Environmental performance evaluation and influencing factors analysis of Hubei Province from a spatial perspective

Taking Hubei province as an example, a system of environmental performance evaluation indicators was constructed based on the pressure-status-response (PSR) model, and spatial autocorrelation and standard deviation ellipsoid method were used to explore the spatial pattern characteristics and influencing factors of performance indexes in various regions of Hubei Province. The results showed that the environmental performance indexes (EPIs) of all regions investigated in Hubei Province were higher than 60, but those were generally at a medium level and the proportion of good and excellent was low. The regions with higher EPI were mainly located in the western and central parts of Hubei Province. The pressure and status indexes decreased from west to east, and the response indexes in eastern part were higher than those in western and central parts. The status indexes had a significant positive correlation in space, which meant that areas with better (or worse) environmental quality gather in space. The EPIs and the second-level indexes took the northwest-southeast as the layout direction, and the EPI elliptical center of gravity was biased toward the southwest direction compared with the benchmark center of gravity. In addition to being influenced by resource endowments, regional environmental indexes were also significantly related to urbanization rates and population density. © 2019, Editorial Board of China Environmental Science. All right reserved.