Simulation and Prediction of Land Use Change and Carbon Emission under Multiple Development Scenarios at the City Level: A Case Study of Xi’an, China

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Authors,

The manuscript "Simulation and prediction of land use change and carbon emission under multiple development scenarios at the city level: A case study of Xi 'an, China" aims to investigate urban land use and its impact on carbon emissions in Xi'an, China, under multiple development scenarios. The study utilizes the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSP) scenarios along with a coupled System Dynamics (SD) and Patch-generating Land Use Simulation (PLUS) model to predict land use carbon emissions from 2020 to 2040. The findings highlight the dominant land use types in Xi'an, the increase in land use carbon emissions, and the impact on China's dual carbon goals. Although the manuscript is very well-written and presents many merits in terms of its proposal quality and methodological rigor, the minor revisions suggested above will significantly enhance the clarity, rigor, and practical relevance of the research. 

1. In the beginning of the abstract, I recommend that you describe an introduction that serves as a foundation for the development of this research.

2. Introduction: I suggest that the authors include a paragraph discussing extensively the current context of global climate change and how this research aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).

3. The authors should consult MDPI's citation guidelines.

4. Materials and Methods: I would like to kindly request that you provide more detailed information regarding the data sources, model parameters, and the reliability of your simulation results. It is crucial to clearly outline the steps involved in the simulation process, including the selection of SSP scenarios and the justification for choosing specific models and parameters. This transparency will significantly enhance the scientific rigor of your study and provide clarity to readers and fellow researchers.

5. Overview of the study area: I recommend that the authors keep the neighboring countries with China and give greater prominence to the city of Xi'an so that all captions are visible. 

6. Research Methodology: The flowchart (Figure 2) is well-structured and effectively presents the stages of development in this research. I recommend enhancing this figure with higher resolution captions.

7. Discussion: The authors should improve the interpretation of the results by providing a comprehensive discussion of the implications of the findings. It is crucial to relate the results to the existing literature on urban land use and carbon emissions, discuss the practical significance of the findings, and propose potential strategies for mitigating carbon emissions based on the results. Therefore, I recommend that the authors enrich the literature review.

8. The conclusion needs to be stronger and should succinctly summarize the main findings, their importance, and the implications for policy and practice. The authors should analyze how the study relates to China's dual carbon goals and offer practical recommendations for urban development strategies based on the research results.

 

I am available for any clarification.

Kind regards.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The study simulates urban land use changes and their impact on carbon emissions. It used multiple scenarios. It is based on a case study of Chinese Xi’an. The results show continuous increase of carbon emissions in the studied period.

The introduction includes a review of recent similar studies creating a good background for further sections of the paper.

There is a detailed description of the data used and its sources.

Figure 4 is very informative.

There is no information about the sources of data and information presented in figures and tables.

The authors present uncertainties related to their results which add value to the presented study.

The methods are correct and well described. The results are clearly presented.

Author Response

Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx