Urban-Rural Assembly (URA)

Maps of land cover and assessments of ecosystem services (ESS) were created using a GIS tool. They show the considerable urbanisation dynamics in the case study region. Overall, the urbanised area of Taizhou has grown by 962.32 km² (271.28 %) since 1995, tripling in the space of 25 years. Given the relatively limited time span of 25 years, this surge in urbanisation can be described as dramatic. Overall, the area of grassland in Taizhou has decreased by 45.21 %. At 99.92 %, the area of wetlands has experienced the greatest decline, which already indicates a considerable impact on the ESS associated with these land use types.

The project went on to analyse the land use and vegetation structure on a smaller scale in the local urban living lab Beiyang Town in Taizhou and in the urban living lab Nordhausen as a comparative region in Germany. In addition, a comprehensive assessment of selected ecosystem services (ES) was carried out for the two real-world laboratories using the assessment approach already applied at regional level. Finally, urban land growth was also analysed at this smaller scale in order to identify factors influencing the loss of ecosystem services. The results of the analyses served as a basis for the development of a 'Raumbild (spatial vision) of Nordhausen' and a 'Raumbild of Beiyang Town'. The available time series data and evaluations also made it possible to show the dynamics of the changes in ESS in the period from 1992 to 2020, which made the considerable urban push clear even at this more local level. A fundamental decrease in the qualities and quantities of ESS in the Chinese urban living lab over the period from 1992 to 2020 was revealed. Recommendations for a spatial image of Beiyang Town were derived from the results. The focus here is on the protection, maintenance and development of ecosystems. Ideas for reconnecting habitats for biodiversity through stepping stone biotopes, green bridges and new habitat elements along river courses were proposed and discussed with regional policy representatives in Huangyan in the summer of 2023. Options for integrating these newly created or restored habitats into Chinese territorial planning were also developed. The ideas were published open access in a policy brief, which was also co-authored by Chinese regional government representatives (https://zenodo.org/records/11093845). In addition, three Technical Instructions (open access) are available that outline the procedure for a GIS-based potential flood hazard assessment (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11108862), for a GIS-based ecosystem service supply assessment (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11103491), and for a simple quantification of green space (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13351199).

Additionally, comprehensive surveys (49 participants online and 99 participants on site) were used to identify demand for ESS from the local and regional population. For example, the focus was on the question of which ESS are categorised as particularly important (demand side). It was found that cultural ecosystem services that are used for recreational purposes are considered particularly important by local and regional respondents.

Publications

Hagemann, Anke; Lynam, Ava; Xiao, Gaoli; Wende, Wolfgang; Fan, Li; Langner, Sigrun; Frölich-Kulik, Maria; Henneke, Laura; Pappert, Lukas (Eds.)
Urban-Rural Assembly. A Handbook for Co-Visioning Interconnected Regions
Berlin : Jovis, 2025, S.320
https://www.jovis.de/de/book/9783986121426

Haase, M., Xiao, S., & Wende, W. (2024).
Simple Quantification of Green Space with GIS - A short Technical Instruction (1.1).
Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.13351199

Chen, Hui; Yan, Wentao; Li, Zihao; Wende, Wolfgang; Xiao, Suili
A framework for integrating ecosystem service provision and connectivity in ecological spatial networks: A case study of the Shanghai metropolitan area
In: Sustainable Cities and Society 100 (2024) : 105018 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2023.105018 (Online First 2023)

Huang, Huang; Qi, Jiaxin; Xiao, Suili; Wende, Wolfgang; Xin, Yingdu
A Reflection on the Implementation of aWaterfront Greenway from a Social–Ecological Perspective: A Case Study of Huangyan-Taizhou in China
In: Land 13 (2024) 7: 989 
https://doi.org/10.3390/land13070989

Chen, Hui; Yan, Wentao; Li, Zihao; Wende, Wolfgang; Xiao, Suili, Wan, Shanlin; Li, Sijing
Spatial patterns of associations among ecosystem services across different spatial scales in metropolitan areas: A case study of Shanghai, China
In: Ecological Indicators 136 (2022) : 108682 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.108682

Xiao, Suili; Fügener, Till; Wende, Wolfgang; Yan, Wentao; Chen, Hui; Syrbe, Ralf-Uwe; Xue, Bing
The dynamics of vegetation and implications for ecosystem services in the context of urbanisation: An example from Huangyan-Taizhou, China
In: Ecological Engineering 179 (2022) : 106614 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2022.106614