Spatial relationship between production-ecology-living land transformation and eco-environmental quality: A case study of Hexi corridor, Northwest China

With global environmental changes and intensified human activities, land-use patterns have undergone profound changes, which have had a profound impact on the structure and function of ecosystems. As an important ecological barrier and resource-rich area in China, the stability of the ecological environment in the Hexi Corridor is crucial. In this paper, land use data from 2000 to 2020 were selected to establish a classification system for PELS and to calculate land use transfer matrix, ecological environment quality index, ecological contribution rate, and change patterns in Hexi Corridor, northwest China. The spatial and temporal evolution of PELS and the influence to eco-environmental quality of the Hexi Corridor were analyzed through using spatial analyze methods. The results showed that: (1) The area of production and living space in Hexi Corridor was continuously increased while the area of ecological space has continuously decreased. The land conversion between living and ecological space was more frequent, and the conversion area was also large. (2) The comprehensive ecological environment quality index region increased from 0.145 in 2000 to 0.166 in 2020, which indicated that the ecological environment of the Hexi Corridor was continuously improving. The spatial distribution of ecological environmental quality transformation showed that the medium quality area has increased significantly. (3) The conversion of PELS has a great impact on the regional ecological environment quality, especially the conversion of grassland into other types was the key direct factor leading to the change of local ecological quality. The thoughts and prospects proposed in this paper can help improving ecological management and green development for Hexi Corridor in future.