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• A method is developed to optimize landscape pattern in a valley level. • The method is applied in a GIAHS site for landscape and ecosystem conservation. • Ecological protection patches are much larger, with high connectivity. • The landscape pattern optimization planning map provides support to decision makers. The rice terrace agroecosystems in mountainous regions occupy an important position in regional sustainable development and cultural diversity; some of them are included in the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS). Despite the considerable progress made in protecting these unique agroecosystems, the research for planners to limit properly protected areas systematically, considering both their aesthetic and ecological values, is insufficient. In this study, an overall protecting framework was developed at the spatial planning level by optimizing the landscape pattern. We considered Jiache Valley, the core area of Congjiang's Rice-Fish-Duck System rated in the GIAHS in 2011, as an example. Based on the indicators of visual sensitivity and ecological stability, we determined the protection scope of the core terrace area and performed a morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) to identify the core area of forest patches and corridor buffer zones. Then, an ecological network corridor was constructed with the minimum cumulative resistance model; finally, the landscape optimization pattern of Jiache Valley was determined. The proposed plan not only highlights the terrace patches individually, but it also systematically protects the components of the agroecosystem including water, forests, and fields, thereby making them sustainable and exert overall ecological effects. By optimizing the patches of different spatial types and developing land management strategies within variable protection levels, the sustainable development of Jiache Valley could be promoted. The method has high significance in the optimization of landscape planning and management of rice terrace agroecosystems; it can also serve as a reference for other types of agroecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A robust understanding of the effect of indigenous knowledge systems (IKSs) on spatial patterns of natural resource management (NRM) in mountain landscapes could contribute to fostering ecological sustainability and cultural diversity. This study addresses the mechanisms by which IKSs influence landscape through the management of various natural resources. Data was collected through multiple methods: in-depth interviews, a questionnaire survey, and spatial participatory mapping, in Jiabang region, Guizhou China. The results show that 1) local rice farming methods and livelihoods have influenced and been influenced by the creation and application of IKSs including resource management knowledge of the mountains, forests, water and agricultural resources; 2) the systems have shaped the communities' landscape and the resulting spatial diversity through the interlocking mediation of NRM with IKSs. This study also shows that IKSs continue to be transmitted well to the following generation. Based on these findings, the mechanism of the influence of IKSs on landscapes through NRM was discussed, and an ideal diagram of the sustainable landscape of the rice terraces was proposed. This research can provide reference to the sustainable resource use, mountain protection, and tourism for mountainous agricultural community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]