Detecting regional unevenness and influencing factors of ecological resilience in China

Existing research on the state transition process of ecological resilience (ER) has neglected the ultimate goal of enhancing well-being and lacks theoretical framework support. To address these issues, we have innovatively developed a three-dimensional analysis framework of “resistant, absorptive, and restorative capacity” to measure ER. We also explored the regional unevenness and factors influencing ER at the provincial level in China through spatiotemporal evolution analysis and GeoDetector models. The results indicate that: the ecological resilience of Chinese provinces ranges from 0.415 to 0.596, with all provinces falling into the risk or good areas. Furthermore, a fluctuating and increasing trend is observed. The eastern coastal provinces, such as Beijing and Shandong, comprise predominantly good areas of ecological resilience that are distributed in a band manner, while the western provinces, notably Xinjiang, comprise primarily risk areas distributed in a clustered pattern. The per capita electricity consumption, per capita GDP, and patent applications in high-tech industries are identified as the primary factors influencing the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of ecological resilience, and the interaction effects of each factor have synergistic enhancement effects. Spatial ecological resilience displays certain degrees of “nonhomogeneous” agglomeration and spatial heterogeneity. However, no apparent spatial polarization phenomenon is observed. These findings provide valuable insights for cities aiming to address ecological risks and enhance urban resilience.