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Arid Land Geography ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (9): 1924-1939.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2026.001

• Regional Development • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Coupling coordination evolution and constraint mechanisms of the WEFE system in China: Based on the provincial scale and the perspective of arid and semi-arid regions

GUO Jinzhong(), LIU Yajie, LIU Xiaoling   

  1. School of Information Management, Xinjiang University of Finance and Economics, Urumqi 830012, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2026-01-04 Revised:2026-02-20 Online:2026-09-25 Published:2026-09-07

Abstract:

Synergistic development of the water-energy-food-ecosystem (WEFE) system is a critical issue in regional sustainable development, particularly in arid and semi-arid regions where systemic coordination is essential for resource and ecological security. Based on panel data from 30 Chinese provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities), excluding Xizang, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, from 2006 to 2022, a comprehensive provincial scale evaluation index system for the WEFE system was constructed. Methods entropy weight, coupling coordination, spatial autocorrelation, and grey relation were employed to systematically characterize and analyze the spatiotemporal evolution and spatial association patterns of WEFE system coordination in China, particularly the differential performance and dominant constraint mechanisms of arid and semi-arid regions at the provincial scale. We found that: (1) At the provincial scale, the overall development level of the WEFE system in China showed steady improvement, though with uneven subsystem development. The water resources subsystem consistently lagged, exhibiting a pronounced rigid constraint in arid and semi-arid regions. (2) The overall coupling coordination of the WEFE system evolved from near-disorder/recession to barely coordinated development. Spatially, it exhibited a gradient pattern in which the east led, the center was stable, and the west was catching up, though with regional disparities gradually narrowing. Arid and semi-arid regions transitioned from national clusters of low coordination to local growth poles with high coordination values. (3) Coupling coordination demonstrated stable positive spatial autocorrelation, with the coexistence of high-high and low-low agglomeration patterns. (4) Regarding constraint mechanisms, at the national level, food security formed the foundational support for WEFE system coordination. Specifically regarding subsystem constraints, arid and semi-arid regions were primarily constrained by water use and energy utilization efficiency, whereas humid and semihumid regions were more limited by production efficiency and ecological quality.

Key words: WEFE system, coupling coordination, spatial autocorrelation, grey relation, arid and semi-arid regions