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Arid Land Geography ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (7): 1418-1429.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2025.395

• Land Use and Ecosystem • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Spatiotemporal differentiation characteristics and driving factors of sustainable utilization of natural capital in the Qinghai-Xizang alpine region: A case of Qinghai Province

LI Lingling1(), REN Jun1,2,3, LI Chengying1(), WANG Shuqi1, CHEN Rui1, WEN Shuo1   

  1. 1 School of Civil & Water Resources, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, Qinghai, China
    2 School of Finance and Economics, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, Qinghai, China
    3 Laboratory of Ecological Protection and High Quality Development in the Upper Yellow River, Qinghai University, Xining 810016, Qinghai, China
  • Received:2025-07-09 Revised:2025-09-01 Online:2026-07-25 Published:2026-07-07
  • Contact: LI Chengying E-mail:lilingling@qhu.edu.cn;lichengying@qhu.edu.cn

Abstract:

The sustainable utilization of natural capital is a core issue in regional high-quality development. This study, focusing on eight cities and prefectures in Qinghai Province of China, applied an improved three-dimensional ecological footprint model, a standard deviation ellipse model, and a geographically and temporally weighted regression model to quantitatively examine spatiotemporal dynamics and the driving factors of natural capital use from 2012 to 2022 at the prefectural level. The results indicate that (1) From 2012 to 2022, the per capita ecological footprint in Qinghai increased from 2.5 hm2·person-1 to 3.0 hm2·person-1, the per capita ecological carrying capacity rose from 0.6 hm2·person-1 to 0.8 hm2·person-1, and the per capita ecological deficit expanded from 1.9 hm2·person-1 to 2.5 hm2·person-1. The gravity center of the per capita three-dimensional ecological footprint shifted northwestward, reflecting an increasing pressure on resources and the environment from human economic activities. (2) Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Haixi Mongolian and Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture had larger ecological footprints, while Xining City was the lowest. Haidong City was the only region with an ecological surplus. Haidong City had the largest footprint, and Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture the smallest; Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture showed the greatest depth of footprint. (3) Both the natural capital flow occupancy rate and stock-flow utilization ratio exhibited a high in the west, low in the east pattern, and all eight prefectures were in a slightly unsustainable or worse state. (4) The influencing factors of natural capital use showed significant spatial heterogeneity: the regression coefficient of fixed asset investment growth rate showed a low in the north and high in the south pattern, while the regression coefficient of power generation had a low in the east and high in the west pattern. It is necessary to apply differentiated strategies that are tailored to local conditions to promote synergistic ecological and economic development. This study provides a scientific basis for the management of ecological resources and sustainable development in the Tibetan Alpine region.

Key words: natural capital, sustainable utilization, three-dimensional ecological footprint model, GTWR model, Qinghai Province