The Correlation Effects and Mechanisms of Rural Restructuring and Transformation: A Case Study of the Jianghan Plain in China
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The paper is assessing a very important topic. The authors explained and applied the methodology in an excellent way. The paper is well written, but only a minor change is needed. The discussion should come before the conclusion. I have no other objections on the manuscript.
Author Response
Thank you very much for your recognition and praise for our research methods and research results. Thank you very much also for your valuable suggestions on our manuscript. We have replaced part 5 with a discussion and Part 6 with a conclusion. Thank you for your suggestion. In the future scientific research work, we will be more serious and hard work to achieve higher quality research results. We also wish you all the best.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
This is an interesting case study of spatial and temporal rural restructuring and transformation. The study could contribute to the development of policy by providing a scientific basis. In general, the paper is well constructed, but a number of details regarding the quantitative method were overlooked, which should be addressed in the next draft.
The introduction and literature review sectors contain vague and difficult-to-follow discussions. I recommend that the author revise the sections. Instead of piling up sentences, it would be helpful to provide some main points first, followed by supporting evidence.
There are two parts to the research design: the first measures rural restructuring, and the second measures rural transformation. The author mentions differences and correlations between the two concepts but does not provide descriptions of what they are. As the two concepts are the core of the paper, I suggest the author provide a definition of the two concepts and briefly explain the differences and similarities. This could assist readers in following the paper.
Does equation 1 have any theoretical references? What method did the author use to "standardize" each index in equation 1?
Above equation 1, the author mentioned, "the weights were calculated using the entropy method." The weighting method is important for this study since different weighting could have a detrimental effect on the results, but I did not find detailed explanations of how the weights were constructed. I suggest the author could explain the weight method in greater detail.
How were the "population density" and "economic density" measured in this study?
Author Response
We would like to thank the editor and review team for their constructive comments and suggestions on our manuscript " The Correlation Effects and Mechanisms of Rural Restructuring and Transformation: A Case Study of the Jianghan Plain in China". In order to address all valuable suggestions, we will answer them one by one. At the same time, we improve the details of grammar and other aspects in the manuscript. We believe these changes have greatly improved the quality and contribution of the manuscript, and we hope you will agree.
Furthermore, it should be noted that we have highlighted important changes in red text in the revised manuscript. Our detailed responses are provided below to explain how your views were included in the revision. As you can see, we have done everything possible to address your concerns and hope you will accept our revisions. Thank you again for helping us greatly improve the manuscript.
This is an interesting case study of spatial and temporal rural restructuring and transformation. The study could contribute to the development of policy by providing a scientific basis. In general, the paper is well constructed, but a number of details regarding the quantitative method were overlooked, which should be addressed in the next draft.
Response: Thank you very much for your recognition and praise for our research methods and research results. Thank you very much also for your valuable suggestions on our manuscript. In the future scientific research work, we will be more serious and hard work to achieve higher quality research results. We also wish you all the best.
Suggestion 1: The introduction and literature review sectors contain vague and difficult-to-follow discussions. I recommend that the author revise the sections. Instead of piling up sentences, it would be helpful to provide some main points first, followed by supporting evidence.
Response: We are grateful for the suggestion. According to the reviewer's suggestion, we deleted the verbose language and adjusted the logic.
In the “Introduction” section, we presented our views at first: “the characteristics of rural reconstructing and the models of rural transformation in developed and developing countries are different”. Then we elaborated the rural reconstructing and transformation development process in the Western world. After that, we introduced the characteristics of rural reconstructing and rural transformation in developing countries represented by China. Therefore, as complex economic-social-spatial phenomena, the rural restructuring and transformation experience of developed countries is not universal, and geography may provide a unique disciplinary perspective. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the rural restructuring characteristics and rural transformation modes in developing countries from the perspective of geography and based on the theory of man-land relationships. Please see section 1.
In the “Literature Review” section, we introduced first two views on the cognition of rural reconstruction by Chinese scholars at present. As for the understanding of rural transformation, experts have different opinions. Western world studied this earlier and formed the evolutionary path from productionism to post-productionism. As for developing countries, the research of rural transformation is still in the process of exploration, so there are different perceptions of it. So, finally, we made a conclusion that there is still a tendency to confuse rural restructuring with rural transformation and rural transformation with rural change to varying degrees. Accordingly, this study intends to take the Jianghan Plain, a key agricultural region in central China, as a case study and the man-land relationship as the theoretical foundation to analyze the rural restructuring characteristics and rural transformation modes while focusing on deciphering the intrinsic correlation mechanisms of rural restructuring and transformation. This study could provide targeted recommendations for rural development and rural revitalization in developing countries. Please see section 2.
