Spatio-temporal evolution and driving mechanisms of rural resilience under ecological protection policies: A multi-scale analysis of technology-governance synergy in the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan Green Heart, China

Exploring the dynamic evolution of rural resilience and its influencing factors in the background of ecological protection policies is of great significance for promoting comprehensive rural revitalization and achieving sustainable rural development in ecologically sensitive areas. This study takes 119 villages in 25 towns of the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan Green Heart Area as the research objects, constructs a four-dimensional evaluation system of "economy-society-ecology -governance" based on the theoretical framework of "ecological protection policy-rural resilience," and analyzes the spatiotemporal evolution and driving factors of rural resilience under the impetus of ecological protection policies from 2003 to 2023. The study found: (1) Resilience exhibits the characteristics of a "three-stage leap-spatial bipolar reorganization," with the composite index rising from 0.127 to 0.428, and the spatial pattern shifting from a "central single-core" to a "northeast-southwest bipolar high-value" configuration, with smart agriculture coverage and village-level autonomous decision-making as the core driving forces; (2) The driving mechanism has undergone a transition from dependence on cultivated land resources, to technological penetration, and finally to technology-governance synergy, where, during the policy deepening period, technology penetration and governance decentralization formed a closed loop of "ecological restoration-industrial upgrading"; (3) Regional differences stem from the binary contradiction of "inter-city polarization-peripheral activation," with Changsha's siphon effect causing a resilience gradient gap of 0.27, while ecological protection policies, through spatial reorganization, increased the hypervariability density to 40.2 %, indicating that the traditional block-style governance framework of "three separate cities in Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan " has weakened, effectively activating the spatial interaction capacity of peripheral areas. • Theoretical logic of ecological protection policies and rural resilience. • Pattern of “three-stage leap-spatial bipolar reorganization”, with resilience index rising from 0.127 to 0.428. • Shift in driving mechanisms, “land dependence.→technology penetration→governance synergy”. • Policy-driven spatial reorganization shapes inter-city polarization and peripheral activation, and weakens block governance.