
==== Front
Heliyon
Heliyon
Heliyon
2405-8440
Elsevier

S2405-8440(24)13064-2
10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e37033
e37033
Review Article
Case investigation on the construction mode of rural landscapes in the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, Mengda National Nature Reserve
Kang Yuan kisley@126.com
ab⁎
Chen Chen a
a School of Architecture and Design, China University of Mining and Technology, 221116, Xuzhou, China
b School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, 200092, Shanghai, China
⁎ Corresponding author. School of Architecture and Design, China University of Mining and Technology, 221116, Xuzhou, China kisley@126.com
29 8 2024
15 9 2024
29 8 2024
10 17 e370334 7 2023
26 8 2024
26 8 2024
© 2024 The Authors
2024
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/).
It is vital and challenging to coordinate the protection of natural reserves with rural construction. The rural structure and function were divided during the creation of natural reserves on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau (QTP), throwing the rural structure and functional system and its constituent parts out of balance. According to current research results on the construction mode of rural landscapes, the creation of rural landscapes is unable to address the requirements of villages and encourage the creation of protected areas. Therefore, it has become urgently necessary to conduct research on the rural landscape construction model of the QTP natural reserve. This study focuses on the case study of the construction mode of rural landscapes in the Mengda National Nature Reserve (MNNR) in the QTP. The inherent hierarchical structure relationships between rural landscape types, units and elements were identified. The basic characteristics of residential, production and cultural landscapes and their interdependent structural relationships were described. According to the evidence collected from literature, the rural landscape complex model and spatial optimisation strategy in the MNNR were proposed. It is believed that the rural residential, production and cultural landscape structures of the MNNR cannot effectively realise its living, production and culture function. From a spatial structure level, a rural landscape construction model was proposed based on production landscapes, residential landscapes as characteristics and cultural landscapes as the source. This model is based on agricultural landscapes, features the village and village dwellings and originates from temple landscapes, forming a comprehensive landscape unit that relies on and supports each other among production, residential and cultural landscapes. Emphasising the structural construction of infrastructure, such as transportation roads, network routes, tourism routes and water and electricity networks between the system and the external environment, is essential for promoting the circular relationship between the agricultural community complex in Dazhuang Village and the external system. The model is beneficial to balance the relationship between the rural landscape structure and MNNR function and promote the sustainable development of the relationship between the nature reserve and rural areas.

Keywords

Rural landscape
Construction model
Nature reserve
QTP
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pmc1 Introduction

The Qinghai Tibet Plateau (QTP) is a crucial ecological security barrier, a strategic resource reserve and a treasure trove of alpine biological germplasm resources in China. It has a unique and vital role in preserving national ecological security and sustainable development [[1], [2], [3]]. Since the first nature reserve on the QTP was created in 1963, 155 nature reserves of various levels were steadily constructed by 2021. The area is 990,000 km2 or approximately 40 % of the entire QTP. In August 2023, the Sanjiangyuan and Qilian Mountain National Parks were officially established and preparations for constructing the Qinghai Lake and Kunlun Mountain National Parks began. Establishing various types of nature reserves covers the rare species resources and distinctive and vulnerable ecosystem types of the QTP [[4], [5], [6], [7], [8], [9]]. A nature reserve system with a sensible spatial layout and complete protection types was gradually developed, providing the necessary spatial foundation for establishing ecological security barriers in the QTP [4,8]. However, the expansion of protected areas has not materially reversed the trend of on-going degradation of the biological environment [1,5,[10], [11], [12]]. Farmers and ranchers rely on resources from protected natural areas to survive. For example, the Everest Nature Reserve still has tens of thousands of households and approximately 10,000 people working in agriculture and animal husbandry [13]. It has overlapped areas for livestock and wildlife and fierce competition for grassland resources in the Qiangtang Nature Reserve [14]. Farmer and herder activities threaten the delicate biological environment at the Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve. The rare forest ecology in the Mengda National Nature Reserve (MNNR) has been destroyed by villagers’ subsistence activities, such as harvesting firewood, logging and reclamation [15].

