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Arid Land Geography ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (4): 830-840.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2025.372

• Land Use and Sustainable Development • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Spatiotemporal evolution and driving factors of ecological efficiency in cultivated land use in the Guanzhong Plain

JIA Yajuan1, GAO Jun1, ZHANG Xinqi2()   

  1. 1 School of Management, Xi’an University of Finance and Economics, Xi’an 710100, Shaanxi, China
    2 International Business School, Hainan University, Haikou 570228, Hainan, China
  • Received:2025-06-30 Revised:2025-07-28 Online:2026-04-25 Published:2026-04-28
  • Contact: ZHANG Xinqi E-mail:xin_qi_zhang@163.com

Abstract:

As a key grain-producing region in western China, the Guanzhong Plain requires a critical balance between preserving the nation’s food security and sustainable land use. This study employed county-level panel data from 2013 to 2022 to evaluate the ecological efficiency of cultivated land use using the Super-SBM model incorporating undesirable outputs. Spatial autocorrelation analysis and the Geodetector method were applied to systematically investigate the spatiotemporal evolution of ecological efficiency and its underlying driving mechanisms. The results reveal a distinct “U-shaped” temporal trajectory in ecological efficiency, accompanied by a spatial gradient pattern characterized by higher efficiency in the central region, followed by the west. Meanwhile, the east saw lower efficiency. High-efficiency clusters were primarily concentrated in Xi’an and Xianyang and exhibited a trend of westward diffusion. Meanwhile, Tongchuan and Weinan remained in persistently low-efficiency states. Significant spatial agglomeration was also observed, with high-efficiency clusters expanding southward from Qian County and low-efficiency clusters consistently located in the eastern plain. This spatial heterogeneity of ecological efficiency has been shaped by a synergistic interplay of natural, socioeconomic, and policy-related factors. The influence of variables like annual precipitation and elevation demonstrated dynamic temporal variability, while the positive effects of urbanization rate and per capita disposable income of rural residents revealed a sustained upward trend. The interactions among these multidimensional factors yielded pronounced reinforcing effects on ecological efficiency.

Key words: Guanzhong Plain, cultivated land use, ecological efficiency, Super-SBM model, geographic detector