The Application of Ecological Cycle Theory in Waterfront Area Design

Waterfront area is one of the most important interact area between human activities and natural processes. As its multifunction attribute such as agricultural producing, leisure and recreation, ecological conservation et al., high efficient and synthetic utilization of land resources has become a crucial challenge in waterfront area planning. Most of the recent studies about landscape construction of waterfront area have focused on the spatial pattern of landscape elements. However, the issue of organic integration of landscape elements still has not been resolved effectively. In our study, a case study has been carried out in waterfront area along the Pihe River in Yaodu town, Qingbaijiang district, Chengdu. The principles of ecological cycle theory have been introduced in landscape design, for optimizing landscape pattern and promoting material circulation as well as energy flow among patches, in order to achieve organic integration and effective use of different land use types.