In response to those problems, the way protected areas and communities participate has changed in recent years. In the early stages of national park construction, the international community adopted a human park separation model that excluded communities from constructing protected areas [16]. Since the 1980s, the construction of national parks and nature reserves has gradually emphasised indigenous participation in management, seeking resource protection and community-coordinated development [17]. In China, the protection model has gradually reversed from focusing on excluding villagers and relocating communities at the spatial level to a protection and governance model supported by villagers and involving rural participation [18]. Important areas of research on Nature Reserve has focused on the impact of human activities on the resource environment, with the impact of community human activities being a hotspot of current research [[19], [20], [21]]. The distribution of human activities in Pananjung Pangandaran Strict Nature Reserve and identify factors affecting those activities was assessed [22]. It was investigated that distance from visitors' house, type of attraction, and time of activity were the main elements affecting the natural resources. The impact of anthropogenic risks on protected areas was studied by Shafiee [23]. By using multicriteria decision-making methods, the anthropogenic risks affecting the Helleh Protected Area in Iran were analysed and a most effective managerial strategies was given [24]. Rusch researched the human-wildlife interactions in western Serengeti, Tanzania [25]. The prospects for the future maintenance of its integrity was put forward that the enormous expansion of human activities in the region need to be considered. It can be seen that human activities have both positive and negative impacts on protection area. One of the main reasons is that the protection area structure and function were unbalanced [[26], [27], [28]]. There is a corridors landscape that mainly plays ecological structure and function. It was proposed that the corridor width is the most important variable affecting all functions [29]. Based on assessment of landscape structure and function, and it recognizes both the positive and negative role of human-induced change and disturbance in the landscape. Landscape structure describes the spatial configuration of the open and developed elements of the landscape at various scales. Landscape function describes the flow of nutrients, species, and energy between these elements [30].

It can be seen that the relationship between protected areas and communities has been constantly changing. The structure and function of protection areas play an important role in their future sustainable development. However, the impact of rural structure and function on protection areas still needs to be further researched.

2 Area of study

2.1 Overview of Mengda National Nature Reserve (MNNR)

MNNR, also known as the Reserve, is in the Qinghai Province's Xunhua Salar Autonomous County in the QTP, as shown in Fig. 1-a. Geographically, the Reserve is on the north-eastern cliff of the Bayankala Mountain branch's west-dipping mountain. It belongs to the Dangrui and Wutai Mountain areas of the west-dipping mountain branch, 102°36ʹ–102°43ʹ east longitude and 35°42ʹ–35°50ʹ north latitude, as shown in Fig. 1-b. The Reserve is oriented north–south, bordering on the Hualong Hui Autonomous County to the north, Gansu Province to the east and Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture to the south. Dahejia and Guanting Towns in Gansu Province's Jishishan County are to the east. Liuji Township is connected to the southeast by Liuji Township, and Tajia Tibetan Township in Hualong County and Xinger Tibetan Township in Minhe County are to the north. The Baizhuang, Daowei and Qingshui Townships in Xunhua County are in the west and southwest of the Dangrui and Wutai Mountains, respectively [31].Fig. 1 Location and planning information map of MNNR

Fig. 1Source: The Qinghai Tibet Plateau Range Map is a geographic information system data on the boundaries and areas of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau published by the author based on global change scientific research data https://geodoi.ac.cn/; Data on rural distribution sourced from the Housing and Urban Rural Development Bureau of Xunhua County; The scope and planning information of Mengda National Nature Reserve is sourced from the Mengda Nature Reserve Management Bureau.