Suggestion 2: There are two parts to the research design: the first measures rural restructuring, and the second measures rural transformation. The author mentions differences and correlations between the two concepts but does not provide descriptions of what they are. As the two concepts are the core of the paper, I suggest the author provide a definition of the two concepts and briefly explain the differences and similarities. This could assist readers in following the paper.
Response: We are grateful for the suggestion. We are very sorry for our mistake. Rural restructuring refers to the structural changes caused by the recombination of rural regional system elements and the reshaping of relationships, and rural transformation refers to the transforming change of the main function of the rural regional system. The structural changes in rural regional systems directly promote the evolution of rural region functions. Therefore, rural reconstructing is the process and rural transformation is the result. We have descripted the above concepts of Rural restructuring and rural transformation in section 3.
Suggestion 3: Does equation 1 have any theoretical references? What method did the author use to "standardize" each index in equation 1?
Response: We are grateful for the suggestion. We are very sorry for our mistake. Since the measuring unit of various indicators are not uniform, they should be standardized before used to calculate the comprehensive indicators, that is, the absolute value of the indicators is converted into the relative value, so as to solve the homogeneity of different quality index values. Moreover, different algorithms are adopted for data standardization of positive and negative indicators because of their different meanings. The specific methods are as follows:
Positive indicators:
Negative indicators:
Where xij is the value of the JTH index of the ith county unit.
We have added the corresponding description and formulas of "standardize". Please see section 3.1 and formulas (1) and (2).
Suggestion 4: Above equation 1, the author mentioned, "the weights were calculated using the entropy method." The weighting method is important for this study since different weighting could have a detrimental effect on the results, but I did not find detailed explanations of how the weights were constructed. I suggest the author could explain the weight method in greater detail.
Response: Thank you very much for your valuable suggestions on our manuscript. The essence of using the entropy method to estimate the weight of each index is to use the difference coefficient of the index information. The higher the difference coefficient is, the more important it is to the evaluation.
where wi is the wight of the JTH index, dj is the difference coefficient of the JTH index.
We have explaned the weight method in section 3.1 and formula (3).
Suggestion 5：How were the "population density" and "economic density" measured in this study?
Response: Thank you very much for your valuable suggestions on our manuscript. The population density P0 is defined as population of the center of the county divided by the total population of the county，and the economic density E0 is measured by the total output of the central county divided by the total output of the county. We have added explanatory notes in section 3.2.
We would love to thank you for allowing us to resubmit a revised copy of the manuscript and we highly appreciate your time and consideration.
Sincerely.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Dear authors,
The study is presenting interesting data on rural structuring and can provide theoretical insights for the geographical study of rural restructuring/transformation and information support for rural revitalization. Moreover, this can be replicated outside the study area.
Some minor typos are throughout the text. A fine spellckeck should solve it.
Please explain better what you mean by "elite" farmers. "Core" farmers is as vague as the first concept provided.
Best regards,
Author Response
We would like to thank the editor and review team for their constructive comments and suggestions on our manuscript " The Correlation Effects and Mechanisms of Rural Restructuring and Transformation: A Case Study of the Jianghan Plain in China". In order to address all valuable suggestions, we will answer them one by one. At the same time, we improve the details of grammar and other aspects in the manuscript. We believe these changes have greatly improved the quality and contribution of the manuscript, and we hope you will agree.
Furthermore, it should be noted that we have highlighted important changes in red text in the revised manuscript. Our detailed responses are provided below to explain how your views were included in the revision. As you can see, we have done everything possible to address your concerns and hope you will accept our revisions. Thank you again for helping us greatly improve the manuscript.
Suggestion 1: The study is presenting interesting data on rural structuring and can provide theoretical insights for the geographical study of rural restructuring/ transformation and information support for rural revitalization. Moreover, this can be replicated outside the study area.
Response: Thank you very much for your recognition and praise for our research methods and research results. Thank you very much also for your valuable suggestions on our manuscript. In the future scientific research work, we will be more serious and hard work to achieve higher quality research results. We also wish you all the best. The changes have been highlighted in red in the text.
Suggestion 2: Some minor typos are throughout the text. A fine spellckeck should solve it.
Response: We are grateful for the suggestion. We are very sorry for our mistake. We went over the spelling and grammar and corrected all the mistakes.
Suggestion 3: Please explain better what you mean by "elite" farmers. "Core" farmers is as vague as the first concept provided.
Response: We are grateful for the suggestion. We are very sorry for our mistake. The elite farmers are those who are between 30 and 55 years old, with certain education and business acumen, and who belong to rural society. We have added an explanation in table 1.
We would love to thank you for allowing us to resubmit a revised copy of the manuscript and we highly appreciate your time and consideration.
Sincerely.
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
I think the paper is acceptable.
