Evolution mechanism for human-land coupling land system in the hinterland of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area from 2000 to 2020

Land use transformation can be clarified under the human-land coupling system, in order to promote the high-quality development and sustainable land use. In this study, the coupling coordination degree model, landscape index and binary logistic regression were adopted to explore the land system evolution and influence mechanism in the hinterland of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area from 2000 to 2020. The transformation of human-land coupling land system was also summarized in the context of human-land coupling, in terms of quantity, landscape pattern, and functional form. The results show that: 1) The intensity of human activities were a gradual increase to decrease with a consequent evolution in the human-land coupling relationship. In general terms, the human-land relationship showed a gentle trend towards a coordinated type of change. There was the differential evolution of spatial distribution, which was tended to be coordinated in the central and northeastern, the northern was tended to be antagonistic, and there was no outstanding change in the southern. 2) The human-land coupling land system shared the outstanding change in the quantity, landscape pattern and function after the construction of the Three Gorges Project, particularly on the returning cultivated land to forest and grassland. The cultivated land decreased in the antagonistic and the imbalanced area, part of which was the abandoned land. The woodland increased restoratively in the antagonistic area. But there was the fluctuating evolution in the imbalanced area, where the first increased and then decreased. whereas, the orchard was expanded significantly in the coordinated area. The degree of patch fragmentation was improved to be regular landscape pattern. Land systems were evolved from the mono-functional dominance to multi-functional. 3) There was the diversified transformation of the human-land coupling land system in the study area. Patterns were also summarized as follows. The antagonistic area with woodland increased in the quantity form, while the patches were aggregated with the ecological function and irregular form of landscape pattern; The imbalanced area with the woodland decreased, whereas, the patches were aggregated to regularly and ecologically orient; The coordinated area with orchard expanded, while the patches were overall aggregated regularly, ecologically and economically. 4) Distance and topography were the influencing factors on the evolution of land system. The cultivated and abandoned land decreased, whereas, the woodland increased, as the distance from the settlement and the topographic relief increased. The orchard decreased with the increase of elevation. In addition, the interaction among the dominant factors was superimposed on the land system. The development mode of human-land coupling relationship and land system transformation in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area can be of practical significance to promote the rational use of land resources and the coordinated development of human-land in mountainous areas.