Ecological Indicators 161 (2024) 111969

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Ecological Indicators
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Coupling coordination analysis of urbanization and ecological environment

in Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration
Xiangqi Lei a, Hanhu Liu b, *, Shaoda Li a, Qingqu Luo b, Sizhi Cheng c, Guyue Hu a, Xiao Wang d,
Wenqian Bai b
a
College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China
b
College of Geography and Planning, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China
c
Sichuan Earthquake Agency, Chengdu 610041, China
d
College of Architecture and Civil Engineering, Chengdu University, Chengdu 610106, China

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: As the fourth pole of China’s economic growth, the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration plays a significant
Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration role in reinforcing the ecological barrier in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and is crucial for ecological
Improved remote sensing ecological index and environmental protection strategies. In this paper, Google Earth Engine (GEE) and the MODIS images from
Night Light Index
2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2022 were utilized to construct the Improved Remote Sensing Ecological Index
Ecology quality
Urbanization process
(IRSEI) to characterize the ecological quality more accurately than RSEI. Additionally, combined with nighttime
GDP sub-industry spatialization model light remote sensing data, land use data and socio-economic data, the GDP sub-industry spatialization model was
utilized to analyze the urbanization process in depth. To dynamically monitor and evaluate the interaction
between urbanization and ecological environment quality, a coupling coordination model incorporating the
above methods was developed. The results show that (1) The effective information of the IRSEI in ecological
quality analysis increased by 3.26% compared to RSEI, and the correlation with each ecological index was
higher; (2) The ecological environment quality of the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration peaked in 2005
and has been declining since then, with the rate of decline gradually slowing down from 2005 to 2022; (3) The
GDP sub-industry spatialization model is more suitable for characterizing the scattered villages, and can effec­
tively exhibit the urbanization process. From 2000 to 2022, urbanization was rapidly developed, and the level of
core cities such as Chengdu and Chongqing far exceeded those of neighboring cities; (4) The coupling coordi­
nation level between IRSEI and GDP spatialization model generally increased, indicating ongoing improvements
in the synergy between ecological environment and urbanization in the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomer­
ation. This study developed a method for quickly monitoring and assessing the relationship between ecological
environment quality and urbanization by using IRSEI and GDP sub-industry spatialization model, and provides
scientific analytical methods and data support for monitoring and governing the ecological environment in
emerging urban agglomerations.

wastewater pollution caused by the daily activities of urban residents

and industrial emissions (Foley et al., 2005, McMichael, 2000, Pal et al.,
1. Introduction 2010, Karl and Trenberth, 2003, Xu et al., 2022, Fan et al., 2019, Xu
et al., 2021). These issues are posing significant threats to China’s
Urbanization in China is progressing at an unprecedented rate in ecological resources and environmental safety.
human history (Chen, 2007, Zhou et al., 2004, Huang et al., 2023). From In recent years, to tackle various challenges, China has implemented
1978 to the end of 2022, China’s urbanization rate soared from 17.9 % a series of strategies including the green economy (Zhu et al., 2012),
to 65.22 % (Chengdu local Chronicles Office, 2023), a pace and scale far sustainable development (Fang et al., 2015), and new urbanization
exceeding that of other countries (Chen et al., 2013). Rapid urbanization (Chen, 2015). These initiatives aim to foster environmental and resource
has promoted the development of Chinese society and economy, how­ protection, achieve sustainable development, and expedite the
ever, it has also led to numerous environmental challenges, such as

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: liuhanhu@[Link] (H. Liu).

[Link]
Received 10 December 2023; Received in revised form 11 March 2024; Accepted 28 March 2024
Available online 3 April 2024
1470-160X/© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ([Link]
nc-nd/4.0/).
X. Lei et al. Ecological Indicators 161 (2024) 111969

