Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity of Eco-Efficiency of Cultivated Land Use and Its Influencing Factors: Evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China

For the purpose of providing crucial theoretical support for guaranteeing food security and reaching low-carbon emissions, this study examines the spatiotemporal evolution and influencing factors of the eco-efficiency of cultivated land use (ECLU) across 125 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) from 2005 to 2022. Utilizing models such as Super-SBM, spatial autocorrelation, standard deviational ellipse, and regionally weighted regression, we investigate the spatiotemporal characteristics and influencing factors. The results indicate that (1) from 2005 to 2022, the overall ECLU in the YREB has shown a notable increase, demonstrating an “N”-shaped trend of “rise-decline-rise”, although trends vary at the city level, with upstream areas exhibiting higher efficiency than downstream and midstream areas. (2) Furthermore, a significant positive correlation exists in the ECLU among the cities, exhibiting pronounced spatial differentiation; the centroid displays a migration trajectory from “southwest-northeast-southwest”, with the long axis of the ellipse consistently oriented in the “southwest-northeast” direction. (3) Additionally, the influencing factors of the ECLU exhibit significant spatial heterogeneity across different years and regions, revealing substantial regional disparities among the cities in the YREB. Future efforts should focus on exploring differentiated regional pathways, increasing investment in agricultural technology, and enhancing farmers’ environmental awareness to promote the improvement of the ECLU.