becomng apparent. The pressure of spatal urbanzaton and economc urbanzaton on farmland resources s relatvely heavy n these areas, but because of better and earler attenton to envronmental protecton n these provnces, ther development s wthn the carryng capacty of farmland resources. The elements of urbanzaton and farmland resources show a hgher level of adaptaton and adustment, reflected n a hgher couplng degree (wth a value between 0.66 and 0.70). Coordnaton Mode. The Coordnaton Mode provnces nclude Shangha, Beng, Tann, Guangdong, and Laonng. These fve provnces cover about 6.3% of the naton, manly n the east. The proporton of urban populaton n these provnces exceeds 60%, due to a longer perod of urbanzaton. Urbanzaton s prmarly domnated by secondary and tertary ndustry (the total proporton s over 90%). The GDP per capta s above $4,500; thus, socoeconomc levels and lvng standards are generally hgh. People n the smultaneous pursut of materal and cultural pursuts pay more attenton to ecologcal and envronmental protecton. At the same tme, due to the hgh level of scence and technology and excellent urban nfrastructure, these provnces have the capablty to decrease the per capta load of urbanzaton upon farmland resources va adustment of ndustral structure and ntensve land utlzaton. In general, the nteracton between urbanzaton and farmland resources s n the process of coordnaton, so that the couplng degree s relatvely small (between 0.64 and 0.67). 4. Concluson Frst, the force of urbanzaton upon farmland resources s focused on economc urbanzaton, whch comprses a subsystem of assocaton degree, rangng from large to small as follows: economc urbanzaton (0.693) > socal urbanzaton (0.68) > populaton urbanzaton (0.678) > space urbanzaton (0.655). Therefore, t can be seen that wth regard to the constrant of farmland resources upon urbanzaton, the state constrant of farmland resources s strongest (0.687), farmland resources stress (0.683) s the second strongest, and the socal and economc mpacts are the smallest (0.663). However, overall, all the factors belong to a relatvely strong constrant level. Second, over tme, the entre couplng degree between Chnese urbanzaton and farmland resources shows a trend of changng from large to small, whch ndcates that the nteractve restrctve functon between the two s weakenng to some extent. At the same tme, however, ths progressve decrease has shown fluctuatons and nternal dfferences (.e., eastern regon > western regon > central regon). The reasons underpnnng ths decrease are the rapd advance of urbanzaton durng the new era and the unbalanced mplementaton of regonal development strateges. Thrd, regardng spatal dfferences, the nteracton between

8 66 Xang Gao et al.: The Spatal-Temporal Dstrbuton of the Couplng between Urbanzaton and Farmland Resources n the Manland of Chna urbanzaton and farmland resources s strong n all regons of Chna. The GRA degree shows a relatvely tght correspondence wth a hgh couplng degree, evdence of complexty and partcularty. The spatal dfferences of couplng degree between urbanzaton and farmland resource are due to nternal factors such as regonal self-qualty, ndustral structure, and socal development, as well as from external factors lke nter-regonal dfferences and regonal contact stuatons. Combned wth dfferent development phases of urbanzaton, the 3 provnces can be dvded nto four types, consstng of Low-level Coupled Mode, Antagonsm Mode, Transton Mode, and Coordnaton Mode. Clearly, urban development requres a certan amount of land; however, the conflct between urbanzaton and farmland resources protecton s not absolute. The two-fold soluton to the problem s to fnd a functonal relatonshp of features and rules, suggestng that urbanzaton development of farmland resources should nclude the promoton of protecton as well. Wth ths wn-wn strategy, Chna wll fnally be able to realze both urban development and protecton of farmland resources. Acknowledgments The work descrbed n ths paper was supported by the State Key Program of Natonal Natural Scence of Chna (Grant No ) References [] Chen, M. X., Lu, D. D., Zhang, H. (2009). Comprehensve evaluaton and the drvng factors of Chna s urbanzaton. Acta Geographca Snca, 64 (4), [2] Ye, Y. Y., Zhang, H. O., Xu, X. Q. (20). Study on the relatonshp between constructon land expanson and economc growth pattern n the Pearl Rver Delta. Geographcal Research, 30 (2), [3] Zhang, X. X., Zeng, Hu. (204). Cultvated Land Pressure of Chna and ts Drvng Forces Analyss n the Process of Rapd Urbanzaton Based on Multlevel Panel Model. Chna Populaton Resources and Envronment, 24 (), [4] Yu, Q. N. (200). Land utlzaton and measures of small town s development n Jangsu Provnce. Ecologcal Economy,, [5] Chen, H. J., Deng, L. J., & L, H. C. (200). Research on coordnaton between the urbanzaton development and cultvated land change n Chengdu Cty. Chnese Agrcultural Scence Bulletn, 26 (), [6] Tan, M. H., L, X. B., Lv, C. H. (2004). The expanson of constructon land and the occupaton to land n lager and medum-szed ctes of Chna n 990s. SCIENCE IN CHINA Seres D: Earth Scences, 34 (2), [7] Zhang, S. Z. (2004). Reflecton on the problem of landless peasants n the process of urbanzaton. Chnese Rural Economy, 2, [8] L, D., Lu, Y. Z. (2003). Study on the relatonshp between urbanzaton development and farmland changes n Chna. Economc Revew,, 3 5. [9] Sh, Y. L, (2000), Analyss of land resources utlzaton n the process of urbanzaton n Chna. Chna Populaton, Resources, and Envronment, 0 (4), [0] Da, J. L., Gao, X. L. (200). Expanson of urban space and land use control n the process of urbanzaton. Geographcal Research, 29 (0), [] Wang, X. M., Wu, Q. Y. (200). Urbanzaton constructon and ntensve utlzaton of land. Chna Populaton, Resources, and Envronment, (52), 5 6. [2] Chen, B. M., Zhang, F. R. (20). Trend and prorty areas n land use research of Chna. Geographcal Research, 30 (), 9. [3] Wang, Q., & Chen, Z. G. (2007). The relatonshp between urbanzaton development and farmland changes n Chna: A survey. Ecologcal Economcs, 2, [4] Ca, Y. Y., Zhang, A. L. (2005). Relatonshps between cultvated land resource and economc development. Chna Populaton, Resources, and Envronment, 5 (5), [5] Zhu, H. B., Zhang, A. L. (2006). Analyss on the dfferences of cultvated land resource quantty securty on tme and space n Chna. Chna Populaton, Resources, and Envronment, 6 (6), 3 7. [6] Ba, Y., Zhang, Q., & Sh, Z., & Zhang, M. (2009) Apprasal of sustanable land utlzaton based on reusable pressure state response model for Enpng Cty. Bulletn of Sol and Water Conservaton, 9 (4), [7] Lu, Y. B., L, R. D., Song, X. F. (2005). Grey assocatve analyss of regonal urbanzaton and eco-envronment couplng n Chna. Acta Geographca Snca, 60 (2), [8] Fu, L. (992). Grey System Theory and Applcaton. Beng: Scentfc and Techncal Lterature Press. [9] Lu, Y. B., L, R. D. (2006). Analyss of couplng rule between urbanzaton and eco-envronment n Jangsu Provnce. Chna Populaton, Resources, and Envronment, 6 (), 47 5 [20] Fang, C. L., Lu, X. L., Ln, X. Q. (2008). Stages correcton and regularty analyss of urbanzaton course of Chna. Ard Land Geography, 3 (4),