Coupling coordination and driving mechanisms of land use and ecosystem service value in the Central Yunnan Urban Agglomeration

Abstract

Abstract

Introduction Land use change profoundly influences ecosystem services, yet the coupling coordination between land use and ecosystem service value (ESV) in rapidly urbanizing plateau-mountain agglomerations remains insufficiently explored. Methods This study focuses on the Central Yunnan Urban Agglomeration, integrating multi-temporal land use data, the equivalent factor method (regionally adjusted by NPP), coupling coordination degree model, trend surface analysis, and geographical detector to examine the coupling coordination relationship and driving factors between land use and ESV from 2010 to 2024. Results Construction land expanded continuously, mainly through the conversion of cultivated land, while forest and grassland remained dominant. Total ESV increased from 1.194 billion yuan to 2.288 billion yuan, driven primarily by regulating services, and exhibited a core–periphery spatial differentiation. The coupling coordination degree improved steadily from an unbalanced to a coordinated state, though core urbanized areas maintained relatively low coordination. The primary factors accounting for spatial differentiation shifted from natural factors toward a more balanced structure involving topography, GDP, and population, with nonlinear enhancement effects among them. Notably, construction land expansion coincided with ESV growth—a phenomenon partly associated with water body increase and their high ESV coefficients—cautioning against reliance on single land-type expansion. Discussion This study provides empirical evidence on human–land system coordination in rapidly urbanizing regions and offers insights for sustainable territorial spatial management.