Spatial and temporal evolution of land use and habitat quality in arid regions – a case of Northwest China

Abstract The ecological and natural conditions in arid regions are very harsh, and water scarcity and land desertification are prominent features of these regions. The land cover of these areas has a significant impact on global climate change as well as on ecological conservation and building. In order to achieve rational and sustainable use of land resources, it is crucial to quickly grasp the changes in land use and habitat quality in arid areas. Therefore, based on the land cover data from 1990 to 2022, this study explores and analyses the characteristics of land use change and habitat quality evolution in Northwest China using land use dynamics, transfer matrix, and InVEST model. The results show that the main cover types in Northwest China are grassland and barren, and that the area of impervious has changed considerably during the period 1990–2022, with an area movement of 11.69%. Over the past 33 years, there have been frequent conversions between cropland, forest, grassland, and barren, during which the habitat degradation index has shown a trend of “increasing–decreasing–increasing,” and the overall spatial distribution of habitat quality has shown a distribution of “low in the northwest and high in the central part of the country.” There is a strong link between land use change and habitat quality change over the period 1990–2022, with land use shifts and habitat quality shifts generally following the same trend over the period. Regional differences in natural and anthropogenic factors are also more pronounced, resulting in significant spatial heterogeneity in the impacts of habitat quality in Northwestern China. As an important ecological barrier and strategic resource reserve area in the northwest region, this study is of great significance for maintaining national and even global ecological and resource security.