Spatiotemporal Evolution and Regional Differences in the Production-Living-Ecological Space of the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River

Abstract

The urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, which is the second largest urban agglomeration in China, represents a typical land space range of ecological vulnerability in China. Large differences occur in economic development mode between resource- and non-resource-based cities in this basin area. Accurate identification of the evolution and regional differences in the production-living-ecological space (PLES) is very important in order to elucidate the development and utilization of land space in the region. At present, relevant research has largely focused on the classification and determination of PLES temporal and spatial patterns. Temporal and spatial pattern research has mainly considered a single scale of administrative division, whereas fewer studies have analyzed the temporal and spatial patterns and regional differences in the PLES in ecologically fragile natural watersheds. Therefore, based on PLES classification, the regional differences in the PLES between two types of cities in the basin are measured via the Theil index and exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA). First, the ecological space (ES) of these two types of cities in the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is compressed by the production space (PS) and living space (LS), in which the ES of resource-based cities is compressed for a longer period, and the phenomenon involving PS compression by the LS and ES mainly occurs in non-resource-based cities within the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Second, the PLES of these two types of cities exhibits the characteristics of spatial aggregation, and high- and low-density areas of the PLES remain relatively stable. Third, the regional differences in the PLES of the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River mainly originate from intraregional differences. The PLES of these two types of cities in the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is more sensitive to changes in economic development than to those in the population distribution.

Spatio-Temporal Variation and Influencing Factors of the Coupling Coordination Degree of Production-Living-Ecological Space in China

“…The coupling coordination of PLES is an extension of the connotation of coordinating the man-land relationship and promoting sustainable development [ 2 , 10 , 11 ]. Previous studies on PLES mainly focused on PLES classification [ 15 ], index construction [ 2 , 16 , 17 , 18 ], pattern evolution [ 19 , 20 , 21 ], spatial conflict [ 4 , 5 ], spatial optimization [ 8 , 9 , 16 , 22 , 23 ], eco-environmental effect [ 6 , 24 , 25 ], and coupling coordination analysis [ 2 , 11 , 12 ]. Specifically, regarding the classification of PLES, previous scholars have completed abundant studies on land classification and evaluation systems based on different research perspectives [ 2 , 17 , 26 ].…”

“…By quantifying the value of the PLES function, some studies have constructed a functional classification system of PLES from the perspective of ecosystem services, landscape functions, and land functions, and achieved quantitative identification of the dominant functions of PLES [ 28 ]. In addition, a large number of studies have established the classification and evaluation system of PLES in China based on the dialectical relationship between land use function and land use type by emphasizing the connection between PLES and existing land use classification standards [ 2 , 20 , 29 ].…”

“…Using the classification system of PLES based on multi-function division of land use, previous studies have undertaken a mass of work on PLES change, spatial conflict, spatial optimization, and eco-environmental effect [ 2 , 4 , 20 , 30 , 31 ]. For example, Yuan et al adopted the land use transfer matrix method to analyze the spatio-temporal variation characteristics of the quantity and structure of PLES to identify different types of spatial conflict problems [ 32 , 33 ].…”

Research on the evolution and the driving forces of land use classification for production, living, and ecological space in China’s Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve from 2000 to 2020

“…The second phase of research focuses on the interrelationship between the production-living-ecological functions and regional coordination, function classification (Zhao et al 2021a ), functional evaluation and optimization (Zhao and Zhao 2023 ), distribution characteristics (Zhao et al 2021b ), and descriptive methods (Lu et al 2015 ). The units of research have been national (Chen et al 2019 ), provincial (Li et al 2021a ), river basin (Han et al 2022 ), and county (Gao et al 2022 ).…”

Evolution Characteristics and Formation Mechanism of Production-Living-Ecological Space in China: Perspective of Main Function Zones

“…Thus, land use change is a direct reflection of PLES change. Previous studies on PLES mainly focused on PLES theory [ 16 ], classification [ 36 ], pattern evolution [ 17 , 37 , 38 ], optimization coordination, and conflict regulation [ 39 , 40 ], whereas few studies explored the structural evolution characteristics of PLES based on MFZ. PLES inherits the strategic positioning in territorial spatial planning under the MFZ strategy and is reflected in the quantity and spatial layout of PLES [ 41 ].…”