Nomenclature DNB Day/Night Band

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abbreviations LUCC Land Use and Land Cover Change
GEE Google Earth Engine NIR1 Near-Infrared 1
MODIS Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer K-T Kauth-Thomas transformation
IRSEI Improved Remote Sensing Ecological Index MNDWI Modified Normalized Difference Water Index
DMSP/OLS Defense Meteorological Satellite Program/Operational NDBSI Normalized Difference Built-up and Soil Index
Line Scan System IBI Index-based Built-up Index
NPP/VIIRS National Polar-orbiting Partnership/Visible Infrared SI Soil Index
Imaging Radiometer Suite LST Land Surface Temperature
NDVI Normalized Difference Vegetation Index LST0 the original Land Surface Temperature data
RSEI Remote Sensing Ecological Index K Kelvin temperature unit
IBI Index-based Built-up Index ℃ Degree Celsius
MNDWI Modified Normalized Difference Water Index PCA Principal Component Analysis
NDISI Normalized Difference Impervious Surface Index LISA Local-moran’s Index for Spatial Association
SI Soil Index NLI Night Light Index
NDISSI Normalized Difference Impervious Surface and Soil Index GDP Gross Domestic Product
IRSEI Improved Remote Sensing Ecological Index CCD Coupling Coordination Development model
NNLI Normalized Night Light Index U Urbanization characteristic
LPDAAC Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center E Ecological environment characteristic
LSR Land Surface Reflectance SDGs Sustainable Development Goals
STL Stable Lights

construction of an ecological civilization (Luo, 2016). Against this characteristics, RSEI may present some errors. Consequently, re­
backdrop, there is a pressing need for scientific research into the inter­ searchers have modified RSEI to suit different research objectives and
action between urbanization and the ecological environment. Such regional features. For instance, Wang et al., (2020a) tailored RSEI for
research is crucial for the harmonious development of the complex arid regions by excluding the dryness index and incorporating a salinity
system comprising human society and the Earth’s ecology (Ariken et al., index and land degradation index, enhancing its suitability for arid
2020). The Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, a significant environment studies. Cheng et al. (2021) combined qualitative and
urban cluster in China’s central and western regions, gained prominence quantitative methods, using the entropy weight method to calculate
in 2020 with the introduction of a national strategy to develop the RSEI, which can make fuller use of data compared to the traditional
Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle. This strategy aims to transform RSEI. Zhang et al., (2023a) modified RSEI to assess the ecological
the area into a pivotal hub for high-quality development, offering new environment quality of Xi’an by including an aerosol optical depth in­
developmental prospects for the central and western regions, while also dicator, which effectively accounts for air pollution factors. Therefore,
imposing more stringent requirements on ecological land use. Conse­ while RSEI is a valuable tool for assessing ecological environment
quently, an in-depth analysis of the relationship and spatiotemporal quality, it requires further refinement and adaptation to align with
differences between urbanization and the ecological environment in the specific regional environmental characteristics, thereby improving its
Chengdu-Chongqing area is not only scientifically important for un­ overall assessment effectiveness.
derstanding the interaction mechanisms between urbanization and the In characterizing aridity, the Remote Sensing Ecological Index (RSEI)
ecological environment but also offers valuable insights for policy relies on the Index-based Built-up Index (IBI) for extracting urban con­
formulation in the western regions and beyond. struction land (Liu et al., 2022). However, the IBI, which is constructed
The rapid advancement of remote sensing technology has signifi­ based on peak and valley reflectance in the thermal infrared and near-
cantly enhanced regional ecological environment monitoring and infrared bands, sometimes misidentifies features like rooftops, roads,
assessment by providing essential data support and technical tools. This glass, cement, and plastic. This misidentification often results in higher
technology plays a crucial role in accurately reflecting ecological con­ IBI values for bare soil areas compared to urban areas, thereby intro­
ditions at various scales (Yin et al., 2021), and has become a key in­ ducing uncertainty into RSEI assessments. To address this issue, this
strument in monitoring urban agglomerations and contributing to paper proposes an improvement upon the IBI by incorporating the long-
regional and global ecological assessments (Wang et al., 2020b). wave near-infrared band and the Modified Normalized Difference Water
Traditional remote sensing methods for ecological assessment often Index (MNDWI) (Mu et al., 2018). This incorporation brings about the
depend on single indicators like the Normalized Difference Vegetation development of a new impervious surface index, the Normalized Dif­
Index (NDVI), Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI), and Land Surface ference Impervious Surface Index (NDISI) (Wang and Xu, 2018), which
Temperature (LST) (Beamish et al., 2020). However, these methods tend more accurately characterizes urban construction land (Zhang et al.,
to offer a limited perspective and do not fully capture the comprehensive 2022a). Then, the Soil Index (SI) (Xu et al., 2017) is combined with
ecological status of specific regions. Considering the limitations of single NDISI to create a more refined aridity indicator, the Normalized Dif­
indicators, Xu (2013) developed the Remote Sensing Ecological Index ference Impervious Surface and Soil Index (NDISSI). Building upon this,
(RSEI) using principal component analysis. This index integrates four the Improved Remote Sensing Ecological Index (IRSEI) is formulated by
natural indicators - greenness, wetness, heat, and dryness - enabling a coupling NDISSI with greenness, wetness, and heat indices through
more holistic monitoring and evaluation of ecological conditions. RSEI principal component analysis.
has proven to be universally applicable in ecological environment Gross Domestic Product (GDP) serves as a crucial metric for gauging
evaluations, with many researchers successfully employing it in regional the economic development and regional status of a country or area (Su
ecological environment quality assessments and achieving satisfactory et al., 2014). Traditional methods of collecting GDP data through
results (Zhou et al., 2019, Wang et al., 2016, Wang et al., 2019, Yuan administrative units are hindered by a lack of spatial detail and pro­
et al., 2021). However, when applied to areas with distinct geographical longed update cycles, limiting their ability to promptly reflect the spatial

