Multi-scale coupling quantitative assessment of ecological-urban resilience in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

As China’s rapid urban development exerts significant pressure on the ecological environment, accurate quantitative analysis of the relationship between urban and eco-environment is crucial for sustainable development. Current research has not yet explored the spatial and temporal patterns of the coupling relationship between urban and ecological systems at the county scale. To address this gap, this study developed a multi-scale analysis framework for ecological-urban resilience based on geographically weighted principal component analysis (GWPCA). Based on data from 1068 counties across the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB), 21 evaluation indicators were selected to explore the spatiotemporal patterns in the coupling coordination degree (CCD) between ecological resilience (ER) and urban resilience (UR) at different scales. The results indicated the following: (1) the ER of YREB exhibited a spatial pattern of “high in the southeast and low in the northwest”, while the UR exhibited a gradual and steady growth trend; (2) the CCD of YREB underwent three stages, with the development stage progressing 1.58 times faster than the starting stage, and the CCD peaked at 0.663 in 2020; (3) the CCD showed an upward trend from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River (URYR) to the lower reaches of the Yangtze River (LRYR), corresponding to improvements in urban development levels and the eco-environment quality. Under the “Ecological Priority and Intensive Development” strategy, the ER, UR, and CCD of YREB increased continuously from 2000 to 2020. Furthermore, targeted policies should be developed in response to the substantial CCD gap between the eastern and western regions and the decline in CCD of certain counties. The research findings will provide valuable scientific data and recommendations for environmental protection, ecological restoration, and innovation-driven regional development in the YREB.