THE SPATIAL QUANTITATIVE EVALUATION AND COUPLING COORDINATION DEGREE OF URBAN ECOSYSTEM CARRYING CAPACITY: A CASE STUDY OF THE URBAN AGGLOMERATION IN THE MIDDLE REACHES OF THE YANGTZE RIVER, CHINA

The urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is within a typical ecologically sensitive area as well as it is a key development area in China Scientific assessment of urban ecosystem carrying capacity has important scientific value and practical significance. In this study, we established a new assessment framework for urban ecosystem carrying capacity, and then based on the components and structural characteristics of urban ecosystems, we constructed an extended evaluation index system for urban ecosystem carrying capacity. Spatial analysis and a coupling coordination degree model were used to analyze spatial patterns and coupling coordination degree of urban ecosystem carrying capacity in urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in 2015. The results indicated that: (1) The urban ecosystem carrying capacity of the study area was spatially differentiated and clearly clustered. (2) Comprehensive coupling coordination in spatial distribution had a significant north-south differentiation pattern of study area. Highly coordinated cities were mainly distributed in the Poyang Lake urban agglomeration and the area around the Dongting Lake, while the less coordinated cities were mainly distributed in the Wuhan urban agglomeration and south of the urban agglomeration around Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan. (3) In the surrounding area of Wuhan City and southwest of the urban agglomeration around Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan of coupling coordination degree is low, mainly due to the backward industrial foundation, low economic development efficiency, and heavy load on resource consumption and the environment.