Integrating ecosystem properties, environment quality and ecological pressure to assess regional ecosystem health and reveal driving mechanisms: Insights from a highland mountainous area in China

Le résumé fourni par la source

Rapid urbanization and intensive human activities have exacerbated the fragmentation of ecosystem structure and the degradation of ecosystem functions. Scientific assessment of ecosystem health and driving mechanisms is crucial for regional ecological protection and sustainable development. Existing studies mostly rely on general assessment models, which are unable to accurately represent the specific regional ecological characteristics, and the analysis methods are limited to single-factor or linear correlations. This study constructs a comprehensive assessment framework for regional ecosystem health (EH) that integrates ecosystem properties (Vigor-Organization-Resilience-Services), environment quality (EQ), and ecological pressure (EP). Taking the Central Yunnan Plateau (CYP) as the research area, combined with multi-source data, spatial analysis methods, and XGBoost–SHAP and GWR models, this study analyzes the phased evolutionary evolution characteristics and driving mechanisms of EH from six representative years between 2000 and 2023. The results indicate that: (1) The ecosystem health index ( EHI ) fluctuates slightly and has strong stability, but the health levels have shifted from medium–high to medium–low, indicating a potential risk of degradation. (2) The spatial pattern of EHI exhibited a relatively stable clustering pattern of “higher in the periphery and lower in the center”, with lower levels concentrated in the mountainous flat areas in the middle and the urban densely populated regions. (3) The driving mechanism of EH is dominated by human activities, regulated by natural factors, and driven by multi-factors in synergy. Land use intensity is the core driving force. The four natural factors of SLOPE, NPP, RHU, and TMP play a role in spatial buffering. (4) Nonlinear relationships and threshold effects are prevalent between driving factors and EH, and their interactions further increase the complexity of ecosystem dynamics. This study reveals the spatiotemporal dynamics and complex driving mechanisms of EH mountainous areas of the plateau, offering scientific support for regional ecological governance and sustainable development, and providing a transferable framework for studies of other mountainous areas.

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