Evaluation of urban suitable ecological land based on the minimum cumulative resistance model: A case study from Changzhou, China

Urbanization is accompanied by the intense transformation and conflicts among different land use types that produce a series of economic, social, and environmental impacts. Ascertaining the quantity and pattern optimization of urban ecological land is critical to solving urban environmental problems and realizing urban sustainable development. Using the Chinese city of Changzhou, an important and typical city in the Yangtze River delta, as the case study, we applied the minimum cumulative resistance model (MCRM) to calculate the amount of ecological land that meets the demand of socioeconomic development and ecological protection considerating the source of ecological land and constructed land, ecosystem services, and the resistance plane. Results showed that the suitable ecological land area is about 1006.9 km2, which is 53.8% of the total urban area of Changzhou, and is mainly distributed in Wujin and Xinbei districts. Considering the ecological land space and functional changes of the study area and comparing the current land use status with the model simulation results, we propose three land use types. For urban ecological land, positive protection measures and prohibiting economic development initiatives are necessary. For ecotones between urban developed land and ecological land, protection should be given priority and economic development activities should be rigidly controlled. For constructed land, measurements and policies should be taken to promote reasonable development and improve land intensity.