Spatiotemporal Variations in the Intensity of Human Activity in Inner Mongolia and the Identification of Influencing Forces

Abstract

The quantitative evaluation of the intensity of regional human activity can reflect changes in the relationship between people and the environment and provide a scientific basis for the formulation of land-use policy and for the construction of the ecological environment. This paper adopted the ratio of the area of construction land to the total area to calculate human activity intensity in Inner Mongolia at the league/city, banner/county, and pixel levels, respectively. On this basis, the overall change in human activity intensity and its spatiotemporal differentiation, geographical unit change, and spatial autocorrelation were analyzed. The results are as follows: (1) The intensity of human activity increased from 2000 to 2020. The intensity of human activity in Inner Mongolia was 8.71% in 2000, and it increased to 8.73% in 2010 and to 9.71% in 2020. The growth rate has accelerated since 2010. (2) The areas with high and medium intensity of human activities are mainly concentrated in the area south of the Hinggan–Yinshan–Helan Mountains. The intensity in the Hulunbeier grassland area and Alxa desert area is relatively low, and the diffusion effect gradually becomes prominent in the proximal local area. (3) The results for the detection of influencing factors indicate that the livestock density, multi-year average precipitation conditions, and population density have significant driving effects on the changes in intensity of human activity in Inner Mongolia.