Study on the Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Land Use Changes in the Metropolitan Fringe Area: The Case of Shenzhen Metropolitan Area in China

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Manuscript Title: Study on the Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Land Use Changes in the Metropolitan Fringe Area: The Case of Shenzhen Metropolitan Area in China

Manuscript Ref No: land-2567386

The manuscript has some shortcomings which need to be improved prior to its publication. My recommendation is that the article needs major revisions before it can be considered for publication.

Abstract: In abstract section, the first open sentences should deal about land use land cover change influencing factors or you can define the research gaps you going to address.

Please add some more information regarding your results in the abstract section. The abstract is provides only general facts. Add quantitative information.

Keywords: Can be re-arranged based on alphabetical.

Introduction: The research background about the proposed methods has not been appropriately mentioned (The authors can improve during revisions).

Study area

Line 149: check lower and upper case problem….. after 2008.

The legend of figure 1 is not visible. Moreover, the scale of the map should be at the bottom not at the top (the authors should follow scientific standard).

Data sources can be presented in tabular form.

 

Results

Line 223: I suggest to change the name of the 3 Section from Results and Analysis to Results.

Make sure that all tables and figures are cited in the text. For instance,  only Table 2 cited in the text.

 

Discussion: Discussion can be improved. The Authors should discuss deeper into detail, and compare their results with similar studies, particularly addressed to methods and the reliability of the results obtained. The authors must emphasize that their work can be successfully used in other regions and settings, because this justify the publication in reputable journal.

Conclusion is fine, but you have to remove the use of numbering 1, 2 and 3 in conclusion section.

Author Response

1. Abstract: In abstract section, the first open sentences should deal about land use land cover change influencing factors or you can define the research gaps you going to address.

In the revision we have added a description of the background of the study and research gaps.

 

2. Please add some more information regarding your results in the abstract section. The abstract is provides only general facts. Add quantitative information.

In the revision we have added a quantitative description of the results of the study, including a more detailed description of the land use change scenarios and drivers.

 

3. Keywords: Can be re-arranged based on alphabetical.

Thanks for your careful checks. We are sorry for our carelessness. Based on your comments, we have made the corrections.

 

4. Introduction: The research background about the proposed methods has not been appropriately mentioned (The authors can improve during revisions).

We have reorganized the introduction and the literature review sections in light of the suggestions . In particular, We have added an introduction to the methodology for studying the drivers of urban land expansion and the reasons for using logistic regression.

 

5. Line 149: check lower and upper case problem….. after 2008.

We were really sorry for our careless mistakes. Thank you for your reminder.

 

6. The legend of figure 1 is not visible. Moreover, the scale of the map should be at the bottom not at the top (the authors should follow scientific standard).

We recreated Figure 1 with the legend enlarged and the scale position adjusted to the bottom.

 

7. Data sources can be presented in tabular form.

Based on your suggestion，we have added table 1 to the article.

 

8. Line 223: I suggest to change the name of the 3 Section from Results and Analysis to Results.

We have changed the name.

 

9. Make sure that all tables and figures are cited in the text. For instance, only Table 2 cited in the text.

We thank the reviewers for their careful reading, and in the resubmitted manuscript we have ensured that all figures and tables are cited.

 

10. Discussion: Discussion can be improved. The Authors should discuss deeper into detail, and compare their results with similar studies, particularly addressed to methods and the reliability of the results obtained. The authors must emphasize that their work can be successfully used in other regions and settings, because this justify the publication in reputable journal.

In the discussion section we added a comparison of the results with other similar studies. The comparisons are discussed in terms of the methodology, the content of the study, and the various aspects of each influence shadow in the results of the study in order to demonstrate the reliability of the methodology and the results.

 

11. Conclusion is fine, but you have to remove the use of numbering 1, 2 and 3 in conclusion section.

   We have corrected these in the revision.

Reviewer 2 Report

1. The article contains some citation errors marked as "Error! Reference source not found." 

2. Detailed introduction is required for the four influencing factors, including the reasons for selecting these four categories of factors and the data sources.

3. The meaning of "ISA" in Figure 2 needs to be explained.

On the whole, the quality of the English in the article is commendable. It is recommended to strengthen some stylistic choices to enhance the overall quality.

Author Response

1. The article contains some citation errors marked as "Error! Reference source not found."

We feel sorry for our carelessness. In our resubmitted manuscript, this mistake has been corrected. Thanks for your correction.

