Spatial and temporal responses of habitat quality to urbanization: A case study of Changchun City, Jilin Province, China

Abstract

Habitat quality is an important index to evaluate regional ecological security. Revealing its spatial and temporal responses to urbanization is conducive to the in-depth implementation of new urbanization. Based on land use data, we analyzed the spatio-temporal characteristics of Changchun's landscape pattern, habitat quality and its sample zone from the grid scale with comprehensive utilization of spatial analysis and ecological model analysis. We further discussed the responses of habitat quality during urbanization. The results showed that the low values of patch density (PD), edge density (ED) and Shannon diversity index (SHDI) were distributed in the western plains, while the high aggregation index (AI) showed a patchy distribution in eastern and southern of the city. During 2000-2015, the habitat quality of Changchun showed a trend of degradation and significant spatial heterogeneity, showing a distribution of "high in the east, and low in the west". The expansion of construction land and the transportation infrastructure played a leading role in the degradation of regional habitat quality. The changes of habitat quality differed significantly in different zones. The overall variation of water belt was relatively small, while the variation frequency and amplitude of mountain, urban expansion, and traffic belt were relatively high. Natural factors including slope and elevation basically shaped the overall distribution pattern of habitat quality in Changchun, while urbanization factors including population density, GDP and night light index showed significant negative correlation with habitat quality. To alleviate the ecological pressure of urbanization and promote habitat quality, we proposed differentiated development strategies, such as preventing deforestation in the Dahei Mountains, using ecological strategies to restore habitat degradation areas, improving land use efficiency in built-up urban areas, promoting "smart growth" in urban areas, setting red line of farmland in hilly areas, and strengthening ecological infrastructure construction.