Spatiotemporal Evolution Analysis of Habitat Quality under High-Speed Urbanization: A Case Study of Urban Core Area of China Lin-Gang Free Trade Zone (2002–2019)

Abstract

This paper, examining the Pilot Free Trade Zone Lin-Gang Special Area in China (Shanghai), identifies the relationship between urban expansion and habitat change and analyzes the influence mechanism of habitat quality (HQ) on spatiotemporal distribution. The results show the following: (1) From 2002 to 2019, the HQ in the study area decreased significantly, and the spatial differences gradually expanded over time. The HQ was low in the southwest and high in the northeast, and low-level habitats gradually moved to the southwest. This spatiotemporal evolutionary law was consistent with the local government’s 2003–2020 plans, which are composed of the joint development of a logistics park in the north, the Lin-Gang industrial zone in the west, and Shanghai port in the south. (2) Due to the interspersed distribution of high and low habitats caused by urban development and expansion, Moran’s index in spatial autocorrelation decreased over time, which means the spatial agglomeration of HQ decreased and that homogeneity increased. (3) The spatial distribution of HQ was quantified by landscape analysis. The results showed that the fragmentation degree in high-level habitat areas increased with time, while the middle-level habitat areas first increased and then decreased, and the low-level habitat areas displayed the opposite change in trend to that of the middle habitat.

Keywords

• urbanization
• habitat quality
• spatiotemporal evolution
• landscape pattern
• Lin-Gang free trade zone