Research on the Impact of Urban Expansion on Habitat Quality in Chengdu

Abstract

Land use changes caused by urban expansion have a significant impact on regional ecological environment and biodiversity. Exploring the impact of urban expansion on habitat quality can guide the future sustainable development path and ecological conservation of cities. The InVEST model was used to evaluate the habitat quality indices of Chengdu in the three periods covering 2000, 2010 and 2020; land use intensity was used to quantitatively characterize the projection of urban expansion on spatial structure and then analyze the impact of urban expansion on habitat quality; we then proposed a spatial control zoning strategy. The results show that: (1) from 2010 to 2020, construction land in Chengdu grew by 140.58%, 5.52 times the expansion rate of the previous decade, as the city entered a phase of rapid development; (2) the center of gravity of construction land moved in a “back to the center-eastward” trajectory and the city shifted to a compact expansion development pattern; (3) urban expansion was an important cause of habitat quality decline as the overall habitat quality in Chengdu was on a degradation trend, with a spatial distribution of habitat quality characterized by high habitat quality in the eastern and western regions and low habitat quality in the central region; and (4) habitat quality and land use intensity showed a significant negative spatial correlation. The study area was dominated by two clusters: “high land use intensity–low habitat quality” and “low land use intensity–high habitat quality”. The results of the study show that researchers can protect high-quality habitat space in cities, improve habitat quality in areas of habitat degradation in urban expansion, and guide the green and sustainable development of urban land use in the future.