Ecological Priority-Oriented Performance Evaluation of Land Use Functions and Zoning Governance by Entropy–Catastrophe Progression Model

As land use performance undergoes abrupt shifts due to the transition from growth-centric to ecology-focused development, traditional evaluation methods often overlook the catastrophe characteristics of urban complex functions in the process of system evolution, resulting in land governance strategies being unable to adjust rapidly to adapt to regional transformation. To address this limitation, this study develops an ecological priority-oriented performance evaluation system for land use Production–Living–Ecological (PLE) Functions and introduces the Entropy–Catastrophe Progression model to conduct comprehensive measurement and obstacle diagnosis of land use PLE function performance in the Yangtze River Economic Belt of Hubei Province, a typical region, thereby proposing differentiated control strategies. The results show the following: (1) The Entropy–Catastrophe Progression Model can accurately measure the spatiotemporal evolution of land use PLE function performance during the development transition period. (2) The average value of land use PLE function performance presents a fluctuating upward trend, increasing from 0.812 (Poor level) in 2014 to 0.924 (Good level) in 2023. (3) Significant spatial disparities are observed, exhibiting a gradient decrease from provincial capital centers, provincial sub-centers, and ecological economic belts to metropolitan areas. (4) The key obstacles restricting performance improvement include a weak foundation for high-quality tertiary industries, insufficient intensity in environmental purification, and an inadequate supply of high-level living services. These can be addressed by dividing high-quality service optimization zones, green industry enhancement zones, and ecology–economy synergy zones, and establishing differentiated governance mechanisms to improve land use PLE function performance. This study provides theoretical guidance and empirical support for optimizing pathways for urban–rural land use and management.