Spatial Vitality Evaluation and Coupling Regulation Mechanism of a Complex Ecosystem in Lixiahe Plain Based on Multi-Source Data

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The manuscript tries to formulate a integrated index system to evaluate regulation mechanism of complex ecosystem in Lixiahe Plain, China. The study is useful for assessing sustainability, but there are several scientific weaknesses of the current manuscript, which are described in details below:

1.The author selects the Lixiahe Plain as the study area, so it is suggested that a certain area with a small change in Jiangsu Province should be selected as the reference for making the correction of night light data.

2.The author tries to detail the research area to the township level, but the author fails to classify these towns well. Although the author explains the west and east in the paper, he fails to provide specific details of the division. And according to the results, too detailed classification leads to the overall spatial pattern distribution is not obvious, it is suggested that the authors reconsider the research scale.

3.There are some problems in constructing the index system construction of this paper. First of all, the whole index system has only one negative index, which makes the whole extremely uncoordinated. It is suggested to modify or add some indicators. Secondly, the use of AHP method needs to provide a introduction of relevant experts, which is recommended to add at the end of the article in the form of an appendix.

4.The discussion of this paper and the conclusion of the opposite order, and the content is seriously insufficient, More discussions are necessary, especially to discuss the research questions and objectives presented in the introduction in depth, e.g., the rationality of the indicators selection, the similarities and differences of the findings with other studies, etc

5.There are few references in this paper, so it is suggested that the author should add some documents to further demonstrate the scientific nature of the index system.

Overall, the manuscript cannot convey the methods and results of the study well, making it difficult to evaluate its scientific value and requiring major revision before deciding whether it can be published.

Little suggestion:Line number is needed, and it helps the reviewers for careful revision.

Author Response

1. On the one hand, Lixiahe Plain is located in Jiangsu Province, the most economically developed province in China. The rapid economic development in recent decades has made the change of night-time light data in Jiangsu Province the most significant in China.On the other hand, Lixiahe Plain is located in the north central part of Jiangsu Province, between the three major metropolitan areas in Jiangsu Province. It is an area with relatively slow economic development and small changes in night light data in Jiangsu Province. Therefore, Hegang City in Heilongjiang Province (a famous resource-exhausted city in China), which is the most commonly used city in the research of Chinese scholars, is selected as the reference for correction of night-time light data.

 

2. The author rearranges the description of basic information of Lixiahe Plain, and adds the spatial distribution map of 361 township units under the jurisdiction of 20 county units in the chapter "2.1 Study Area". The Lixiahe Plain is divided into the western lake area, the central lacustrine area and the eastern river network area according to the local natural geographical characteristics and the status quo of administrative divisions.

 

3. The selection of space vitality indices in the evaluation system of the article is to use the night-time light data as the "measuring ruler". The indices of economic vitality and social vitality are derived from the Amap POI data, the indices of natural vitality are derived from the land remote sensing monitoring data, and the indices of population vitality are derived from the statistical yearbook. Firstly, each indices is treated with grid, and the number and value of pixels after gridding are calculated. Secondly, through linear correlation analysis, multiple regression analysis and multiple linear fitting analysis, the indices that do not conform to R test (adjusted R2 > 0.5), t test (P < 0.01), F test (P < 0.05) and multicollinearity problems (VIF < 10) are eliminated. Finally, the indices with strong correlation with night-time light intensity are obtained, and further subdivided the strongly related indicators such as POI according to expert opinions. At the same time, the indices such as traffic accessibility and ecosystem service value were added combination with the actual situation of the study area and the research status at home and abroad. In the whole research process, the selection of positive indices and negative indices have certain objectivity, and the negative indices are rarely involved in the retrievable articles on public space vitality, street space vitality and urban space vitality , etc. For the above reasons, I have neglected some aspects in the construction of the index system. If the index system is adjusted in the paper, the workload may be greatly increased and it cannot be completed within the specified time. Your valuable advice has given me a great inspiration, and I will fully consider this advice in future research. Relevant experts gave valuable comments on the construction of the index system and the assignment of index weights in the form of anonymous emails. I will attach the details at the end of the article. As for whether it can be published publicly, please allow me to obtain their authorization first.

