A Study on Spatiotemporal Differentiation Characteristics of Ecological Security and Sustainable Utilization of Cultivated Land in Sichuan Province Based on Emergy–Ecological Footprint Model

Ecological security and sustainable utilization of cultivated land are the fundamental guarantee for agricultural production and a key link in maintaining ecological balance. Based on the emergy analysis theory, this study adopted the modified emergy–ecological footprint model, taking counties as the evaluation unit, to analyze the spatiotemporal differentiation characteristics of ecological security and sustainable utilization of cultivated land in Sichuan Province from 2010 to 2020. The results indicated that (1) in hilly regions, emergy output increased the most, despite a decrease in emergy input. Overall, both emergy input and output of cultivated land in Sichuan Province showed an increasing trend, with average growth rates of 6.3% and 32.6%, respectively. (2) The overall ecological security of cultivated land in the province was at risk. The at-risk area was mainly concentrated in plain, hilly and peripheral mountainous regions. The spatial pattern presented an evolutionary characteristic where the safe area contracted northwestward while the at-risk area expanded northwestward–southwestward. (3) The overall sustainable utilization of cultivated land in the province degraded from strong to weak. The spatial pattern showed an evolutionary characteristic where plain, hilly and peripheral mountainous regions tended to stabilize, while southwestern mountainous regions and northwestern plateau regions degraded. The ecological security and sustainable utilization of cultivated land in Sichuan Province both show a degradation trend. It is necessary to optimize the input structure of cultivated land systems, improve agricultural production efficiency, and formulate targeted optimization and regulation measures in combination with the actual conditions of each region.