Spatial and Temporal Variations of Habitat Quality and Influencing Factors in Urban Agglomerations on the North Slope of Tianshan Mountains, China

Ran Wang, Honglin Zhuang, Mingkai Cheng, Hui Yang (), Wenfeng Wang, Hui Ci and Zhaojin Yan
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Ran Wang: School of Resources and Geosciences, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Honglin Zhuang: School of Resources and Geosciences, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Mingkai Cheng: School of Resources and Geosciences, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Hui Yang: School of Resources and Geosciences, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Wenfeng Wang: Key Laboratory of Coalbed Methane Resources and Reservoir Formation Process, Ministry of Education, School of Resource and Geoscience, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221008, China
Hui Ci: School of Resources and Geosciences, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China
Zhaojin Yan: School of Resources and Geosciences, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-24

Abstract: The northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains city cluster (NSTM), as a key urban agglomeration for the development of western China, has experienced rapid regional economic development and high population concentration since the twenty-first century. Accompanied by the increase in human activities in the NSTM, it has significantly altered the land use structure, leading to varying levels of habitat disturbance and degradation. In this paper, based on the land use and land cover (LULC) of NSTM from 2000 to 2020. The InVEST model was employed to assess habitat quality, revealing notable spatial and temporal variations. A geoprobe was further employed to explore the key drivers of the spatially distributed pattern of habitat quality in the research region. The results show that (1) from 2000 to 2020, the NSTM was largely characterized by grassland, unused land, and cropland in terms of land use, with a notable expansion of cropland and construction land; (2) the overall habitat quality in the study area is poor, with a clear spatial distribution pattern of high in the south and low in the north, with a predominance of low grades, and a trend of decreasing and then increasing is shown in the temporal direction; (3) under the influence of rapid urbanization in the region, the degradation degree of habitat quality on the NSTM shows a distinct radial structure, with high degradation in the middle and low degradation at the edges, and shows the trend of “increase-decrease-increase” over time; and (4) the results of the geodetector show that altitude and land use type have the greatest influence on habitat quality on the NSTM, indicating that the habitat quality of the research region is primarily influenced by the type of land use.

Keywords: northern slopes of Tianshan Mountain city cluster; land use; InVEST model; habitat quality; influencing factors (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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