2.2 Basic characteristics of villages in the MNNR

Since ancient times, one of the fundamental ecosystems in the MNNR has been the rural terrain occupied by indigenous people. The Mengda region has historically been home to Tibetan, Mongolian, Salar, Hui and other ethnic minorities [32a], [32b]. The region still has several rural communities home to different ethnic groups. Administratively, they belong to Qingshui Township of the Xunhua Salar Autonomous County, including the Dazhuang, Hanping, Tashapo, Muchang, Suotong, Zhuantang and Amacha Villages, with 651 households and 3551 people (Fig. 2). The QTP's cold air flow has been weakened by the mountains surrounding the Reserve, creating a microclimate with higher precipitation, minor seasonal and diurnal changes in ground temperature, high air humidity, long plant growth periods and adaptation to the growth of different crops. Villagers can work with noodles, transportation, construction, Cordyceps, rape, highland barley, potatoes, peppers, walnuts and other crops. They can also herd sheep, cattle and mules.Fig. 2 Rural population and ethnic composition in MNNR.

Fig. 2Source: Drawn by the author based on data provided by the Village and Township Office, Bureau of Housing and Urban–Rural Development, Xunhua Salar Autonomous County (2016)

3 Analysis of rural landscape characteristics in the MNNR

3.1 Analysis of rural landscape types and characteristics at the basin scale

Rural settlements are distributed along the river valleys of the Yellow River tributaries in the MNNR. The rural landscape was analysed and divided into different landscape types in different watersheds [15]. According to the order from west to east, the MNNR has four primary tributaries of the Yellow River, each covered by the rural landscape of the reserve (Fig. 3). The Dazhuang River distributes the residential, production and cultural landscapes of Dazhuang Village, the Muchang River distributes those of the Muchang and Tapo Villages, the Zhuantang River distributes those of the Zhuantang Village and the Amacha River distributes those of the Amacha and Yicha Villages.Fig. 3 Characteristics of rural landscape distribution of MNNR in basin scale.

Fig. 3Source: The scope and planning information of the Mengda National Nature Reserve (MNNR) is sourced from the Mengda Nature Reserve Management Bureau. The photos of Muchang Village and Tashapo Village be author obtained from director Han Yingxin during rural survey in 2019.Other images are taken from Google satellite in 2018.

3.2 Analysis of rural landscape types and characteristics at the settlement scale

From the perspective of a rural settlement scale analysis, rural landscapes include residential landscapes inhabited by villagers and their associated organisms, production landscapes and cultural landscapes created by community villagers. Among them, residential landscapes are the foundation, production landscapes are the support and cultural landscapes are the characteristics. The three spatial units are interconnected to form a composite ecological system of rural landscapes[32a], [32b] [[33], [34], [35], [36]].

The residential landscape is an artificial ecosystem created for human habitation and its associated organisms, including residential spaces for villagers, cattle, sheep and livestock, road systems for controlling material and energy flow and public spaces for cultural information exchange [15]. The survey and spatial data analyses prove that the residential landscape of the MNNR community can be divided into valley terrace, shallow mountain slope and river mouth waterfront types. According to the investigation of residential buildings on-site, there are three types of residential landscapes in the MNNR: fence buildings, village settlements and tent settlements. Their different distribution patterns in space form different structural features of ‘living around temples’, ‘up temples and down villages’, and ‘surrounded by sacred mountains’ [37].

The production landscape is the supporting spatial unit for the maintenance and development of rural areas, including landscape elements such as farmland, pastures, forests and orchards [38]. The primary forms include valley, terrace and sloping terraced farmlands. Valley farmland comprises farmland interspersed with mixed farmland of different planting types, such as forests, orchards and vegetable fields. The diverse production landscape types support the diverse living needs of villagers [39]. Tibetan villagers create a production landscape that combines valley farming with alpine grazing. In summer, they live in tents and graze on alpine grasslands, whereas in winter and spring, they return to the valley to live in the village. The Sara ethnic villagers adopt a production method that combines valley farming with family farming and settle in the valley village for years to live.

