Measuring the Greening Level of Construction Land in Rural Communities from the Perspective of Multi-Functions Using a Green Niche Method

Green utilization of rural construction land (RCL) is key to implementing the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and rural revitalization both in China and other countries. However, how to systematically analyze the green utilization level of RCL is still unclear. Thus, a novel method, the green niche of construction land functions in rural communities (GNCLFRC), was proposed based on ecological niche theory to measure the greening level of the RCL. From a systematic perspective, two aspects and five dimensions were proposed for consideration when analyzing GNCLFRC. One was the green niche of elements (GNE), including the greenness of social, economic, and environmental functions. The other was the green niche of state (GNS), including coupling coordination and the development location and potential of the functional system. The Yanhe Community, as a typical case at the microscale for rural revitalization and green utilization of RCL in China, was selected for an empirical application to verify the feasibility of the proposed method. Five Worldview satellite images with resolutions of 0.5 m in 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, and 2016 and field investigation data obtained by using UAV, iRTK, and Qstar in 2018 and 2020 were used to analyze changes in the RCL and its functions in Yanhe. The two aspects and five dimensions were analyzed. The results showed that GNE in Yanhe continuously increased by 0.3057 to 0.9131 from 2008 to 2020, while GNS increased and then decreased from 2016 to 2020. However, the GNS remained between 0.8-0.9. The GNCLFRC increased yearly and remained above 0.9 for many years. The results indicate that the greening level of RCL in Yanhe is improving, which boosts its overall green development capacity and regional competitiveness. Moreover, the GNCLFRC analysis method and results can be used to guide the green utilization planning of RCL, green function-oriented regional zoning in rural areas, and green management of rural construction.