Analysis of the Spatiotemporal Pattern and Mechanism of Land Use Mixture: Evidence from China’s County Data

The mixture of agricultural and non-agricultural land-use represents a new pattern of urbanization in the Global South. This mixture has hindered the improvement of land-use productivity and makes it difficult to achieve the centralized disposal of pollutants, which has resulted in the waste of land resources and serious environmental problems. Although many studies have investigated land-use mixture, most of them remain descriptive and lack quantitative examination and an in-depth mechanism analysis. Using raster land-use data, this paper examines the spatiotemporal pattern of the land-use mixture in China between 1990 and 2015 by calculating join counts values supplemented by landscape metrics, and attempts to explain the regional variations in land-use mixtures in recent years. The results show that, between 2000 and 2010, land-use was more mixed in fast-growing regions such as Zhejiang, Fujian, Chongqing, Guangdong, and some major metropolises and mining cities, and that, between 2010 and 2015, land-use was more mixed in Central China. Additionally, the results of econometric models reveal that mixed land-use can be alleviated in regions with strict land planning and management, such as urban agglomerations in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta, as well as in areas with high levels of urbanization. Furthermore, the results of a spatial heterogeneity analysis show that strict land management has played an important role in reducing the land-use mixture in Eastern China; however, it has not played a significant role in Central China. The findings of this study suggest that land-use should be appropriately planned and managed to ensure sustainable development.