The cultural landscape is a space projected onto the spatial level by the non-material concepts of religion, system, customs and other forms developed by villagers and their rural social evolution [6]. Due to differences in ethnic and religious beliefs, significant differences exist in the cultural landscapes in rural areas of the protected area. The Sara ethnic village has a widespread belief in Islam, forming cultural landscapes such as mosques, temples, cemeteries, waterways and sacred springs. The helmet-topped building called the Ritual Tower in the temple landscape has become a landmark in the countryside [40]. The widespread belief in Tibetan Buddhism in Tibetan villages is evident in the formation of cultural landscapes, such as the sacred mountain sanctuaries, Buddhist white pagoda, five coloured prayer flags, Buddhist temple Ben Kang, Mani House and Mani Dui. In addition, there are recognised sacred cultural landscapes, such as sacred ponds and mountains, among villagers of various ethnic groups in the protected area, including Mengda Tianchi, Wushan Pond and Dalijia Shenshan [41,42].

The MNNR rural landscape belongs to the category of rural living environment, comprising three types of landscapes: residential, production and cultural. Each landscape includes different units and elements. Table 1 shows the types and characteristics of the MNNR rural landscape. According to the different production landscapes, the rural landscapes in protected areas can be divided into grassland pasture type, agricultural pastoral symbiosis type and valley farmland type, according to the basic model of human settlement environment science [43] (Fig. 4). Each rural landscape comprises different production, residential and cultural systems, and the three landscape systems play different roles in the rural system. They support each other to form a landscape complex surrounded by sacred mountains, with farmland, pastures and forest settlements nested within each other. The rural landscape is a composite ecosystem constructed by the structural characteristics of landscape types, units and elements based on significant hierarchical relationships [32a], [32b]. Different production landscapes present different rural landscape patterns in space [44]. The more production landscape types, the more complex the rural landscape pattern becomes, and the more single the production landscape, the simpler the rural landscape pattern becomes.Table 1 Types and characteristics of the rural landscape in Mengda National Nature Reserve (MNNR).

Table 1Landscape Type	Landscape Units	Landscape Elements	
Residential Landscape	Residential yard	Buildings, courtyards, temples, wheat fields, livestock pens, firewood (cow dung) piles, vegetable gardens, dry toilets, straw stacks, flags	
Road system	Roads, villages, streets, canals, stone bridges	
Public space	Factory, school, shop, village committee, mani house, benkang, mani pile	
Production Landscape	Grass mountain ranch	Pasture, fences, pastures (summer, autumn, winter and spring pastures), cattle and sheep, roads, rivers and lakes	
Farmland in river valley	Fields, roads, facilities (walls, ridges, canals), crops (pepper, potatoes, rape)	
Orchard woodland	Field-side woodland, beach woodland, house-side woodland, mountainside woodland, roadside woodland	
Cultural Landscape	Religious landscape	Holy Mountain, Holy Lake, Arrow Platform, Temple, Pagoda, Ceremony Building, Mani Pile, Scripture Flag	
Cemetery landscape	Cemetery, Gongbei, Architecture, Cemetery Platform	
Heritage landscape	Ancient Dwellings, Ancient Ferries, Ancient Wheat Fields, Historic Buildings, Water Wheels, Ancient Trees, Ancient Bridges	
Source: Drawn by the author based on field research observation, data analysis and interviews with villagers

Fig. 4 Human settlement environment model.

Fig. 4Source: Drawn by the author based on the concept of Habitat Science by Academician Wu Liangyong.

4 Dazhuang Village landscape complex mode and its construction strategy research

Dazhuanggou is the largest and longest river in the main part of the MNNR, flowing through the core area, buffer zone and experimental zone of the previous protected area planning. It passes through three primary landscape types: terraced farmland, pine–oak birch forest belt and high mountain shrub grassland. Multiple ecosystems, including forest, grassland, farmland and community ecosystems, gather within the watershed and represent the four watersheds in the MNNR. Taking Dazhuanggou as an example, a construction model is proposed to promote the positive relationship between rural residential, production and cultural landscapes within the MNNR by studying the structural relationship between them and to promote the sustainable development of the relationship between rural communities and protected areas.

