SPATIAL GEOGRAPHICAL ENVIRONMENT, FUNCTIONAL DIFFERENCES AND ECOLOGICAL PATTERNS OF URBAN AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN JIANGSU PROVINCE, CHINA

At present, the development of urban agriculture in different regions of Jiangsu, China has opened up a unique path, which has important guiding significance for the development of agricultural modernization in similar cities. In this study, taking Jiangsu Province in China as an example, the spatial and geographical environment of urban agriculture development, the differences in urban agriculture functions in different regions, the judging index system of urban agriculture development stages, and the development model of ecological urban agriculture have been systematically studied. The research results show that the urbanization rate of Jiangsu has reached 70.61% by the end of 2019, which is much higher than the national urbanization rate of 60.6% in China. Therefore, the whole area of Jiangsu is suitable for developing urban agriculture. Different cities in southern, central, and northern Jiangsu exist agglomeration metropolitan circles with multiple geographic spaces. Nanjing has a high degree of correlation with cities in Jiangsu Province and is also closely related to the surrounding Anhui City; Suzhou, Wuxi, Nantong and Shanghai in southern Jiangsu have a strong spatial correlation and are at the first level. In addition to being closely related to Suqian in the province, Xuzhou is also closely related to Suzhou and Huaibei in Anhui. The spatial differentiation of agricultural types in a single city and different cities was systematically analyzed. The interaction between urban agriculture and cities will form three stages: agriculture supports urbanization development, agriculture and urbanization develop equally, and urbanization drives agricultural development. Criteria for the division of urban agricultural development stages in different cities are formulated. Ultimately, this study advocates vigorous development of efficient "eco-urban agriculture mode". This model is characterized by capital and technology-intensive investment, and the combination of traditional organic agricultural technology and modern technology, thereby significantly improving ecological benefits.