Evidence for Urbanization Effects on Eco-Environmental Quality: A Case Study of Guyuan City, China

Binhua Zhao, Jianchun Han, Peng Li (), Hongtao Li, Yangfan Feng, Bingze Hu, Guojun Zhang and Jie Li
Additional contact information
Binhua Zhao: State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China
Jianchun Han: State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China
Peng Li: State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China
Hongtao Li: Key Laboratory National Forestry Administration on Ecological Hydrology and Disaster Prevention in Arid Regions, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China
Yangfan Feng: State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China
Bingze Hu: State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China
Guojun Zhang: Ningxia Soil and Water Conservation Monitoring Station, Ningxia Water Conservancy, Yinchuan 750002, China
Jie Li: State Key Laboratory of Eco-Hydraulics in Northwest Arid Region of China, Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an 710048, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 11, 1-17

Abstract: Achieving sustainable development and a good quality of life depends largely on the state of the ecological environment. This research is centered on Guyuan City and examines the changes in the ecological environment quality across space and time, based on Landsat imagery and the remote sensing ecological environment index (RSEI) between 2000 and 2019. Correlation analysis and partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to investigate the environmental and human factors that affect the quality of the ecological environment. The results indicate a significant reduction in areas with a very-poor-quality ecological environment and a significant increase in excellent ecological environment management from 2000 to 2019, especially in eastern Guyuan City. The low-value area of the RSEI index gradually shifted from eastern counties to western areas relative to Guyuan City, exhibiting a significant change from a high-cluster distribution to a significantly discrete distribution. Elevation, precipitation, and total organic carbon showed significantly positive correlations with the RSEI, while temperature, land use, and pH showed significantly negative correlations. This study also reveals that topography and climate change have a positive impact on ecological changes, and urbanization is becoming less limiting for ecological improvement. In future ecological construction processes, emphasis should be placed on the terrain and climatic conditions to maximize the restoration of the ecological environment affected by urban construction. This work provides regional guidance for future sustainable development and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin.

Keywords: remote sensing ecosystem index; partial least squares structural equation model; sustainability; Guyuan City; urbanization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/11/8629/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/11/8629/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:11:p:8629-:d:1156138

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().