4.1 Overview of Dazhuang Village in the Dazhuang valley

The Dazhuang Village community is on the western terrace of the downstream river mouth of the Dazhuang valley in the experimental area of the MNNR. On one side, the community is backed by the mountains and forests of the MNNR, and on the other, it faces the open Yellow River. It is surrounded by mountains and water, with a broad view, reflecting the characteristics of seeking benefits and avoiding harm in the site selection (Fig. 5). The residential landscape within the community comprises residential buildings, roads, public spaces and public buildings. Together with cultural landscapes, such as mosques and cemeteries, it forms a typical residential structure of a community that surrounds the temple. Dazhuang Village is a Salar community where the population believes in Islam. The cultural landscape includes the prayer tower, courtyard space, mosque hall and cemetery. The Ming Dynasty mosque, still in use today, demonstrates its community's long history and profound culture. The farmland landscape distributed in the river valley is the production landscape villagers rely on for survival. Villagers rely on planting chilli peppers as their primary economic income and simultaneously rely on the attached grasslands on both sides of the river valley to raise a few cattle and sheep, forming a production landscape supported by a farmland landscape and supplemented by raising cattle and sheep.Fig. 5 Analysis of the location environment and landscape status of dazhuang village in mengda nature reserve.

Fig. 5Source: Based on the planning data of the Mengda National Nature Reserve (MNNR) Management Bureau in Xunhua and the planning and construction data of Dazhuang Village in the Xunhua Housing and Urban–Rural Development Bureau.

4.2 Analysis of the current characteristics of residential, production and cultural landscapes in Dazhuang Village

With an area of approximately 350 acres, flat terrain and a low elevation, Dazhuang Village's residential environment is on the platform on the western side of the estuary of the lower reaches of Dazhuanggou. It is the construction land planned for the reserve, with more than 100 households of 600 villagers living in one of the three primary landscape areas, including the 36 households in Lubei, 46 households on a moderate slope and 37 households in the mosque region. Residential courtyards are the primary living space in each neighbourhood, connected by roadways and alleys. The core framework of Dazhuang Village's residential landscape comprises public spaces (wheat field, plaza and village entrance).

The village's producing landscape, comprising agriculture, woodlands and grassland, is in a valley southeast of the hamlet. The primary production environment for locals is farmland. Approximately 34 ha of valley farms are located near the Dazhuanggou Estuary Downstream (experimental area). The edge of the farmland has approximately 3.4 ha of artificial forests, and most do not offer any immediate financial advantages. Caoshan Ranch is situated on both sides of Dazhuanggou and Gully in the experimental area's zone of mild slopes. Its total area is approximately 200 ha.

The cultural landscape of Dazhuang Village, primarily comprising the religious, cemetery and heritage landscapes of Dazhuang Village (Fig. 6), is a particular representation of the unique group in the rural landscape known as Sala villagers and their typical values such as social organisations, religions and customs projected onto the space.Fig. 6 Analysis of the characteristics of living, production and cultural landscape in Dazhuang Village.

Fig. 6Source: The data of residential landscape and cultural landscape on the plan were from the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau of Xunhua County, and the data of production landscape were from the author's survey. The photos taken by the authors, the residential building plan drawn by the authors, the elevation plan is drawn by Li Xiaoli1,and the mosque drawn by MaYongping2and.Li Yanyan.3

4.3 Analysis of the evolution of the relationship between the residential, production and cultural landscapes in Dazhuang Village

Table 2 shows the historical evolution analysis of the relationship between residential, production and cultural landscapes in Dazhuang Village. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Mengda Mountain Forest, as a production landscape for villagers, was rich in resources and diverse in production methods, which led to the structural formation of the cultural landscape of fence buildings and mosques in Dazhuang Village [45]. The production landscape can play a fundamental role in supporting residential and cultural landscapes, forming a mutually supportive development stage for the internal relationships and system structure of rural landscapes.Table 2 Analysis of the evolution characteristics of the relationship between rural residential, production and cultural landscapes [21,30,40,46,47].

