Study on Spatial Pattern and Optimization of Rural Settlements in Bole From the Ecological Perspective

GIS technology, field investigations, and statistical methods were used to analyze the spatial characteristics of the rural settlement patterns in Bole County and an ecological security protection pattern was built for the optimization of rural settlement. The results show that:(1) the spatial distribution, size and shape of rural settlements in Bole are sparse in the north and south, dense in central regions, larger in the east, and smaller in the west, with characteristics of "overall in rule" and "local with complexity"; (2) the rural settlements are divided into four shape-discrete distribution combinations:large scale-complex-centered, medium scale-complex-centered, medium scale-regular-sparse, and small scale-regular-sparse; (3) a pattern to protect the ecological security of woodlands and water areas as source areas would require rural settlements to be established based on a division into four optimization areas as for key remediation, restricted expansion, moderate construction, and concentrated development. These results could provide a scientific basis for planning and developing rural settlement oases and protecting fragile ecological environments based on strategic plans for ecological civilization construction and rural revitalization.