Spatiotemporal variation characteristics of ecosystems and their driving forces in the Min Delta urban agglomeration

Abstract

This paper uses four years of ecosystem classification data, from 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015, to analyse the spatiotemporal variation characteristics of the ecosystems of counties and cities in the Min Delta urban agglomeration over 15 years across four aspects, including changes in the ecosystem area for each period, a transfer matrix of the counties and cities, the comprehensive dynamic ecosystem index, and the forces driving these changes. The results show that: (1) from 2000 to 2015, the total area of farmland, forest and shrub ecosystems in the Min Delta urban agglomeration decreased, while the total area of urban, wetland and grassland ecosystems has increased. There are spatiotemporal differences and patterns in the area change and transfer of various ecosystems. The series of scales and proportion of ecosystem types in the counties and cities of the Min Triangle show that there is a two-way transfer between farmland and urban ecosystems. In addition, there are spatiotemporal differences in the transfer of these two ecosystems. Forest ecosystems are transferred into farmland, urban and grassland ecosystems at different levels. In the eastern part of the Min Triangle, wetlands are mostly transferred to urban ecosystems, and the western regions are mostly transferred to forests and farmland. (2) For the comprehensive dynamic index of the Min Delta urban agglomeration, from 2000 to 2015, the degree of ecosystem dynamics was higher in each period than the previous, and the dynamics in the eastern and central parts were higher than those in the west and south for the same period. From 2000 to 2005, the comprehensive dynamic index was below 0.2%. The dynamic index of Longhai in Xiamen and Zhangzhou increased significantly from 2005 to 2010 from that of the previous period, and their values all exceeded 0.9%. From 2010 to 2015, the area with a large change in the dynamic index expanded to the east and south from the central area of Xiamen. The dynamics in the northwest did not sufficiently increase. (3) The GDP, value of agricultural production, forestry, and fisheries, secondary and tertiary industries, urbanization rate, and permanent residents are important factors influencing ecosystems. The driving effects of these socioeconomic indicators and urban population development have different degrees of significance on farmland, urban, forest and wetland ecosystems during different periods of the Delta's urban agglomeration.