The protection planning of small and micro habitats in urban fringe areas: Enlightenment from the management of high natural value farmland in the EU to the maintenance of bio-diversity in urban areas in China

<p>The habitat unit in urban fringe is an important link to support regional biodiversity; due to the influence of urban system and agricultural system, most of them are semi natural, appeared with diverse types, small patches, scattered layout, and generally relying on low intensity farming activities. Export-oriented expansion of urban construction land and intensive agricultural production are prone to reduce the scale and quality of semi natural habitats in urban fringe areas; and the existing measures cannot effectively protect them. High natural value farmland management is an effective measure of the EU to protect semi-natural habitats related to agriculture and maintain regional biodiversity. Through combing the main points of high natural value farmland such as type definition, evaluation, identification, maintenance management, etc., this paper proposes the suggestions for optimization of small and micro semi-natural habitat protection in China: (1) strengthening the recognition of the value of small and microhabitats and related land use; (2) identifying small and micro-habitats that are conducive to the maintenance of biodiversity, and incorporating them in the overall protection of regional network; (3) combining the rigidity and flexibility of land use control, with the consideration of complex function demands; (4) Converging with the existing statutory planning to enhance the protection efficiency of small and micro habitats.</p>