Assessing Land Use Efficiency in the Tarim River Basin: A Coupling Coordination Degree and Gravity Model Approach

Xia Ye, Anxin Ning, Yan Qin (), Lifang Zhang and Yongqiang Liu
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Xia Ye: College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
Anxin Ning: College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
Yan Qin: College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
Lifang Zhang: College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China
Yongqiang Liu: College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, China

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 11, 1-18

Abstract: The Tarim River Basin, a core region for economic development and ecological security in China’s inland arid areas, faces the pressing challenge of synergistically improving land use efficiency to resolve human-land conflicts under water resource constraints and achieve sustainable development. Based on the “economic-social-ecological” benefit coordination theory, this study constructs a land use efficiency evaluation system with 16 indicators and integrates the coupling coordination degree model and gravity model to quantitatively analyze the spatiotemporal differentiation patterns and coupling mechanisms of land use efficiency in the basin from 1990 to 2020. Results show that economic and social benefits of land use increased during this period, exhibiting a “high-north, low-south” spatial pattern, while ecological benefits remained relatively high but declined gradually. The coupling coordination degree of subsystem benefits displayed significant spatial heterogeneity, with an overall upward trend, where composite factors emerged as the primary constraint. Spatially, land use efficiency coupling coordination evolved from “core polarization” to “axial expansion” and finally “networked synergy,” with stronger linkages concentrated in oasis irrigation districts. These findings provide theoretical support for ecological conservation, water management, and policy-making in southern Xinjiang, offering pathways to synergize the “economic-social-ecological” system and promote sustainable development in arid regions.

Keywords: Tarim River Basin; land use benefits; coupling coordination relationship; gravitational coupling model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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