The Spatiotemporal Evolution of Land Use Ecological Efficiency in the Huaihai Economic Zone: Insights from a Multi-Dimensional Framework and Geospatial Modeling

Existing studies on eco-efficiency evaluation often neglect the social and ecological benefits of land use, as well as the spatial heterogeneity in the effects of natural factors. This study aims to establish a systematic eco-efficiency evaluation framework and examine the dynamic impacts of various factors on land use eco-efficiency at the county scale. An evaluation framework integrating economic, ecological, and social outputs was constructed using multi-source remote sensing data. The super-efficiency Slack-Based Measure model and exploratory spatial data analysis method were employed to analyze the land use eco-efficiency and its spatiotemporal characteristics in the Huaihai Economic Zone from 2000 to 2022. Furthermore, the enhanced Geographically and Temporally Weighted Regression model was applied to examine the spatiotemporal heterogeneity of industrial structure, ecological background, land use, and other factors influencing land use eco-efficiency. The results indicated the following: (1) The average land use eco-efficiency in the Huaihai Economic Zone followed a pronounced “U-shaped” pattern, initially decreasing before increasing. At the county level, efficiency values generally showed an upward trend, with municipal districts or county-level cities accounting for more than half of the areas. (2) A weak positive spatial agglomeration of land use eco-efficiency was observed at the county level. High-efficiency areas shifted from a dispersed pattern to a “T-shaped” spatial distribution, while low-efficiency areas gradually converged toward the southern regions, evolving from an “H-shaped” cluster. (3) The influence of industrial structure, urbanization, environmental regulation, ecological factors, and land use on ecological efficiency exhibited clear spatial and temporal heterogeneity. The multi-dimensional land use eco-efficiency evaluation offers an effective tool for comprehensively assessing ecological conservation, environmental sustainability, and socio-economic development. It also provides valuable insights for improving land use eco-efficiency at the county level.