Exploring the causal relationships and pathways between ecological environmental quality and influencing Factors: A comprehensive analysis

作者：Lifeng Liang, yuexiang Song, Zhenfeng Shao, Chenyuan Zheng, Xiujuan Liu, Li Yan · 发表于：Ecological Indicators · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.112192 · 被引用次数：29 · 研究领域：Land Use and Ecosystem Services、Energy, Environment, Economic Growth

• From the perspective of spatial cross-sectional data, this study explores causal inference in the ecological environment. • Two primary causal pathways are identified. • The study unveils the intricate mechanisms among diverse factors within the ecological environment system. The ecological environment is closely related to natural conditions, climate change, and human activities. However, existing research predominantly concentrates on evaluating the direct impacts of various factors on the ecological environment, yet lacks an in-depth exploration of their causal relationships and pathways. This paper introduces a new perspective to research in this field by incorporating spatial cross-sectional data analysis methods. The study utilized the 2020 China’s High-resolution Eco-Environmental Quality (CHEQ) dataset to evaluate the spatial differentiation characteristics of Ecological Environmental Quality (EEQ) within the western urban agglomeration of Guangdong Province. A framework of “terrain-urbanization-climate” influencing factors was constructed, and the Geographical convergent cross mapping (GCCM) method was employed to infer the causal relationship between EEQ and influencing factors. Additionally, the spatial distribution characteristics of influencing factors on ecological environment quality were studied using the Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression Model (MGWR). The results indicate that seven influencing factors including Elevation, Population, Precipitat...