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X. Lei et al. Ecological Indicators 161 (2024) 111969

variances and evolving dynamics of regional growth (Zhao et al., 2023). core cities of Chengdu and Chongqing, extends to 14 prefecture-level
Nighttime light remote sensing data, which is deeply intertwined with cities, including Zigong, Luzhou, Deyang, Mianyang, Suining, Nei­
urban economic progress, offers a viable and cost-efficient approach for jiang, Leshan, Nanchong, Meishan, Yibin, Guang’an, Ya’an, Ziyang, and
estimating GDP’s spatial distribution across national or sub-national Dazhou. Strategically positioned in China’s southwest (refer to Fig. 1), it
scales. Many researchers have made analysis of the urbanization trend stands as a pivotal link for both the “Belt and Road” initiative and the
by using nighttime light remote sensing data, and achieved some results Yangtze River economic belt. This agglomeration boasts a population
(Zhang and Seto, 2011, Ju et al., 2017, Xie et al., 2019, Zhou et al., nearing 100 million and an impressive economic scale of nearly 60
2018). Zheng et al. (2020) used the comprehensive night light index trillion (Fang, 2010, Yao et al., 2017).
(CNLI) from 2000 to 2019 to reveal the urbanization development
process in China’s coastal areas, and made a quantitative evaluation of
the ecological environment in the area. Dong et al. (2024) used the CNLI 2.2. Data sources
to analyze urbanization in provinces with old industrial bases. However,
relying solely on nighttime light data to gain insights into urbanization 2.2.1. MODIS product data
has some problems, such as bright pixels in city centers can cause an The construction of IRSEI included four ecological components:
“overglow” effect on surrounding pixels, making them appear abnor­ greenness, wetness, heat, and dryness. Therefore, we have sourced
mally bright (Bennett and Smith, 2017). Additionally, areas without relevant standard products from the MODIS product library. Addition­
lighting might not indicate the absence of urban development (Chen ally, the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center (LPDAAC) of
et al., 2016), as luminous remote sensing data could overlook remote or the United States Geological Survey ([Link]
sparsely developed towns and villages. To address these limitations and offers a range of standard datasets, including Land Surface Reflectance
accurately express the urbanization process, this study devises a GDP (LSR), surface temperature and radiation, vegetation index. Notably,
sub-industry spatialization model, segregating GDP into agricultural and these datasets, which are based on 1B-level data, are directly applicable
non-agricultural components and employing both land use and night­ to the IRSEI framework of our study (Xiong et al., 2021, Zheng et al.,
time light data, to precisely capture the urbanization trajectory of the 2020).
Chengdu-Chongqing metropolitan area. This method not only refines For our research needs, we employed the Google Earth Engine (GEE),
the spatial analysis of socio-economic information but also presents a a cloud-based geographic information processing platform by Google.
more nuanced view of urbanization, economic levels, and spatial This tool aids in preprocessing tasks like image mosaicking, cropping,
interrelations. and projection, ensuring that product data is consistently resampled to
This article employs the IRSEI and the GDP sub-industry spatializa­ 500 m. Furthermore, to mitigate the effects of varying image acquisition
tion model to represent the natural environment and urbanization pro­ times on the ecological components and to enhance image quality
cesses, respectively. It measures the level of coordinated development amidst cloud disturbances, we’ve designated adjacent months as the
between urbanization and ecological environmental quality in the image acquisition timeframe for each component, as detailed in Table 1.
Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration through an optimized
Coupling Coordination Development Model (CDD). The research con­ 2.2.2. Nighttime light remote sensing datasets
tent and practical significance of this paper are multifaceted: First, Nighttime light remote sensing datasets, which are closely tied to
Monitoring the ecological environment and its long-term dynamic terrestrial human activities, have become instrumental in urbanization
changes in the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration becomes research (Ju et al., 2017, Xie et al., 2019, Zhou et al., 2018). For this
