Impact of Land Use Change on the Habitat Quality Evolution in Three Gorges Reservoir Area, China

Abstract

Habitat quality (HQ) is an important indicator to characterize the level of biodiversity and ecosystem services, and can reflect the quality of the human living environment. Changes in land use can disturb regional HQ. Current research mostly focuses on assessing the good or bad quality of regional habitats, and less on the spatial response relationship between land use change and HQ, and even fewer studies on finely distinguishing the impact of land use types on HQ. Therefore, taking Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA) of China as the study area, this paper first analyzes the land use change of study area by using the land use transfer matrix, land use rate model and landscape pattern index, and then combines the InVEST model with the multi-scale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) model to build a refined assessment framework to quantitatively assess the spatial and temporal evolution patterns of HQ, and then analyse in detail the spatial response relationship of each land use type change on the impact of HQ. The results showed that from 2000 to 2020, the land use in the TGRA shows a changing state of “urban expansion, cultivated land shrinkage, forest land growth, and grassland degradation”. With the change in land use, the habitat quality index (HQI) in the study area showed an “ increase first and then decline” change characteristics, and the HQ degradation was more obvious in the areas with intense human activities. The impact of land use change over the past 20 years on HQ in the TGRA has significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity, with changes in paddy and dryland having mainly negative impacts on HQ, and changes in sparse land, shrubland, and medium-cover grassland having mainly positive impacts on HQ. This paper mainly provides a research framework for refined assessment, and the results can provide scientific support for land planning and ecological protection in the TGRA, and the research methods and ideas can provide references for similar research.

Spatiotemporal variations and its driving factors of soil conservation services in the Three Gorges Reservoir area in China

“…The TGRA plays an important role in flood regulation, water and soil conservation for the whole Yangtze River basin, and even the whole country (Huang, 2019). However, there are many serious ecological issues, such as conflicts between humans and the land, serious soil erosion, and a decrease in biodiversity in the TGRA (Peng et al, 2023). Since the 1990s, the TGRA's restoration of vegetation and ecological construction projects have played a key role in soil erosion prevention, regulating climate, and biodiversity protection, and ensuring the safety and balance of the regional water supply (Li et al, 2013).…”