Spatial Morphological Characteristics of Ethnic Villages in the Dadu River Basin, a Sino-Tibetan Area of Sichuan, China
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The manuscript titled ´Spatial Morphological Characteristics of Ethnic Villages in the Dadu River Basin, a Sino-Tibetan area of Sichuan, China´ proposes a method for analyzing the syntactic interpretation of ethnic village spaces. The research aimed at analyzing the syntactic interpretation of ethnic village space by examining the figure-ground relationship between architectural space and spatial elements as well as understanding the impact of regional peculiarities, cultural beliefs, and natural conditions on the morphology and spatial composition of different types of ethnic villages, with a focus on promoting sustainable development through optimized village construction.
The general approach of the manuscript is good. The manuscript is informative and well-structured. The title matches the content. The topic fits the scope of the Land Journal and the case is relevant.
The manuscript review raised some concerns.
1) The abstract does not contain the research aim, it should be better to add it to provide a complete manuscript presentation.
2) Section 2.2: I suggest providing a more thorough description of the method used (the rationale for the selected four quantitative indexes).
3) Equations 1-3: It should be better to provide the variable symbols also in the text before the equations to improve the research model perception.
4) From my point of view, the references should be revised, since there are a lot (more than 50%) of the outdated sources used.
Generally, after revision, the manuscript can be accepted for publication.
Author Response
Dear anonymous reviewer, we really appreciate your detailed suggestions and comments. And we have modified our paper according to your helpful suggestions. Please see detail:
1) The abstract does not contain the research aim, it should be better to add it to provide a complete manuscript presentation.
Answer: Thank you for your helpful suggestion to improve the readability of our article. we have added the research aim in the abstract. Please see in line 24- line 25.
2) Section 2.2: I suggest providing a more thorough description of the method used (the rationale for the selected four quantitative indexes).
Answer: Thank you for your helpful suggestion to improve the readability of our article. It is highly necessary to elucidate the basis of the selected four quantitative indexes. We have added clarification, offering a comprehensive overview of the Integration's assessment of spatial centrality through both global and local values, while the connection values underscore spatial connectivity, highlighting how spatial elements interconnect, and intelligibility values unveil the collective influence of spatial arrangements. Please see in line 142- line 154.
3) Equations 1-3: It should be better to provide the variable symbols also in the text before the equations to improve the research model perception.
Answer: Thank you for your helpful suggestion to improve the readability of our article. We have added some words to describe the four indicators. Please see in line 155- line 164, line 167 - line 172 and line 175- line 178.
4) From my point of view, the references should be revised, since there are a lot (more than 50%) of the outdated sources used.
Answer: Thank you for your helpful suggestion to improve the readability of our article. We have made corresponding revisions and updated the references in the manuscript to ensure the currency and accuracy of the information. Please see in the references.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 2 Report
The topic of the manuscript is interesting and attractive and has been done with a suitable quantitative methodology.However a few notes to pay attention to in the final conclusion and summation cab be useful:
- What are the changes in the spatial morphology of these villages over time, and in what direction have these changes been?
- What is the economic functions of these villages and what changes have they had and what impact have these changes had on the spatial morphology of these villages over time?
-How were the planned interventions in these villages and what is their impact on the spatial morphology of these villages?
The topic of the manuscript is interesting and attractive and has been done with a suitable quantitative methodology.However a few notes to pay attention to in the final conclusion and summation cab be useful:
- What are the changes in the spatial morphology of these villages over time, and in what direction have these changes been?
- What is the economic functions of these villages and what changes have they had and what impact have these changes had on the spatial morphology of these villages over time?
-How were the planned interventions in these villages and what is their impact on the spatial morphology of these villages?
Author Response
Dear anonymous reviewer, we really appreciate your detailed suggestions and comments. And we have modified our paper according to your helpful suggestions. Please see detail:
1） What are the changes in the spatial morphology of these villages over time, and in what direction have these changes been?
Answer: Thank you for your helpful suggestion to improve the readability of our article. The time-related changes you proposed involve analyzing village morphology from a longitudinal perspective, which is highly significant for the study. Based on the suggestions you provided, we have made modifications and additions to the article. Please see in line 414- line 424.
2） What is the economic functions of these villages and what changes have they had and what impact have these changes had on the spatial morphology of these villages over time?
Answer: Thank you for your helpful suggestion to improve the readability of our article. These villages exhibit varying economic functions within distinct morphologies, leading us to categorize them into three types: dominance of agricultural production function, coexistence of agricultural and non-agricultural production functions, and dominance of non-agricultural production function." Please see in Table 1, line 361- line 365 and 370- line 377.
3） How were the planned interventions in these villages and what is their impact on the spatial morphology of these villages?
