Chinese urbanization promoted terrestrial ecosystem health by
implementing high-quality development and ecological management
Abstract
High-quality urbanization and a healthy ecosystem are both the material
basis for sustainable social development. However, the tie between
terrestrial ecosystem health and urbanization is still unclear.
Therefore, we assessed the spatial and temporal dynamics of urbanization
and TEH at 368 cities in China from 2000 to 2020, then explored their
spatial interaction and driving mechanisms by spatial autocorrelation
analysis and structural equation modeling. The results showed: (1)
China’s comprehensive urbanization index (UI) improved from 0.08 in 2000
to 0.10 in 2020, contributing by some national urban agglomerations such
as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta.
(2) China’s terrestrial ecosystem health index (EHI) also increased from
0.6718 to 0.6788. Ecosystem vigor improved significantly, while
ecosystem organization and resilience both decreased. (3) EHI and UI
appeared to be locally spatially dependent, and path dependence was
presented at municipal scales. (4) At the national scale, urbanization
is positive related to EHI, which were enhanced by social, economic and
topography factors. The dominant drivers on EHI varied among regions,
and urbanization improved EHI in all regions except for the southwest.
Our study demonstrated that urbanization would promote terrestrial
ecosystem health by implementing high-quality development and ecological
management simultaneously, providing theoretical support for urban
sustainable development and ecological management.