Driving Forces for the Spatial Reconstruction of Rural Settlements in Mountainous Areas Based on Structural Equation Models: A Case Study in Western China

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This is a very interesting, well-written manuscript and focuses on a topic of sure interest for the readership of Land journal. However, it has some unclear issues. Please see the following list of general and specific comments:

 

General comments:

 

-Please include a methodological framework.

 

- The discussion is fairly written, but how do you think that your methodological approach could be applicable elsewhere?'. This will help boost the potential international readership of the manuscript.

 

- Can the authors suggest how the results achieved in this study can help land management decisions?

 

- Please emphasise the contribution and implication of the manuscript. 

 

- The manuscript needs thorough proofreading by a native speaker. There are some language blemishes, and tautologies.

 

Specific comments:

 

- please avoid acronyms in the title.

 

- Why did you choose the structural equation model (SEM)? It needs more explanations regarding alternative approaches.

 

- Table 1: the reason for choosing these variables has to be better justified.

 

- Lines 122-125: “The Panxi area is one of the poorest continuous areas in China with a high concentration of ethnic minorities.” Could you support this claim with quantitative data?

 

- Section 4. Discussion and Conclusion should be separate in the manuscript.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

First of all, we sincerely appreciate your comments concerning our manuscript entitled “Driving Forces for the Spatial Reconstruction of Rural Settle-ments in Mountainous Areas based on SEM: A Case Study in Western China” (ID: land-1338157). These comments are presented in the form of chapters, which are of great benefit to us in understanding the problems with the structure of this paper and in revising and improving our paper. Based on these comments, the paper has been revised carefully (using the "Track Changes" function in Microsoft Word). Our specific responses to the reviewer’s comments are as follows.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear Authors,

This manuscript deals with a relevant and interesting research. The assessment of spatial reconstruction in the examined area can play a pivotal role in further policy development.

The five categories of the driving forces are well defined and underpinned by literature review. Among the 266 peasant households, 165 were willing to participate in the spatial re-226 construction of rural settlements. It would be also interesting to deliver some more detail related the exact timeframe of the survey and to the form of the survey.

Conclusion part requires further development according to policy recommendations.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

First of all, we sincerely appreciate your comments concerning our manuscript entitled “Driving Forces for the Spatial Reconstruction of Rural Settle-ments in Mountainous Areas based on SEM: A Case Study in Western China” (ID: land-1338157). These comments are presented in the form of chapters, which are of great benefit to us in understanding the problems with the structure of this paper and in revising and improving our paper. Based on these comments, the paper has been revised carefully (using the "Track Changes" function in Microsoft Word). Our specific responses to the reviewer’s comments are as follows.

Reviewer 3 Report

The reviewer agrees with the presentation on rural issues and welcomes the specific topic of Mountainous Areas. Government guidance with peasant household participation is a very important factor of local based development. Work on the theme and the SEM methods are good. The conclusion responds to the introduction, so the text is coherent and well formulated. Publication of the study is recommended.

Author Response

Dear Reviewer,

First of all, we sincerely appreciate your comments concerning our manuscript entitled “Driving Forces for the Spatial Reconstruction of Rural Settle-ments in Mountainous Areas based on SEM: A Case Study in Western China” (ID: land-1338157). These comments are presented in the form of chapters, which are of great benefit to us in understanding the problems with the structure of this paper and in revising and improving our paper. Based on these comments, the paper has been revised carefully (using the "Track Changes" function in Microsoft Word). Our specific responses to the reviewer’s comments are as follows.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

I appreciate the authors' effort to improve the manuscript. I am happy to see it published.

This manuscript is a resubmission of an earlier submission. The following is a list of the peer review reports and author responses from that submission.