Spatial pattern differentiation effect of land use in the Danjiang River Basin based on terrain factors and geological formation

Terrain and geological formation are crucial natural environmental factors that constrain land use and land cover changes. Studying their regulatory role in regional land use and land cover changes is significant for guiding regional land resource management. Taking the Danjiang River Basin in the Qinling Mountains of China as an example, this paper incorporates terrain (elevation, slope, and aspect) factors and geological formation to comprehensively analyse the differentiation characteristics of land use spatial patterns based on the examination of land use changes in 2000, 2010, and 2020. Moreover, the geographical detector is employed to compare and analyse the effect of each factor on the spatial heterogeneity of land use. The results show that: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the areas of arable land and forestland in the Danjiang River Basin decreased while the areas of grassland, water areas, construction land, and unused land continuously increased. The comprehensive land use dynamics index was +0.09%, indicating a generally low level of land development. (2) Differences in the natural environmental factors of terrain and geological formation have a significant controlling effect on the spatial heterogeneity of land use. Specifically, there are notable differences in the advantageous distribution characteristics of various land use types across different levels of influencing factors. (3) The factor detection results reveal that geological formation has the strongest influence on the spatial heterogeneity of land use, followed by elevation and slope while aspect has the weakest influence. After the interaction among the factors, they nonlinearly enhance the explanation of spatial heterogeneity in land use. Overall, the influence of geological formation on the spatial heterogeneity of land use is greater than that of terrain factors. This study provides new geological evidence for natural resource management departments to conduct regional spatial planning, ecological and environmental protection and restoration, and land structure optimization and adjustment.