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 im-provements 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.