Answer: Thank you for your helpful suggestion to improve the quality of our article. Village spatial construction planning's impact on village morphology is discussed in section 3.1. For instance, in the cluster villages, the village entrance serves as a key point for construction. In linear villages, road space utilization is higher, while in radiation-dispersion villages, the open spaces formed within the village are of significant importance. Please see in section 3.1 and line 428- line 433.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Reviewer 3 Report
107, 109, 127, 141, 319, we classify villages - we, we, we - use passive
124, 238 and so on, - inappropriate
167 - based on what ?
Table 2 - Why Qianxi and Kangzhou don`t have characteristics ? - visual problems with the table ?
213 - present present - I`m just noticing
302 - The average connectivity is 3.59 in Zandi - on a scale of ? What does this value show ?
313 -The synergy is measured by the coefficient of fit R2, and the value between global integration [HH] and local integration [HH] (R3) is considered in the most ideal situation, with the x- and y-axis being the global the local integration, respectively. - Explanation for HH in brackets is required.
Figure 10 - color explanation is required
All charts look like very similar. All villages should be on the one chart - for comparison. Or X and Y axis should have the same values.
386 - band ?
References are not technically arranged according to the rules.
Author Response
Dear anonymous reviewer, we really appreciate your detailed suggestions and comments. And we have modified our paper according to your helpful suggestions. Please see detail:
1) 107, 109, 127, 141, 319, we classify villages - we, we, we - use passive
Answer: Thank you for your helpful suggestion to improve the readability of our article. We have
We have changed the relevant positions to the passive voice. Please see in line 107, 111, 128, 143.
2) 124, 238 and so on, - inappropriate
Answer: Thank you for your helpful suggestion to improve the readability of our article. This is an informal expression，we should use the words："etc." to replace "and so on". Please see in line 125.
3) 167 - based on what?
Answer: Thank you for your helpful suggestion to improve the quality of our article. It is based on the ranges of R² proposed by scholars in "Optimization Strategies of Commercial Layout of Traditional Villages Based on Space Syntax and Space Resistance Model: A Case Study of Anhui Longchuan Village in China ". We have indicated the source, please see in lines 179 – line 180.
4) Table 2 - Why Qianxi and Kangzhou don`t have characteristics? - visual problems with the table?
Answer: Thank you for your helpful suggestion to improve the readability of our article. This is a visual problem. We have made the correction. Please see in Table 2.
5) 213 - present present - I`m just noticing
Answer: Thank you for your helpful suggestion to improve the readability of our article. This is a typographical error. We have made the correction. Please see in line 428.
6) 302 - The average connectivity is 3.59 in Zandi - on a scale of? What does this value show?
Answer: Thank you for your helpful suggestion to improve the readability of our article. The average connectivity values range from 2.66 to 3.59 in these villages. Zandi is the largest village and exhibits the highest value of 3.59, which is closely related to the road network structure and it is representative. We have expanded the words to explain this value. Please see in lines 315- line 318.
7) 313 -The synergy is measured by the coefficient of fit R2, and the value between global integration [HH] and local integration [HH] (R3) is considered in the most ideal situation, with the x- and y-axis being the global the local integration, respectively. - Explanation for HH in brackets is required.
Answer: Thank you for your helpful suggestion to improve the readability of our article. The intelligibility is measured using the coefficient of R2, represented by the correlation between global integration [HH] on the x-axis and local integration [HH] (R3) on the y-axis (“HH” signifies integration and “R3” signifies a topological radius of 3). We have expanded the words to explain it. Please see in lines 327- line 332.
8) Figure 10 - color explanation is required and all charts look like very similar. All villages should be on the one chart - for comparison. Or X and Y axis should have the same values.
Answer: Thank you for your helpful suggestion to improve the readability of our article. To address the issue of high image similarity in the fitted intelligibility graphs for various study villages, we employed a unified set of horizontal and vertical coordinates. We imported both global integration and local integration data from Depthmap into Origin, standardized the axes scales, and performed linear regression analysis on the two datasets, obtaining the R² value as a measure of intelligibility. Through these procedures, the distinctiveness between different villages is enhanced in the graphical representation. .Additionally, the redder the color of the data points, the higher their global integration. We have replaced Figure 10. Please see in Figure 10.
9) band?
Answer: Thank you for your helpful suggestion to improve the readability of our article. This is a typographical error, we should use the word “linear” to replace this word, refer to villages linearly arranged along roads or rivers. Please see in line 428.
10) References are not technically arranged according to the rules.
Answer: Thank you for your helpful suggestion to improve the quality of our article. This is a typographical error. We have adjusted the text formatting of the references according to the rules. Please see in references.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