 

2. Detailed introduction is required for the four influencing factors, including the reasons for selecting these four categories of factors and the data sources.

We have added Table 1 in section 2.2 of the article to present the sources of all the data. Secondly, in the third paragraph of 2.3.2 we added the reasons for choosing these four impact factors.

 

3. The meaning of "ISA" in Figure 2 needs to be explained.

We have deleted this term in the revision. We remade Figure 2, changing ISA to “lmpervious”

 

4. On the whole, the quality of the English in the article is commendable. It is recommended to strengthen some stylistic choices to enhance the overall quality.

Thanks for your suggestion. We have tried our best to polish the language in the revised manuscript.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

 

1-     Line 113, “(see Error! Reference source not found” should be removed.

2-     Line 114: consider Km²

3-     Line 115: “and the resident population in 114 2020 will reach 17,844,700 people”. The verb should be past.

4-     Figure 1 doesn’t show the total of China. I recommend the biggest map should cover the total of China and with a black square on it to show the study area, then consider your regional maps.

5-     Table 1 is needed?

6-     First paragraph of 3.1.1: consider Km²

7-     All “Error! Reference source not found” should be corrected.

8-     Line 323: Table 2 or Table 3?

9-     For Table 3, I didn’t see the beta coefficient that shows the importance of factors. I don’t know if Wald shows this or not. It is better also that you write your regression mode as an equation and show R² and adjusted R².

 

In addition to the mentioned cases, it needs to be revised to fix the seemingly few English problems

Author Response

1. Line 113, “(see Error! Reference source not found” should be removed.

We feel sorry for our carelessness. In our resubmitted manuscript, this mistake has been corrected. Thanks for your correction.

 

2. Line 114: consider Km2

We have corrected these in the revision.

 

3. Line 115: “and the resident population in 114 2020 will reach 17,844,700 people”. The verb should be past.

We have rewritten this sentence in the revision.

 

4. Figure 1 doesn’t show the total of China. I recommend the biggest map should cover the total of China and with a black square on it to show the study area, then consider your regional maps.

Thanks for the reviewer's suggestions. Because the study area is too small in the map of China, we did not include a map of China in this round of revision.

 

5. Table 1 is needed?

Thanks to your suggestion, in the revision we have deleted the original table 1.

 

6. First paragraph of 3.1.1: consider Km2

We were really sorry for our careless mistakes. Thank you for your reminder.

 

7. All “Error! Reference source not found” should be corrected.

We have corrected these in the revision.

 

8. Line 323: Table 2 or Table 3?

We rewrite the sentence to more accurate describe it.

 

9. For Table 3, I didn’t see the beta coefficient that shows the importance of factors. I don’t know if Wald shows this or not. It is better also that you write your regression mode as an equation and show R2 and adjusted R2.

Thanks to your suggestion, in the revision we labeled the beta coefficients and wrote the regression equation.

 

10. In addition to the mentioned cases, it needs to be revised to fix the seemingly few English problems

Thanks for your suggestion. We have tried our best to polish the language in the revised manuscript.

Reviewer 4 Report

This article proposed to be published in Land journal addresses a research topic of high interest: the ways in which cities and metropolitan belts are becoming the forms of high-level spatial organization of the current global urbanization process. The authors analyze as a case study the way in which China has entered a new stage of regional territorial development dominated by metropolitan areas and the changes that are currently gradually taking place in the development of these areas. The focus is on how the growth of agglomerations has outgrown the growth stage of core cities, the metropolis proper, to move rapidly towards coordinated and integrated regional development in the form of conurbations. Its interest resides above all in the fact that it is a similar process, although faster and on a much larger scale, to the dispersed urbanization that has been taking place for some time in other continental territories, which we could describe as a model of global dispersed metropolization.

In this context, the aspect that focuses the research is intra-metropolitan territorial inequalities around the novel concept of metropolitan marginal areas. This aspect can be considered as a sub-theme that has been less addressed, particularly from the perspective of land use in the peripheral urban-rural fringes of the areas. 

In relation to the above, the choice of the territory under study (rows 87-88 and 110-113) as an example of a metropolitan area in transformation towards a conurbated space in the process of configuration is fully justified. The working hypotheses are well defined and the objectives of the research are clearly and concisely stated (rows 90 to 102). The approach of identifying the "border effect" as a conditioning factor of great importance is of particular interest (rows 104-107).