crucial work under the background of rapid urbanization. This study study, we utilized nighttime remote sensing images from different pe­
aims to utilize an improved remote sensing ecological index (IRSEI) to riods: images from 2000, 2005, and 2010 were obtained from the Stable
accurately reveal the ecological environment conditions of the Chengdu- Lights (STL) feature of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program/
Chongqing urban agglomeration. Employing this methodology enables a Operational Line Scan System (DMSP/OLS), whereas those from 2015
thorough investigation into the changes of the ecological system with and 2022 were sourced from the Day/Night Band (DNB) of the National
urban development. Second, we developed a pixel-level regression Polar-orbiting Partnership/Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite
model using the night light index (NLI), GDP data and land use data, (NPP/VIIRS), as detailed in Table 2. Both the DMSP/OLS and NPP/VIIRS
employing a sectoral modeling approach for spatial GDP modeling of the datasets, acquired from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration. The spatialization of the Administration (NOAA, [Link] and their acquisition
primary industry’s output is achieved using land use data, while the timelines are consistent with the MODIS data.
spatialization of the secondary and tertiary industries’ outputs is based
on nighttime light data, realized by selecting the optimal NLI. This 2.2.3. Land use datasets
method allows for the quantitative assessment of the interactions be­ This study utilizes the Land Use and Land Cover Change (LUCC)
tween socio-economic factors and the physical environment, offering an dataset from the Resource and Environmental Science Data Center of the
effective means to precisely study regional economic development levels Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chi­
and trends. Lastly, to enhance the comprehension of the influence of nese Academy of Sciences ([Link] The dataset, con­
urbanization on the local environment, this paper analyzed and revealed structed from remote sensing satellite data including Landsat and GF-2,
the synergistic relationship between the ecological environment and employs a human–computer interactive visual interpretation method. It
urbanization levels in the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration by conforms to China’s “Technical Regulations for Land Use Status Survey,”
using the coupling coordination and development model which is pro­ incorporating the basic characteristics of various land types within the
posed in this study. The objective of this study is to provide advanced study area (Shi et al., 2013). Consequently, it segments land into six
analytical approaches and robust data support, facilitate the swift pro­ predominant categories: cultivated land, forest, shrubs and grassland,
gression, management, and safeguarding of the ecological environment water bodies, wasteland, and impervious surfaces. Such a granular
in burgeoning urban clusters. classification enhances the precision in discerning land use and land
cover transitions, laying a robust foundation for future research en­
2. Materials and methods deavors. In addition, the study area’s administrative division data,
supplied by the Chengdu City Planning and Natural Resources Bureau,
2.1. Study area includes the administrative boundaries of the Chengdu-Chongqing
urban agglomeration. This dataset serves as an invaluable geograph­
The Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, encompassing the ical anchor, ensuring accuracy in subsequent analytical phases.

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X. Lei et al. Ecological Indicators 161 (2024) 111969

Fig. 1. Overview of the study area.

spatial modeling for the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration. This

Table 1
methodology allows for an in-depth analysis of the urbanization devel­
Data parameters of MODIS Data.
opment trajectory within the region. Ultimately, by utilizing the
Component MODIS Data Spatial/temporal Data time coupling coordination development model, we investigate the interplay
collection resolution
and progression of the eco-environment and urbanization subsystems in
Greenness MOD09A1 500 m/8-days October the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, aiming to elucidate the
Heat MOD11A2 1 km/8-days September coordination relationship between these subsystems, enhancing our
Wetness MOD09A1 500 m/8-days October
Dryness MOD09A1 500 m/8-days October
understanding of the urbanization process’s impact on the local
environment.