Table 2Time phasing	Evolution characteristics of the production landscape	Characteristics of the rural landscape structure	
Ming and Qing dynasties	As a production landscape for villagers, Mengda Mountain Forest is rich in resources and diverse in production methods, facilitating the structural formation of fence buildings, settlements and cultural landscapes of mosques.	The production landscape effectively supports residential and cultural landscapes, forming a development stage where the internal circulation of rural landscapes is smooth and the system structure is stable.	
The Republic of China era	The Mengda Mountain Forest, as a production landscape of villagers, has suffered severe damage from war and rural decline and the construction of residential and cultural landscapes is mostly stagnant.	The production landscape cannot support the development of residential and cultural landscapes, the internal circulation relationship of rural landscapes is imbalanced, the stability of the landscape structure is disrupted and the system is on the brink of collapse.	
After liberation from China	The Mengda Mountain Forest belongs to the management of natural villages, and the restored Mengda Mountain Forest is now used as a production landscape for villagers. Villagers use various production methods, and the population in rural areas increases due to development.	The production landscape supports the residential and cultural landscapes, while the rural landscape gradually recovers its internal circulation relationship, and the system structure gradually returns to a stable state.	
After the establishment of the reserve	The Mengda Mountain Forest belongs to the management of the protected area, and the production landscape of villagers is limited to the experimental area. Livelihood activities are prohibited in the buffer zone and core area. After changes in the structure, scale and quantity of production landscapes, it is challenging to continue developing residential and cultural landscapes.	After the change in the production landscape structure, it is challenging to effectively support the development of residential and cultural landscapes. The internal circulation relationship of rural landscapes is imbalanced, and the stability of the system structure is poor.	
Source: The author interviewed villagers, consulted literature and summarised, organised and drew tables.

4.4 Constructing a rural landscape complex model in Dazhuang Village based on system thinking

The goal of creating rural landscapes in Dazhuang Village is to support rural residential and cultural landscapes by creating internal production landscapes in the rural landscape system of Dazhuang Village, creating a material and energy circulation structure dominated by internal circulation in rural landscapes and achieving sustainable and stable provision of food sources or economic income, such as food, vegetables and fruits, supporting the functions of villagers’ survival, residencies and life in the residential landscapes. Based on this research objective, a rural landscape complex model is proposed based on system thinking [[48], [49], [50]] (Fig. 7). This model is based on agricultural landscapes, features the village and village dwellings and originates from temple landscapes, forming a comprehensive landscape unit that relies on and supports each other among production, residential and cultural landscapes. Emphasising the structural construction of infrastructure, such as transportation roads, network routes, tourism routes and water and electricity networks between the system and the external environment, is essential for promoting the circular relationship between the agricultural community complex in Dazhuang Village and the external system. Under the guidance of the rural landscape complex model in Dazhuang Village, this study further analyses the structural relationship between the production, residential and cultural landscapes in Dazhuang Village, explores critical structures that play an essential role in rural development, promotes the improvement of rural landscape residential, production and cultural functions through spatial optimisation of the structure and achieves harmonious development between rural and protected areas.Fig. 7 Structure and pattern of rural landscape complex.

Fig. 7Source: Drawn by the author

4.4.1 Structural analysis and spatial optimisation between production and residential landscapes

The production landscape plays a crucial supportive role in rural development. In Dazhuang Village, material energy, such as seeds, fertiliser, saplings, cattle and sheep, can flow from the residential landscape to farmland, forest land and grassland through the regulation of residents between residential and productive landscapes. Food, produce, livestock, sheep and cattle, timber, firewood and other material energy flow from the villagers' residential landscape to the production landscape. An efficient spatial structure is necessary for the efficient flow of matter and energy. Each species’ energy flow and circulation have a starting point, end point and path comprising comparable spatial structures. The essential structure should be optimised to support the harmonious coexistence of the residential and industrial landscapes. The primary aspects of this are the optimisation of the flow path and structure of home food for livestock, the production-flow-storage structure of seeds and fruits, the layout of farmland, the structure for collecting, storing and transporting household fertiliser and the structure for gathering, transporting, storing and using firewood (Fig. 8).Fig. 8 Structural analysis of the relationship between production landscape and residential landscape in dazhuang village.

