An improved framework for assessing territorial spatial conflict from the perspective of ecological security and its quantitative analysis of driving factors: A case study of the <scp>Yellow River Basin</scp>

Abstract Ecological security is fundamentally interconnected with territorial spatial conflict (TSC); however, current assessment frameworks frequently neglect ecological vulnerability. To address this gap, based on landscape pattern theory, this study proposes an enhanced TSC assessment framework that integrates ecological sensitivity and ecological risk into ecological vulnerability and further incorporates landscape complexity and fragmentation to construct a conflict risk index based on a composite landscape index. Applying this framework to the Yellow River Basin, this study examines the spatiotemporal evolution of TSC from 1990 to 2020 using multi‐source data on land use, terrain, climate, vegetation, and socioeconomic conditions. Spatial autocorrelation reveals distinct clustering patterns, and a Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR) model quantifies the spatially heterogeneous effects of key drivers. Results indicate a 5.40% reduction in severe conflict areas over the study period. Conflicts are predominantly concentrated in rapidly urbanizing and densely populated midstream and downstream cities, whereas plateau regions remain largely low‐conflict. TSC exhibits significant positive spatial autocorrelation, with high–high clusters progressively expanding southeastward. MGWR identifies SHDI and NDVI as generally positive influences on TSC, while distance from urban centers exerts a mitigating effect. Socioeconomic factors such as land‐use intensity, secondary industry value‐added, and local fiscal revenue demonstrate broad, scale‐dependent impacts. This framework provides a transferable methodology for embedding ecological security considerations into territorial spatial planning and conflict management.