Theories and practices of comprehensive land consolidation in promoting multifunctional land use

Rapid urbanization requires comprehensive land consolidation to manage multifunctional land use. The promotion of multifunctional land use is an effective rural development strategy for upgrading comprehensive land consolidation and stimulating rural vitalization. This study attempts to illustrate the connotation and characteristics of comprehensive land consolidation and reveal the driving mechanism in promoting multifunctional land use. This was achieved by constructing a complete process analysis framework of comprehensive land consolidation and using the town of Hemudu in Zhejiang province, a comprehensive land consolidation pilot area, as a case study. Land use practices in Hemudu were examined, and the impact of comprehensive land consolidation on multifunctional land use was measured quantitatively. The results show that comprehensive land consolidation is characterized by meeting multiple needs, taking diversified engineering measures, and increasing efficient function supply to address the issues caused by the mismatch between the supply and demand of land use functions. These strategies contribute to a continuous process of land use transition in the consolidation area and help to achieve balanced and healthy ecological elements, optimal landscape structures, realized land value, enhanced function supply, and empowered rural culture. The implementation process in the pilot area was complex and systematic, from the integration of rural space to the improvement of villagers’ quality of life, and finally, to the restoration and protection of the ecological environment. Overall, the implementation promoted multifunctional land use in Hemudu but the imbalance between different functions still exists and is significant. Concerning the improvement of land use function, optimal paths are proposed to guide rational and scientific comprehensive land consolidation practices in the future.