Spatial-Temporal Change and Synergy/Trade-Off Relationship of “Production–Living–Ecological” Space along the Sino-Vietnamese Border

Abstract

The internal trade-off of land space is caused by the competition of land use for multiple functions, such as agricultural production, economic development and ecological protection. In response to this common problem, this study uses a positive and negative assignment method and a more refined evaluation scale to analyze the spatial and temporal variation characteristics and synergy/trade-off relationship of production–living–ecological space in the Sino-Vietnamese border area from 2000 to 2020. The results show that: (1) There was great regional diversity in the evolution characteristics of the Sino-Vietnamese border. Production space (PS) and living space (LS) presented prominent expansion, and ecological space (ES) was shrinking. (2) From 2000 to 2020, the degree of synergy between PS and LS has increased gradually. The trade-off relationship between PS and ES has shown different fluctuation intensities. The synergy/trade-off relationship between LS and ES has changed, and its trade-off intensity has continuously increased. (3) On the spatial scale, the PS and LS trade-off areas are mostly distributed in the central and western regions with higher altitudes, and the spatial pattern of the synergy zone is expanding. The synergy and trade-off relationship between PS and ES are relatively stable over time. The area of the trade-off between LS and ES has expanded gradually. In conclusion, the synergy/trade-off relationship between the PLES functions has strong consistency with regional economic and social development, which can serve as a scientific basis for the healthy and sustainable development of land space.