A B S T R A C TUrbanization is accompanied by the intense transformation and conflicts among different land use types that produce a series of economic, social, and environmental impacts. Ascertaining the quantity and pattern optimization of urban ecological land is critical to solving urban environmental problems and realizing urban sustainable development. Using the Chinese city of Changzhou, an important and typical city in the Yangtze River delta, as the case study, we applied the minimum cumulative resistance model (MCRM) to calculate the amount of ecological land that meets the demand of socioeconomic development and ecological protection considerating the source of ecological land and constructed land, ecosystem services, and the resistance plane. Results showed that the suitable ecological land area is about 1006.9 km 2 , which is 53.8% of the total urban area of Changzhou, and is mainly distributed in Wujin and Xinbei districts. Considering the ecological land space and functional changes of the study area and comparing the current land use status with the model simulation results, we propose three land use types. For urban ecological land, positive protection measures and prohibiting economic development initiatives are necessary. For ecotones between urban developed land and ecological land, protection should be given priority and economic development activities should be rigidly controlled. For constructed land, measurements and policies should be taken to promote reasonable development and improve land intensity.

a b s t r a c tMuch of the world is experiencing fast urbanization. Many peri-urban open spaces, such as parks, forest, farmland, and wetlands, have been built over, which has resulted in a steep decline of ecosystem services at the municipal and regional levels. Using remote sensing, geography information system (GIS) technology and economic evaluation method for ecosystem services, the evolution of landscape spatial structure in 1991, 1996, 2001 and 2006 of Changzhou City, People's Republic of China, was obtained and the change of ecosystem services resulted from land use change was evaluated. Study results show a continuing expansion of urbanized areas and reduction in ecosystem services. Before 2001, farmland was the main type of land use, accounting for more than 53.3% of the total area within the broadlydrawn municipal boundaries. In 2006, farmland and built-up areas were the main land-use types. The built-up area increased by 122% from 1991 to 2006. From 1991 to 2001, the proportion of ecological land (farmland, forests, grasslands, and water-covered areas) within Changzhou's municipal boundaries decreased 24.1%. Based on the observed changes, the economic value of ecosystem services provided by Changzhou's ecological land decreased by 19.3% from 1991 to 2006 and the annual decrease ratio was approximately 1.3%. Conversion of farmland to other uses was responsible for the largest reduction in the value of ecosystem services, equal to 239.8 million RMB (equivalent to USD 37.8 million). Our research results were already adopted locally by Changzhou Municipal Bureau of Urban Planning and applied for Changzhou Mater Urban Planning. The current study can contribute not only to improvements in the Changzhou environment, but to the study of and improvements to other rapidly-urbanizing cities, as the rapid growth of urban areas is one of the most pronounced environmental trends of recent times.