Spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and coupling relationship between ecological resilience and human activity intensity in Central Yunnan Urban Agglomeration
Objective This study aims to reveal the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and coupling relationship between ecological resilience and human activity intensity in the Central Yunnan Urban Agglo-meration, thereby providing a scientific basis for the synergistic development of regional human-land systems. Methods Taking the Central Yunnan Urban Agglomeration as an example, an evaluation model for ecological resilience and an assessment model for human activity intensity at the grid scale were constructed. On this basis, standard deviation ellipse and hotspot and coldspot analysis were employed to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of ecological resilience and human activity intensity from 1990 to 2020. The four-quadrant model was used to reveal their coupling relationship and to propose zoning management strategies. Results (1) From 1990 to 2020, the overall ecological resilience of the Central Yunnan Urban Agglomeration increased slowly, with the average value rising from 0.41 to 0.45, representing an increase of approximately 9.76%. The spatial pattern was characterized by “high in the west and low in the east”, with high-value areas concentrated in the western part of the study area and other ecological functional zones, while low-value areas were mainly located in the peripheral regions of urban expansion. (2) During the study period, human activity intensity in the Central Yunnan Urban Agglomeration continuously increased, with the average value rising from 0.037 1 to 0.045 3. The development scope expanded from the main urban area of Kunming to surrounding areas such as Yuxi, Qujing, and Chuxiong, forming a spatial pattern evolving from point-based clustering to multi-centered and areal expansion. (3) The coupling relationship between ecological resilience and human activity intensity in the study area exhibited a pattern of “core trade-off—peripheral synergy”. Sub-core areas with significant ecological management performance served as coordinated development zones, while urban built-up areas and newly developed areas showed a trade-off pattern characterized by “high development level-low ecological resilience”. Conclusion Over the past 30 years, ecological resilience and human activity intensity in the Central Yunnan Urban Agglomeration have exhibited an interactive evolution characterized by “overall coordinated improvement and intensified local imbalance”. Based on the coupling types, zoning management strategies are proposed to enhance the ecological support capacity of synergistic areas and improve the levels of ecological restoration and risk prevention in trade-off areas.
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