Spatial heterogeneity in and distributional characteristics of rural ecological livability in China--The case of Fujian Province

PLoS One. 2020 Dec 29;15(12):e0244238. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244238. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

With the outbreak of COVID-19, the importance of rural areas has been gradually highlighted, and the importance of rural ecological livability has been gradually recognized. A growing body of literature recognizes the importance of building a rural ecological livability (REL) system. It is urgent that we clarify the status quo and spatial-temporal differences in and distributional characteristics of rural ecological livability and that we carry out targeted and differentiated construction to promote rural ecological livability in post-epidemic China. This study proposes a conceptual model that incorporates various economic, social and environmental factors and develops a comprehensive multifactor (production-living-ecology) evaluation system. Using Fujian Province as an example, the entropy weight method is used to measure the REL level of 55 counties and cities, which are comprehensively evaluated from 2015 to 2019. Moran's I and Getis-Ord Gi* are used to analyze the spatial and distributional characteristics of the REL level in Fujian. The results show that the level of REL in Fujian Province has been relatively flat over the past five years, with a slight downward trend. The overall value of the rural ecological livability index in 2015 was 0.345, and its overall value in 2019 was 0.334, with an average value of 0.343. The REL of Fujian Province is spatially correlated, with high levels of livability in the southeast and low levels in the northeast. The autocorrelation in the level of ecological livability in Fujian's counties and cities continues to increase.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • COVID-19 / epidemiology
  • China / epidemiology
  • Cities
  • Conservation of Natural Resources
  • Economic Development*
  • Ecosystem*
  • Humans
  • Rural Population*

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Fujian Province Social Science Research Base Major project: Fujian Province rural ecological Livability Evaluation research (No.FJ2019JDZ025), and Project of Yongchun Ecological Civilization Research Institute "Research on the Mobilization Mechanism of Rural Social Organizations in Yongchun County from the Perspective of Localization" (No. 2019001).