Evolution characteristics and its driving force of rural residential land at village level during 1980-2012

Abstract: Currently, the Chinese social economic transition has been in a critical period when more resistance and frictions for such transitions are occurring. The social and economic transition and urban-rural restructuring have been real issues for social economic transition, and adjustment time for China’s social economic policy development, we established rural residential land use map at village level, spatial attribute data of rural residential land at peasant household level and social economic data during different time using the method of field research called Participatory Rural Appraisal. Based on rural residential land evolution process at spatial and time dimensions and its characteristics in Guni village of Chongqing in resent 30 years since 1980, we analyzed evolution characteristics of rural residential land scale, space form, structure system and landscape pattern at village level, and summed up general rule of rural residential land evolution in space and time dimensions. The results showed that rural residential land area in Guni village was 22.79 hm2 in 1980, and increased to 33.47 hm2 in 2012. The average annual growth reached 1.21%. Rural residential land patch had been in a central tendency at time dimension, and expansion rate of rural residential land experienced a process from pure extension to coexistence of expansion and tightening. Rural residential land patch was in an irregular shape, which was departed from circular and square at spatial and time dimensions. The spatial structure of rural residential land presented an evolution tendency from relatively centralized to comparatively decentralized, while spatial structure system of main settlements had an acute evolution with unreasonable grade. The landscape diversity of rural residential land patch and its uniform distribution degree had a further improvement at village level, but the landscape heterogeneity had been further stood out at group level. Leading factors (total population, quantity of labor force and peasant household) could promote the expansion of rural residential land scale. However, its influence had a downward trend with time scale. Economic development level factors such as average income were inducement factors, and its driving force had further strengthened with time. Locations along the highway were one of the leading driving forces of newly-added rural residential land expansion, and the expansion of rural residential land since 2005 had been the result of new rural reconstruction policy-driven. Based on driving force model of rural residential land evolution from “nature-economy-position” aspects，it could reveal that increase number of farmers is a main factor to promote the expansion of rural residential land scale. At time level, the driving force of rural residential land growth at micro level has experienced among population driving, economy driving and environment policies driving.