Optimizing ecological and economic benefits in areas with complex land-use evolution based on spatial subdivisions

The increasing complexity of urban systems intensifies the ecological decline caused by disordered land-use patterns. However, inadequate recognition of complex land-use evolution and large-scale zoning management limits the performance of the classical planning paradigm. Furthermore, few studies have provided quantitative support for maintaining ecological benefits in land-use optimization. In this study, complex land-use evolution was quantitatively delineated and categorized by developing trends and evolutionary stages within subdivided units. Considering both ecological and economic benefits, flexible and practical solutions from multi-objective optimization are clustered and precisely matched to spatial units with diverse needs. The empirical results reveal that (1) the spatial pattern of land-use development trends exhibits a concentric ring structure in Xiamen, and its adaptive evolution stage is dominantly progressing from exploitation to conservation; (2) excessive pursuit of economic output (EO) of land-use leads to a reduction in ecological potential (EP) and ecological connectivity (EC), while a decline of EP and EC inversely reduces the marginal EO of construction land; and (3) large improvements in the EP of land use are observed in the development priority scenario while limited improvements in the EO of land use are observed in the conservation priority scenario. This approach can provide optimal area thresholds for different land-use types for decision-making that supports the planning and precise management of land uses. Additionally, the findings of this study provide important insights for sustainable urban land-use development.