Objective The agricultural landscape within the canal basin represents a fusion of natural and cultural elements shaped by centuries of agricultural activity. With significant social, cultural, and environmental values, such agricultural landscape has contributed to sustainable agricultural production, water management, and cultural heritage preservation. The Jiangnan water network area has long been one of China’s most prosperous areas. Its unique resources, shaped by historical development, have given rise to valuable examples of agricultural heritage. Over thousands of years, continuous development in this area has fostered a distinctive local landscape, notably the polder field characteristic of canal basins. Jiangnan’s agricultural development stands as one of the most distinctive agricultural development paradigms in China. However, rapid urbanization has led to increased heterogeneity, disorder, and passivity in local agricultural landscape, threatening the unique patterns of pond field and water town emblematic of the Jiangnan Canal Basin. Understanding how urbanization has influenced these landscape changes and analyzing underlying driving mechanisms are crucial for preserving local heritage while promoting balanced urban-rural integration.

Methods Taking Wujiang District in Suzhou, a representative area with the aforesaid agricultural landscape, as an example, this research employs ArcGIS spatial analysis to process and analyze remote sensing images of the area. Local land use is categorized into three main types: Town (impermeable surfaces), farmland (arable land), and water system (water body, ice, and wetland). By comparing land use classification maps from different periods, the research reviews land use transitions among towns, water systems, and farmlands, highlighting the evolution characteristics of agricultural landscape in Wujiang Section of Jiangnan Canal Basin across historical stages. Historical maps and data are also utilized to analyze the spatial patterns of agricultural landscape and land partitioning in Wujiang District. This approach aids in revealing the temporal dynamics and underlying mechanisms driving landscape changes over time.

Results The analysis reveals that the transformation of the agricultural landscape in the Wujiang Section of Jiangnan Canal Basin is concentrated around four major canals and their tributary water systems. Over time, these elements have evolved into an interdependent cultural and ecological landscape system, comprising towns, water systems, and farmlands. In the process of urbanization, natural disasters, industrial upgrades, and land management efforts, the agricultural landscape in Wujiang has been continuously integrated and optimized. This process has not only fostered the development of a traditional regional trade economy but also given rise to a distinctive agricultural heritage that reflects the unique characteristics of Jiangnan culture. The agricultural landscape in the Wujiang Section of Jiangnan Canal Basin embodies the interaction between human, water, and field, which has shaped distinctive production and living modes in local area. This dynamic relationship shows the interconnection, continuity, and hierarcy of such landscape, demonstrating how it adapts to local environment under the “people − water − field” system.

Conclusion This research focuses on the agricultural landscape in the Wujiang Section of Jiangnan Canal Basin, utilizing ArcGIS and historical imagery as the primary tools of analysis, supplemented by typological cluster analysis and other methods. The research refines and reveals the characteristics of “people − water − field” interactions embodied by the agricultural landscape in the Wujiang Section of Jiangnan Canal Basin, particularly under the influence of urbanization. Based on this analysis, the research identifies the interactive mechanisms driving changes in landscape elements. The key findings are as follows: The transformation of the agricultural landscape in the Wujiang Section of Jiangnan Canal Basin can be divided into five stages — constructing polders in water (large polder bases interspersed with scattered fields), subdividing polders (differentiation of large polders with settlement clusters), unifying polders (small-scale polder construction with stable embankments), interweaving water and polders (composite cooperation with interconnected fields and residences), and interweaving factories and fields (disorderly expansion in rows and columns). These stages demonstrate that landscape evolution in Wujiang is characterized by inter-construction, continuous adaptation, and hierarchy. Canal dominance, industrial transformation, rapid urbanization, and water conservancy projects are identified as the primary drivers of landscape change, reflecting the interaction between natural water system, urban development, and agricultural land. The research clarifies how these elements adapt to one another in local changing environment. By reviewing the types and structures of agricultural landscape shaped by varying canal morphologies in Wujiang District, the research highlights the relationship between urbanization’s impact and the characteristics of landscape change in the basin. Future research may extend this analysis to include additional agricultural landscape types and conduct more detailed quantitative assessments of driving factors. The findings aim to offer theoretical support and scientific guidance for preserving, inheriting, and planning agricultural landscape under the framework of high-quality urban-rural integration and rural revitalization. Ultimately, the research seeks to explore the relationship between regional canal changes and their influence on agricultural landscape elements, as well as the underlying causes.