The aim of this study was to understand the advances in the research into the applications of three-dimensional (3D) digital surveying and information management techniques on garden cultural heritages. In this study, we analyzed Chinese and English literature for applications of 3D digital surveying and information management techniques related to the garden cultural heritage. Then, we assessed the techniques features, application situations, and related cases for 3D digital surveying and information techniques applications on garden cultural heritages from the perspective of 3D digital surveying techniques, such as close-range photogrammetry, 3D laser scanning, and multi-technology integrated surveying, as well as 3D information management techniques, such as the 3D geographic information system and information model. Cultural heritage protection work is crucial. We noted abundant research applications for 3D digital surveying and information techniques focused on culture heritage objects, such as ancient architectural sites, but few was focused on the garden cultural heritage. However, there were sufficient applications to confirm the advantages of such application, and it was inevitable that these methods would become the norm. Regarding 3D digital surveying methods, close-range photogrammetry and 3D laser scanning technologies had their own advantages and disadvantages. An integra-ted surveying method with multiple sensors could overcome the limitation of a single technology and instrument and was an ideal method for acquiring data regarding the garden cultural heritage. With regard to 3D information management methods, the applications of 3D geographic systems and landscape information model were the focus of research on information management for the landscape cultural heritage. Protecting landscape cultural heritages and even the discipline of landscape architecture will help show progress regarding 3D digitization and informatization. It is of great historical and practical significance to collect, process, store data and to manage, maintain, update, and analyze information for the protection, study, and sustainable utilization of garden cultural heritages.
【Objective】 The circum-Taihu Lake area has been inhabited for centuries, and humans have paid a great effort for adapting to the complex and changing geographical environment throughout the history. We analyzed the distribution characteristics of rural settlements in different historical periods around Taihu Lake, and discussed the internal influencing factors and adaptation mechanism. 【Method】 Based on the space-time background, this research selected the five cities of Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Jiaxing and Huzhou, around the Taihu Lake, as the areas of research, and screened 363 historical villages as research objects. Five stages were analyzed: selecting site and survival period, spontaneous adaptation period, conscious adaptation period, overlapping expansion period, and unordered consolidation period. With the help of GIS spatial analyses, the nearest point index, Kernel density, and standard deviation elliptic were used to analyze the distribution characteristics of rural settlements around the Taihu Lake during different historical periods. 【Result】 The spatial distribution pattern of rural settlements in the circum-Taihu Lake area is clearly concentrated; the quantity and density increased gradually, and the spatial distribution center shifted toward the northeast with a trend for “northwest-southeast” axial diffusion. The different stages influencing of natural native environment, agricultural irrigation environment, social and cultural environment on the rural settlements in the circum-Taihu Lake area are in a state of long-term dynamic change. 【Conclusion】 Regarding the historical latitude over a long period of time, the three environmental drivers of nature, irrigation and water conservancy as well as socio-cultural factors reflect the continuous capacity of humans to adapt to the regional environment, and the synergistic process of rural development in the circum-Taihu Lake zone is a multi-scale, multi-process complex system.
【Objective】This article focuses on the digitization of historical information and data analysis of private gardens. Two new research paradigms were explored and compared with the traditional processes in terms of sample coverage and information complexity reduction. 【Method】 Forty-seven private gardens in the Xinghua Village plot in Nanjing during the Ming and Qing dynasties were examined. First, 45 gardens and 57 variables were transformed into a total of 2 565 items in a historical information matrix based on the detailed historical scrutiny. Subsequently, the information matrix was subjected to K-means clustering and the principal component analysis (PCA). Two properties, the sample coverage and information complexity reduction, were studied and compared with those of the traditional research, such as four elements, host identity, and a high-frequency feature analysis. Finally, the differences in historical laws after the above analysis were compared. 【Result】 The traditional, high-frequency analysis had a sample coverage of approximately 45% and retained 70% of the original information complexity; for the K-means clustering algorithm with a specified number of 5, the sample coverage was 42%, and 63% of the original information complexity was retained. In contrast, PCA achieved more than 70% sample coverage and only 44% of the original information complexity. Of the historical laws obtained, the traditional method could procure discrete independent information. However, both K-means clustering and PCA yielded few intersectional laws. In particular, the PCA rules showed strong suggestions and characteristics as obvious advantages. 【Conclusion】The PCA results showed that, in the context of the historical garden evolution in the Xinghua Village plot, garden elements and styles were more affected by the existing garden morphology, rather than the identity of the owners or fashions. This supersedes the common results in the existing paradigm. In conclusion, in the research of large number of private historical gardens, PCA offers the advantages of high sample coverage and low information complexity and can be considered as a standard method.