 

List of experts:

1. Ji Xiang, Professor, Vice Dean, School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, China.
2. Huang Jianen, Ph.D, Associate professor, School of Mechanics and Civil Engineering, China University of Mining and Technology, China.
3. Xia Jian, Professor, Dean, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, China.
4. Wang Yong, Ph.D, Professor, Vice Dean, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, China.
5. Liu Jieyi, Ph.D, Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Suzhou University of Science and Technology, China.
6. Zheng Lei, Ph.D, Associate Professor, School of Environmental Engineering, Xuzhou University of Technology, China.
7. Liu Pin, Ph.D, Associate Professor, School of Environmental Engineering, Xuzhou University of Technology, China.
8. Wang Qingbo, Section Chief, Natural Resources and Planning Bureau of Jinhu County, China.
9. Liu Zhifeng, Professor, Dean, School of Architecture and Engineering, Jinling Institute of Technology, China.
10. Ge Shaofeng, Associate Professor, School of Architecture and Engineering, Jinling Institute of Technology, China.
11. Hong Xiaochun, Ph.D, Associate Professor, School of Building Science and Engineering, Yangzhou University, China.
12. Liang Xinbin, Ph.D, Associate Professor, School of Architecture, Anhui University of Science and Technology, China.
13. Wang Dong, doctor, Senior engineer, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Building Energy Saving and Construction Technology, China.
14. Chen Zhidong, Associate Professor, Dean, School of Architectural Decoration, Jiangsu Vocational Institute of Architectural Technology, China.
15. Sun Qiang, Professorate senior engineer, Deputy chief planner, Xuzhou Xinsheng Investment Holding Group Co., Ltd

 

4. Following your suggestions, thispaper has adjusted the order of discussion and conclusion, and added more contents of discussion section. The specific modification details will be presented in the paper.

 

5. Following your suggestions, more related literature has been added to the article to support the scientificity of the research.

 

6. Listen to your valuable opinions, and add line numbers in the manuscript for your review.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

This paper is very well structured and present complex methodology in comparison of different settlement within particular region. It have scientific potential and could be useful for other research in spatial planning.

 

Author Response

1. This article has improved the introduction and added more literature to support the scientificity of the research.

 

2. This paper has adjusted the order of discussion and conclusion, and added more contents of discussion section. The specific modification details will be presented in the paper.

 

3. The article has appropriately cut down the research methods to make them look less lengthy.

 

4. In the discussion part, the paper adds a comparison with the research results of other scholars.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

Taking the Lixia River Plain as the research object, the study evaluated the vitality level and evolution characteristics of different township unit ecosystems based on POI, nighttime light, land use/cover and other multi-source data.

Generally speaking, the content of the article is rich, the method is introduced in detail, and the conclusion is reliable.

The specific comments are:

(1) The literature review research in the introduction is insufficient, and further innovations need to be condensed;

(2) The introduction of the research method is too detailed, and some of the more mature models can be appropriately omitted or directly referred to the previous research, especially the method introduction of the article occupies a lot of space. The introduction of the method does not require too much repetition of the already well-known content.

(3) The research method should focus on how the evaluation index system is scientifically constructed and whether the data sources are clearly introduced.

(4) In the analysis of research conclusions, it is suggested to increase the comparison with previous research results.

(5) The design of some drawings is unreasonable, and a title can be used for some drawings, as shown in Figure 4-8, 11-14, etc. The graphic design is shown in Figure 17. Is it appropriate to place the subtitle below? Is it possible to share one legend with the same legend, and is the length and width of the figure too large? It is recommended to keep the width within 14cm.

(6) It is recommended to move the discussion to the front of the conclusion, and greatly reduce the conclusion, and divide it into a few concise points.

Author Response

1. Following your suggestions, the article has improved the introduction and added more literature to support the scientificity of the research.

 

2. Following your suggestions, the article has appropriately cut down the research methods to make them look less lengthy.

 

3. The article adds a discussion on the source and selection process of evaluation indices

 

4. In the discussion part, the paper adds a comparison with the research results of other scholars.

 

5. Following your suggestion, the author adjusted the size, legend and title of the article pictures.

 

6. The article changes the position of discussion and conclusion, increases the content of discussion part and simplifies the content of conclusion part.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The author has classified the relevant areas in Figure 1, but this classification is not reflected in the following pictures, and a modification is recommended.

Author Response

Thank you very much for your valuable comments. Your question (Figure 1) has been modified

Reviewer 3 Report

The manuscript has been revised a lot as required, and the quality of the manuscript has also been greatly improved.

The authors also need to further streamline the conclusions, which only need to be expressed in general terms and do not need to be repeated with the research results.

Author Response

Thank you very much for your valuable comments. The conclusion has been condensed

Round 3

Reviewer 1 Report

Congratulations, I have no problems now.

Reviewer 3 Report

The manuscript has been revised as required.