Multifaceted land use change and varied responses of ecological carrying capacity: A case study of Chongqing, China

Abstract

The sustainability of land use is a key issue for ecological conservation; therefore, it is imperative to understand how land use change (LUC) impacts the ecological carrying capacity (ECC). We developed a “direction-speed-pattern” tri-dimensional framework for characterizing LUC and assessed ECC by incorporating the resource provision capacity and environmental support capacity. GTWR model was further employed to examine the impacts of LUC on ECC. Afterwards, an empirical study was conducted in Chongqing city in Southwest China during the period of 2000–2018. The results indicate that the multifaceted LUC exerted spatial-temporally varying impacts on the ECC: (i) Among various LUC directions, afforesting cropland positively affected ECC and this effect was more significant in south-eastern Chongqing, while both encroaching on forest/cropland through urban expansion and converting forests/grass to cropland caused far-reaching negative impacts; (ii) Regarding the relationship between LUC speed and ECC, there was a negative-positive shift in Chongqing from 2010 to 2018; (iii) In terms of LUC pattern, we found various landscape metrics played a significant and heterogeneous role in ECC performance. Accordingly, by synthesizing the lens of direction, speed, and pattern, tailored land use strategies are recommended for Chongqing's ECC improvement, which also provides heuristic experiences for other regions worldwide.