[Spatiotemporal Variation Characteristics and Driver Factors of Habitat Quality in Terrestrial Ecosystems of China]

Understanding the spatiotemporal variation characteristics of habitat quality and its driving mechanisms is crucial for enhancing biodiversity and promoting regional ecological restoration. This study assessed the habitat quality across terrestrial ecosystems in China from 2000 to 2020 with the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs （InVEST） model. By integrating ecological quality transitions and spatial autocorrelation models， this study explored the spatiotemporal evolution patterns of the habitat quality. This study also analyzed the influence of land use/land cover （LULC）， enhanced vegetation index （EVI）， topographic factors， climatic factors， and socioeconomic factors on the spatial heterogeneity of habitat quality with the Geodetector method， using both single-factor and interaction detection. The results revealed that： ① The spatial distribution pattern of habitat quality across terrestrial ecosystems of China aligned closely with the land use/land cover types. Habitat quality was higher in forest and grassland areas compared to that in cropland and unused land， which was primarily due to higher vegetation coverage， more stable ecosystem structure and function， and richer biodiversity in the forest and grassland areas. ② The habitat quality in terrestrial ecosystems of China was overall relatively high， with areas classified as Level III or above accounting for approximately 55% of the total terrestrial area. Strong spatial clustering patterns of the habitat quality were observed， with high-value areas concentrated in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau， Yangtze River Economic Belt， Hainan， and the Greater and Lesser Khingan Mountains. Low-value areas were primarily located around the Tarim Basin， western Inner Mongolia， the Shandong Peninsula， and the Yangtze River Delta. The habitat quality remained stable in most regions （90.84%） during the study period. Declines in habitat quality （4.63%） were mainly observed in eastern coastal regions， especially in urban agglomerations such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region， the Shandong Peninsula， and the Yangtze River Delta. Improvements in habitat quality （4.53%） were concentrated in areas such as the Loess Plateau and the Sanjiangyuan Region. ③ LULC had the highest explanatory power （q-value） and showed the strongest interaction effects with other factors. Habitat quality in terrestrial ecosystems， biodiversity priority areas， and non-priority areas was primarily influenced by LULC， EVI， and precipitation， indicating a consistent mechanism across different biodiversity zones， namely， the dominant role of natural factors. Socioeconomic factors showed relatively low explanatory power when considered individually but demonstrated increasing interaction effects when combined with LULC and EVI， with q-values exceeding 0.32. Notably， the nighttime light index and the proportion of construction land had q-values in non-priority areas that were 9-30 times and 1-3 times higher than those in priority areas， respectively. The findings of this study can provide essential scientific support for regional ecological conservation and high-quality development.