Integrating water use efficiency dynamics into ecological function zoning: Patterns, drivers, and trade-offs

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Ecology
• Hydrology

Background:

• Climate change threatens regional ecosystem stability.
• Ecological Function Zoning (EFZ) is vital for spatial management.
• Water Use Efficiency (WUE) is a key dynamic indicator linking carbon and water cycles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a dynamic EFZ framework for the Fuyang River watershed.
• To integrate dynamic WUE trends with ecological indicators for adaptive zoning.
• To analyze drivers and spatial interactions influencing WUE and ecological functions.

Main Methods:

• Quantified spatiotemporal WUE trends (2001-2020) using vegetation and hydrological models.
• Integrated dynamic WUE trends with ecological sensitivity, soil erosion, habitat quality, and land use data using Self-Organizing Maps (SOM).
• Analyzed driving factors and spatial interactions with XGBoost and Geographically Weighted Regression.

Main Results:

• WUE showed a dominant increasing trend across most of the Fuyang River watershed, driven by vegetation restoration (NDVI).
• The watershed was zoned into Ecological Conservation, Agricultural Production, and Urban Development zones based on dynamic WUE and ecological indicators.
• Ecological Conservation Zones showed increasing WUE and ecological quality synergies, while Agricultural Production Zones exhibited trade-offs.

Conclusions:

• Dynamic process indicators like WUE are essential for adaptive spatial planning and ecological management.
• The developed dynamic EFZ framework provides a scientific basis for managing regional ecosystems under climate change.
• Integrating dynamic WUE trends enhances the adaptability of EFZ for sustainable watershed management.