Urban-rural spatial patterns and their economic-social systems have significantly transformed in the context of the rapid global urbanization and industrialization. However, the spatial governance practices are also constrained after these shifts. The urban-rural separation has also generated systemic discontinuities in the infrastructure allocation, public service provision, and social governance. The development structure further induces the inequities in the resources underpinning well-being. There is also the multidimensional interplay of the ecological environment, socio-economic circumstances, and differentiated urban-rural conditions. Urban areas are typically concentrated in the wealth of public services; Conversely, the rural base areas benefit from the ecological advantages and strong social capital, but suffer from the limited services accessibility and economic opportunities. Moreover, the extensive peri-urban and interface zones are characterized by semi-urbanization and ambiguous spatial identities. Conventional governance categories frequently fell outside to impede the coherent functional articulation between urban and rural systems. It is often required for urban-rural integration. Particularly, the urban and rural spaces can constitute a continuous gradient with the multiple levels, nodes, and transitional forms, rather than a rigid binary. In this study, an alternative analytical lens was used to capture the dynamic reconfiguration of the urban-rural relations and spatial function. Crucially, there was the complex and multi-dimensional interaction between the urban-rural continuum and human well-being. The spatial pattern was interdependent among ecosystems, economic activities, social structures, and individual perceptions. The urban-rural continuum was characterized by the continuity of the space and the gradation of the functions. Human well-being included the objective dimensions within this framework, such as the material living standards, health, educational, ecological integrity, and subjective dimensions on the perceived quality of life. A systematic coupling was also linked with the space, the factor flow, and public services from a system perspective. There was a relationship between the urban-rural continuum and human well-being, rather than the conventional urban-rural dichotomy. The continuum approach was selected for the urban-rural space as an integrated gradient, differentiated transitional zones (highly urbanized, moderately developed, and conventional agricultural types), and base areas. A more detailed identification of the spatial heterogeneity and functional complementarities was obtained to detect the disparities in human well-being along the gradient. Nonetheless, this framework alone was insufficient for the governance challenges from the blurred boundary and intensified factor circulation. Adaptive governance was offered as a process-oriented paradigm under complex systems, with emphasis on iterative learning, dynamic adjustment, multi-actor collaboration, and resilience. The urban-rural continuum framework clarified the structural and relational mechanisms of the urban-rural interactions, while the adaptive governance provided the operational tools for the flexible intervention under uncertainty. A full-cycle regulation was proposed with the “pre-monitoring–mid-term regulation–post-feedback”. Adaptive governance strategies were tailored to the specific zones to coordinate the spatial optimization, factor mobility, and public service equalization. Ultimately, this finding can refine the urban-rural continuum and adaptive governance strategies for the heterogeneity after integration. This finding can provide the theoretical support and policy implications to promote urban-rural integration and sustainable agriculture.

Land use conflict has been ever-increasing in the field of land science in recent years, particularly for the sustainable use of land resources. It also has significant implications for national security and stability. It is still lacking a recognized agreement on the precise conceptual connotation of land use conflict, leading to various interpretations, due mainly to the complexity and multi-dimensionality of land use conflict. These divergent interpretations have naturally given rise to different research perspectives, each of which is attributed to the distinct theoretical fundamentals. A rich but fragmented knowledge has resulted to offer unique insights into the causes, dynamics, and governance of land use conflicts. However, there is still a significant research gap, in order to systematically classify and summarize these varied perspectives and theories. It is also lacking in a cohesive framework of land use conflict for interdisciplinary dialogue and collaboration. To fill the gap, this study first examined the connotation of land use conflict in previous research, and then identified a consensus implied across the diverse definitions: the subjects of land use conflict were stakeholders, while the objects were various interests related to land, including land space, ownership, resources, assets, and functions. Next, the foundational theories were reviewed on land use conflict, including different disciplines, such as sociology, management, economics, psychology, geography, and ecology. According to the conceptual connotation and theoretical foundations of land use conflict, a universal conceptual framework was developed to highlight the key elements, such as conflict subjects, conflict objects, driving factors, conflict outcomes, and the broader social-ecological systems. The subjects and objects of land use conflict were utilized to categorize and summarize research findings in the areas of identification and evaluation, driving mechanism analysis, and governance. The conflicts were identified and evaluated to focus on the conflict subjects primarily participatory. While the conflict objects were often utilized in the multi-objective superposition, comprehensive index evaluation, and ecological risk assessment. Specific conflict events were commonly applied via news media content analysis. There were relatively complex driving mechanisms behind conflicts. The influencing factors were categorized into three groups: conflict subjects, conflict objects, and the policy and institutional environment. Conflict governance was related to the coordination and negotiation between conflict subjects, the trade-offs among conflict objects, and the improvement of policies and institutions. According to the summary of existing achievements, some suggestions were proposed for future research on land use conflicts. Several key areas should be further strengthened: a multi-perspective theoretical framework, in-depth exploration of land use conflicts from the perspective of land use functions, comprehensive analysis of driving mechanisms, and the investigation of integrated governance approaches.

Land use conflict is one of the most significant research topics in the field of land science, characterized by its multidimensional perspectives. As the focus of land science research has gradually shifted from land use/cover change to human-environment interactions, studies on land use function and related themes have gradually emerged at the forefront of current land system science. However, there is still limited research on the land use functional conflict. This study firstly reviewed the various definitions of land use conflict. By identifying the commonalities across these definitions, land use conflict was defined as the opposition of interests among stakeholders in the process of land resource utilization. Secondly, the concept of land use function was clarified as the various products or services provided by the land system. The concept of land use functional conflict was introduced to combine the land use conflict and land use function, and was defined as the opposition of interests among stakeholders arising from land use functions in the process of land resource utilization. The study further analyzed the rationale and necessity of incorporating the land use function perspective into land use conflict research. A set of theoretical foundations was established, including theories on social conflict, stakeholder, sustainable development, and human-environment relationship. Inspired by ecosystem service cascades, the conceptual framework for land use functional conflict was proposed, with the core chain of "production function–utility function–conflict function". Finally, the "conflict identification–mechanism analysis–conflict governance" protocol was highlighted in the research framework. The identification of conflict was deconstructed into key steps, including land use functions identification, stakeholders identification, benefits measurement, and conflict measurement. A multi-scale framework was developed to analyze conflict formation, incorporating three key dimensions: the conflict subject, the conflict object, and the institutional environment. Regarding conflict governance, a framework that combined stable institutional structures with flexible policies and policy tools was developed. In conclusion, this study enriches and refines the theoretical foundation of land use conflict research, offering insights for optimizing land resource allocation. The findings can provide the scientific evidence, practical guidelines and decision-making references for addressing land use functional conflicts.