Fig. 8Source: Drawn by the author

To optimise the living space design, we should scientifically use new energy and technology, optimise the space conditions of heating and lighting in villagers' homes (Fig. 9) [15], use solar energy resources to transform the energy structure of villagers' homes, reduce the use of firewood, improve the comfort of villagers' living environments and protect forest resources and the landscape of forest vegetation [51,52]. For example, villagers can use passive solar energy technology to renovate residential buildings, reduce the range of indoor temperature variations, provide for the comfort needs of the villagers, repair the vegetation damage brought on by the villagers’ use of firewood and kangs and protect forest resources. It is crucial to develop the key structure of material and energy circulation between residential and productive landscapes to realise the beneficial relationship and promote the material circulation and energy generation between them to support the sustainable development of the rural landscape and the protection of the ecological environment in the reserve.Fig. 9 Experimental process and optimisation effect of passive solar energy technology in Zhuangkuo dwelling design.

Fig. 9Source: The drawings are from another paper published by author Kang Yuan in collaboration with Prof. Jun Wang4

4.4.2 Structural analysis and spatial optimisation between residential and cultural landscapes

The cultural landscape significantly and permanently influences the residential landscape [53]. The rural residential landscape structure is permanently altered by the cultural information that the Dazhuang Village's temples, graves and god springs impart to the community. Its function defines the spatial characteristics and residential landscape patterns, such as living around temples, adjacent to tombs and temples and surrounded by channels, all of which have a rich regional history and culture. The historical structures and the residences they house have long been a part of the rural environment and continue to influence how the structure of that landscape evolves. To improve the rural landscape environment and regional style of Dazhuang Village, realise the cultural functions of rural villagers, such as entertainment and leisure, and promote the healthy development of the relationship between cultural and residential landscapes, it is crucial to protect and optimise the cultural landscape in its spatial context (Fig. 10), increasing the stability of the rural landscape complex structure of Dazhuang Village.Fig. 10 The protection and optimisation of the historical structure of the Dazhuang village community and the landscape features adjacent to the tomb.

Fig. 10Source: Photographs taken by the author and drawings provided by Professor Cui Wenhe5

4.4.3 Structural Analysis and spatial optimisation between production and cultural landscapes

When managing and using land for agricultural activities, different ethnic villages in the rural environment will create different cultural landscapes [54,55]. Dazhuang Village's historical cultural landscape, shaped by logging and hunting, continues to influence the people's economic environment. For instance, the concept of hunting wildlife is conveyed by the cultural landscapes created by hunters, such as hunting grounds, street ejections and shotguns, making it challenging for wildlife conservation in protected areas to become widely accepted. Improving the village's knowledge of wildlife protection is crucial, involving the villagers in managing protected areas and providing them with a space and a platform to learn how to safeguard these areas.

5 Conclusions

The types and characteristics of rural landscapes in the MNNR were analysed. The basic structural characteristics of the landscape of Dazhuang Village in the Dazhuanggou Basin have been summarised and organised. The characteristics and relationships of residential, production and cultural functions in Dazhuang Village were investigated and analysed. The structural relationship between the residential, production and cultural landscapes of Dazhuang Village has been determined. This study proposed creating rural landscape complexes based on ecological protection in protected areas. The rural landscape construction model of the MNNR on the QTP has been proposed. The following conclusion has been drawn.(1) The types and characteristics of rural landscapes in MNNR were analysed using spatial analysis methods. First, at the watershed scale, rural landscapes are divided into Dazhuanggou, Muchanggou, Amachagou and Zhuantanggou. Second, at the settlement scale, rural landscapes are divided into residential, production and cultural landscapes.

(2) The relationship between the landscape structure and function in Dazhuang Village was analysed based on survey and statistical data. First, the basic survival needs of villagers in the residential landscape were investigated and statistically analysed. Second, based on the survey and statistics, the basic income data of villagers in the production landscape, including farmland, forest land and grassy mountains, were collected. Finally, the relationship between the residential function, production landscape and cultural function of Dazhuang Village was analysed based on the survey data. Identify the characteristics of the functions of the production landscape in meeting the survival needs of villagers in residential landscapes and determine the need to improve the spatial structure between sub-units within rural landscapes to enhance their functionality.