 

 

Regarding the methodology, the main documentary source is well selected and its use is also well explained, using a working method based on the use of applied statistical mathematics formulas and a logistic regression analysis model applied to the study of land use/cover (row 189).

With regard to the results, it would be possible to point out some weaknesses and inconsistencies when dealing with the possible socioeconomic factors to which the authors give a very limited treatment.

 In the sections of discussion and conclusions, much of the discussion is, in fact, a conclusive summary, so it is suggested that the authors unify both sections into one to avoid redundancies and repetitions and, thus, improve the reading and understanding of the article in an integral way.

In relation to the figures integrated in the text, I consider it convenient to highlight the validity and expressiveness of the maps of figure 2 that magnificently represent the parallel processes of urbanization, in terms of increase of the built land, and of deagrarianization, in terms of retreat of the lands of agricultural and forest use. However, it is suggested that the legends of the maps, especially their size, be remodeled to facilitate their reading and improve understanding and interpretation.

 

It is considered convenient to highlight an error detected in all the figures related to the lack of identification of the documentary source of origin and the authorship of the elaboration. It is essential to correct this error by completing the information of the feet of all the figures.

The bibliographic references are adequate, but they are excessively focused on Chinese academic literature with little, almost zero, presence of authors from other territorial areas. The use of bibliographic references of European and American authors would have allowed authors to have a more universal/global and less localist approach to understand a process that is global and that has occurred previously and is still occurring in other territories. The contrast of the interterritorial academic information would have made it possible to make a real discussion, and reach less obvious, more complex and representative conclusions of the territorial reality. In my opinion, this aspect is the main inconsistency of the research presented in this article.

Author Response

1. In the sections of discussion and conclusions, much of the discussion is, in fact, a conclusive summary, so it is suggested that the authors unify both sections into one to avoid redundancies and repetitions and, thus, improve the reading and understanding of the article in an integral way.

Thank you very much for the reviewer’s comments. In this round of revision, we rewrote most of the part of discussion based on the suggestions of the four reviewers.

 

2. In relation to the figures integrated in the text, I consider it convenient to highlight the validity and expressiveness of the maps of figure 2 that magnificently represent the parallel processes of urbanization, in terms of increase of the built land, and of deagrarianization, in terms of retreat of the lands of agricultural and forest use. However, it is suggested that the legends of the maps, especially their size, be remodeled to facilitate their reading and improve understanding and interpretation.

We have recreated Figure 2 and enlarged the legend.

 

3. It is considered convenient to highlight an error detected in all the figures related to the lack of identification of the documentary source of origin and the authorship of the elaboration. It is essential to correct this error by completing the information of the feet of all the figures.

In the revision we added the image source after the title of all images.

 

4. The bibliographic references are adequate, but they are excessively focused on Chinese academic literature with little, almost zero, presence of authors from other territorial areas. The use of bibliographic references of European and American authors would have allowed authors to have a more universal/global and less localist approach to understand a process that is global and that has occurred previously and is still occurring in other territories. The contrast of the interterritorial academic information would have made it possible to make a real discussion, and reach less obvious, more complex and representative conclusions of the territorial reality. In my opinion, this aspect is the main inconsistency of the research presented in this article.

Thanks to your suggestion, we have added 19 new foreign documents covering all regions of the globe.

 

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The authors addressed my comments and can be published.

Author Response

Thank you for the reviewer's comment.

Reviewer 3 Report

Most of the comments were edited but a few problems remained:

1-           All “Error! Reference source not found” should be corrected.

2-           Also, you should show R2 amounts after the equation on page 10.  

3- In line 358, Table 2 doesn’t show the correlation. Correct the Table number or add a Table showing correlation amounts among variables.

Author Response

1. All “Error! Reference source not found” should be corrected.

Thank you for the reviewer's comment. Those errors of references have been corrected in this round of revision.

2-           Also, you should show R2 amounts after the equation on page 10. 

Thank you for the reviewer's comment. We have added R2 in this round of revision.

3- In line 358, Table 2 doesn’t show the correlation. Correct the Table number or add a Table showing correlation amounts among variables.

Thank you for the reviewer's comment. Table 3 shows the correlation, not table 2. We have corrected this error.