Abstract:

The aims is to further understand the status of habitat quality, spatial distribution characteristics and their relationship with land-use type changes in the western Qinling region, with a view to solving the territorial spatial problems such as degradation of habitat quality, damage to ecosystems, imbalance of spatial patterns, and irrational exploitation and utilization of natural resources in the region. In this study, with the help of InVEST, the habitat quality model, land use degree index, and bivariate spatial autocorrelation were used to simulate and evaluate the habitat quality of West Qinling in the past 30 years based on the land use data of Qinzhou District, Kang County, and Luqu County in West Qinling from 1990 to 2020. The results showed that: (1) the area of cultivated land in the northeast of West Qinling decreased significantly; in the south and west, the decrease of land was dominated by the grassland and unutilized land, and the area of other land-use types increased; (2) the main change of habitats in the northeast and south of West Qinling was the transition from higher to higher grade habitats, while the middle and lower grade habitats were transitioning to lower grade habitats; in the west, it was mainly a process of changing from higher to medium grade habitats and lower to lower grade habitats, and the overall habitat quality was in the middle to upper level; (3) the habitat quality in the northeast and south of West Qinling was negatively correlated with the degree of land use, and the degree of correlation had a tendency to weaken; the degree of land use in the west was positively correlated with the quality of habitats and there was a phenomenon of spatial agglomeration, with spatial agglomeration increasing and then decreasing. (4) Over the past 30 years, the degree of habitat degradation in West Qinling had been on an upward trend, and the spatial distribution was generally high in the northeast, east and south, and low in the west and northwest. The simulation and evaluation of the habitat quality of West Qinling in the past 30 years can provide scientific references for the improvement of the habitat quality of West Qinling, the protection of land resources, and the direction of regional land use.

Key words: habitat quality, land use change, West Qinling, bivariate spatial autocorrelations