Spatiotemporal heterogeneity of ecosystem health and its divergent responses to multidimensional urbanization in the Jialing River Basin (JRB), China

doi:10.1016/j.regsus.2026.100388

Abstract

Abstract:

Ecosystem health is a cornerstone of ecological integrity and is vital for maintaining structural stability and functional sustainability under increasing pressures from rapid urbanization. However, the intrinsic coupling mechanisms within ecosystem health have not yet been fully elucidated, and its complex relationship with urbanization remains insufficiently understood. This study developed a multidimensional diagnostic framework that integrated a comprehensive, full-array assessment of ecosystem health using a coupling coordination degree (CCD) model. Then, the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) were applied to analyze the impact of urbanization on ecosystem health. The framework was employed to examine spatiotemporal dynamics and interactive mechanisms between ecosystem health and urbanization in the Jialing River Basin (JRB), China, from 2000 to 2020. The results revealed an overall 7.25% improvement in ecosystem health across the JRB during the study period, with 73.04% of counties exhibiting marked improvement. Nevertheless, the overall coordination level of ecosystem health remained relatively low and exhibited significant spatial heterogeneity. While the northwestern region of the JRB achieved a coordinated state, the southeastern region of the JRB remained uncoordinated. Furthermore, urbanization exerted an overall inhibitory effect (-0.221) on ecosystem health, primarily driven by the demographic dimension (-0.332). The pattern and intensity of the effects from different urbanization dimensions on ecosystem health also varied over time. These findings enhance the understanding of the evolving interrelationship between urbanization and ecosystem health, and the proposed methodological framework provides a valuable reference for ecosystem management in other comparable transitional regions.

Key words: Ecosystem health, Urbanization, Coupling coordination degree (CCD), Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), Geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR), Jialing River Basin (JRB)

YAO Shiyu, WANG Haoyue, ZHAO Zhengyuan, ZHANG Yunlong, LYU Yihe, LIU Shiliang, WU Gang, WU Xing. Spatiotemporal heterogeneity of ecosystem health and its divergent responses to multidimensional urbanization in the Jialing River Basin (JRB), China[J]. Regional Sustainability, 2026, 7(5): 100388.

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Object level	Dimension	Indicator	Unit	Resolution	Year/Period	Data source
Ecosystem health	Mountain	E1: topographic relief	m	30 m	2020	DEM (https://portal.opentopography.org)
		E2: soil erosion factor (K)	t•hm²•h/ (MJ•hm²•mm)	1 km	2020	HWSD version 2.0 (https://gaez.fao.org/ pages/hwsd)
		E3: gully density	km/km²	30 m	2020	DEM (https://portal.opentopography.org)
	River	E4: surface water area ratio	%	250 m	2000-2020	Global surface water dynamics 1999-2021 (https://glad.umd.edu/dataset/ global-surface-water-dynamics)
		E5: water occurrence frequency	%	250 m	2000-2020	Global surface water dynamics 1999-2021 (https://glad.umd.edu/dataset/ global-surface-water-dynamics)
		E6: total available water resources	mm/a	4 km	2000-2020	TerraClimate (https://www.climatology lab.org/terraclimate.html)
	Forest	E7: forest area ratio	%	30 m	2000-2020	CLCD (https://zenodo.org/records/15853565)
	Forest	E8: forest vegetation coverage	%	8 km	2000-2020	PKU GIMMS NDVI (https://zenodo.org/records/8253971)
	Farmland	E9: food production per capita	kg	/	2000-2020	Rural Social and Economic Survey Division of the National Bureau of Statistics of China (2001-2021)
	Farmland	E10: proportion of farmland	%	30 m	2000-2020	CLCD (https://zenodo.org/records/15853 565)
	Lake	E11: lake water clearness	m	30 m	2000-2020	LAWSD30 (Chen et al., 2022)
	Grassland	E12: grassland area proportion	%	30 m	2000-2020	CLCD (https://zenodo.org/records/15853565)
	Grassland	E13: grassland vegetation coverage	%	8 km	2000-2020	KU GIMMS NDVI (https://zenodo.org/ records/8253971)
	Desert	E14: desertification difference index	-	250 m	2000-2020	GLASS Albedo (https://glass.hku.hk/download.html)
		E15: wind speed	m/s	4 km	2000-2020	TerraClimate (https://www.climat ologylab.org/terraclimate.html)
		E16: plant available water content	-	8 km	2000-2020	LHScat (Tao et al., 2023)

Object level	Dimension	Indicator	Unit	Resolution	Period	Data source
Urbanization	Demographic dimension	U1: population density	persons/km²	/	2000-2020	Rural Social and Economic Survey Division of the National Bureau of Statistics of China (2001-2021)
	Demographic dimension	U2: total population at the end of the year	persons	/	2000-2020	Rural Social and Economic Survey Division of the National Bureau of Statistics of China (2001-2021)
	Land dimension	U3: urban built-up area	km²	30 m	2000-2020	CLCD (https://zenodo.org/records/15853565)
	Land dimension	U4: proportion of the built-up area	%	30 m	2000-2020	CLCD (https://zenodo.org/records/15853565)
	Economic dimension	U5: per capita gross domestic product (GDP)	CNY/person	/	2000-2020	Rural Social and Economic Survey Division of the National Bureau of Statistics of China (2001-2021)
		U6: per capita retail sales of consumer good	CNY/person	/	2000-2020	Rural Social and Economic Survey Division of the National Bureau of Statistics of China (2001-2021)
		U7: per capita investment in fixed asset	CNY/person	/	2000-2020	Rural Social and Economic Survey Division of the National Bureau of Statistics of China (2001-2021)

CCD	Level	Stage of development	CCD	Level	Stage of development
0.000-0.100	Extreme dissonance	Uncoordinated development	0.500-0.600	Low coordination	Transformation development
0.100-0.200	Severe dissonance		0.600-0.700	Primary coordination
0.200-0.300	Moderate dissonance		0.700-0.800	Mild coordination
0.300-0.400	Mild dissonance		0.800-0.900	Good coordination
0.400-0.500	Reluctant coordination	Transformation development	0.900-1.000	High coordination