Correlation between land use spatial and functional transition: a case study of Shaanxi Province, China

Transitioning to a more optimal land use morphology contributes to the sustainable use of land resources. Land use transition refers to the land use morphology changes from one to another, which should be portrayed from both correlated spatial morphology and functional morphology. However, the current studies have the problem of separating the land use spatial and functional transition, which causes the degree and the mechanism of the correlation between them to be still unclear. Taking Shaanxi Province as a case study, based on the land use data and socio-economic data, this study used the sustainability evaluation model of land use spatial transition, the multifunctional coupling coordination model of land use, and the grey correlation model to quantify the correlation between the land use spatial and functional transition. The results showed that the correlation between land use spatial and functional transition was high in Shaanxi Province during 1980–2018, and the change in correlation had an interdecadal cycle, which was embodied in the correlation reached extremely high when a positive land use functional transition occurred. The correlation between land use spatial transition and the change of land use ecological function was extremely high, and the correlation with both production and living function was high. The high correlation between the land use spatial and functional transition was essentially a strong driving force, bound by the vulnerability of land ecology and strengthened by the rapidly changing demands of production and living. It can drive the land use spatial morphology transition to another that can give full play to the multifunctionality of land use. The study established a quantitative analysis framework for the correlation between land use spatial and functional transition, which provided quantitative evidence for the regional land use transition theory and contributed to formulating rational land use policies to achieve regional sustainable development.