(3) Further analyse the relationship between the landscape structures of Dazhuang Village and identify the spatial structures that need improvement. First, analyse the livestock food structure, seed fruit flow structure, fertiliser collection, storage and transformation structure and firewood harvesting and storage structure between the production and residential landscapes. Identify the structural fractures and spatial deficiencies of material and energy flow and transformation. Second, analyse the relationship between production and cultural landscapes, highlight the importance of the information conveyed by cultural landscapes to rural landscapes and propose establishing a spatial structure for benign information flow. Finally, analyse the relationship between residential and cultural landscapes, emphasise the importance of religious, heritage and commemorative landscapes for residential landscapes and propose that protecting the spatial structure between them and residential landscapes is conducive to strengthening the positive impact of cultural landscapes.

(4) Propose creating a rural landscape complex based on systematic thinking. First, optimise the integrated production landscape structure of farmland, forest land and grassland in the valley and enhance the production function to support residential and cultural functions. Second, optimising the functional forms of residential spaces, improving building forms, using clean energy primarily from solar energy and improving the use and storage of biomass energy can enhance the safety, comfort and multi-functionality of residential spaces, promoting the functional enhancement of production and cultural landscapes. Finally, protecting the structural form of cultural landscapes, repairing and protecting cultural relics and buildings, restoring and protecting the ecological environment of commemorative landscapes, inheriting rural cultural heritage, cultivating rural culture and promoting the comprehensive development of rural landscape complexes can be achieved through cultural landscape protection.

Funding

This research was funded by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2023QN1089 ), the 10.13039/501100002858 China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2023M732641 ) and Sailing Plan Talent Training Program (102523268 ), Nature Science Foundation of 10.13039/501100002949 Jiangsu Province (BK20241661 ).

Ethics declarations

Not applicable.

Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding authors.

CRediT authorship contribution statement

Yuan Kang: Writing – original draft, Funding acquisition, Conceptualization. Chen Chen: Methodology.

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to this work.

Acknowledgment

Thank you to the Housing and Urban Rural Planning Bureau of Xunhua County, Haidong City, Qinghai Province for providing assistance; Thank you to Ma Chunhu and his family, village head Han Yingxin and his family, teacher Ma Xueliang, and villager Ma Jianxin from Mengda Nature Reserve; Thank you to Yan Zhanshan and Li Yanyan, graduate students from the School of Architecture at Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, for accompanying the research. Thank you to Professor Cui Wenhe and graduate student Wang Zihua for providing the drawings. Thank you to Professor Wang Jun and Professor Jin Yibing from 10.13039/501100005392 Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology for supporting the author's research and research work. Thank you to Professor Luo Pingjia from the School of Architecture and Design at 10.13039/501100005195 China University of Mining and Technology for providing the support, and to Professor Wu Chengzhao from the National Park and Nature Reserve Research Center at 10.13039/501100004204 Tongji University for his guidance on this research.

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3 Li Yanyan. Study on the spatial form of the Salar mosque in Methodist Qinghai under the perspective of cultural intermingling, XAUAT.2018):72–73. https://navi.cnki.net/knavi/degreeunits/.

4 The information from the article is as follows: Kang Y., Wang J., Study on the symbiotic mode of natural protected areas and rural communities in the qinghai-tibet plateau-taking the Mengda national nature reserve as an example, Chinese Landscape Architecture 35 (2019) 83–88, doi: https://doi.org/10.19775/j.cla.2019.09.0083.

5 The detailed drawings are from the master's thesis supervised by Professor Cui Wenhe. The paper information is as follows:Wang Huazi. Optimisation Design of Salar Munda Mosque and Surrounding Environment under Ethnic Cultural Inheritance,Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology,2023.https://doi.org/10.27393/d.cnki.gxazu.2020.001213.
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