2.3.1. IRSEI construction method

Table 2
This study conducts a comprehensive evaluation of ecological envi­
Data parameters of DMSP/OLS and NPP/VIIRS.
ronment quality by analyzing the spatial patterns and trends of IRSEI.
Nighttime Sensors Spatial Temporal Data Unit IRSEI stands out from traditional ecological observation methods due to
Light Data resolution resolution available
interval
its ability to swiftly identify the ecological characteristics of specific
areas at a macro spatial scale and to monitor the environment’s
Stable Light OLS Annual 30 arc 1992–2013 DN
spatiotemporal evolution (Yang et al., 2021). Among the many natural
(STL) second (unitless)
(around 1 factors reflecting ecological quality, greenness, wetness, heat, and dry­
km at ness are four key factors closely related to human survival. Conse­
equator) quently, these elements are frequently selected by scholars to evaluate
Day/Night VIIRS Monthly 15 arc April 2012- Nano ecosystem states in various research contexts.
Band second Present Watts/
(DNB) (around cm2/Sr
500 m at (1) NDVI - greenness
equator)
The greenness index plays a pivotal role in assessing surface vege­
tation coverage and growth, making it a highly sensitive tool for eval­
2.3. Methods
uating regional ecological quality. A commonly used alternative to the
greenness index is the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)
In this paper (see Fig. 2), we utilized MODIS product data to extract
(Xu et al, 2013). NDVI is particularly sensitive to variations in green
the Improved Remote Sensing Environment Index (IRSEI) according to
plants and correlates linearly with vegetation density. Due to these at­
the characteristics of the study area, and the spatial and temporal
tributes, it’s often considered one of the most reliable indicators for
changes of the ecological environment from 2000 to 2022 were analyzed
vegetation growth assessment (Zhang et al., 2022b). For this study, we
in detail. Specifically, MNDWI and long-wave near-infrared bands were
utilized the near-infrared and red bands from the MOD09A1 dataset to
added to the dryness index IBI component of remote sensing environ­
calculate and derive the greenness information (Aizizi et al., 2023, Li
mental indicators to construct NDISI, and then combined with SI to
et al., 2021). The specific calculation formula is detailed as follows (Li
construct NDISSI index, so as to obtain the improved remote sensing
et al., 2021).
environmental index. Furthermore, the paper employs the nighttime
light remote sensing data, GDP data, and land use data to execute GDP

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X. Lei et al. Ecological Indicators 161 (2024) 111969

Fig. 2. Flow chart.

NDVI =
ρnir1 − ρred
(1) Index (MNDWI) to extract these water bodies. The formula for MNDWI
ρnir1 + ρred is as follows (Xu, 2005):
In formula 1, ρnir1 represents the reflectance of the MOD09A1 near- ρgreen − ρswir1
MNDWI = (3)
infrared (NIR1) band; while ρred stands for the reflectance of the ρgreen + ρswir1
MOD09A1 red band.

(2) Wet - wetness (3) NDISSI - the advanced Dryness Index

Existing research confirms the efficiency of the Kauth-Thomas (K-T) Traditional dryness index, expressed as Normalized Difference Built-
transformation as a data compression and redundancy removal tech­ up and Soil Index (NDBSI), is derived by averaging two key components:
nique for multispectral remote sensing data. Through the K-T trans­ the Urban Building Index (Index-based Built-up Index, IBI) and the Bare
formation, data can be distilled into three primary components: Soil Index (Soil Index, SI). The IBI is specifically designed to accentuate
brightness, greenness, and wetness (Crist, 1985, Huang et al., 2002, Baig urban artificial surfaces such as buildings, roads, and rooftops. It ach­
et al., 2014). Notably, the wetness component is often utilized to ieves this by using the ratio of thermal infrared to near-infrared bands
represent the wetness aspect of IRSEI (Todd and Hoffer, 1998, Zheng (Wu and Zhao, 2012). A challenge emerges, however, when considering
et al., 2020). The formula is defined as follows (Lobser and Cohen, that both sand and water bodies exhibit spectral characteristics similar
2007): to these bands. This overlap can result in the extraction of information
that blends details of water bodies with those of sand (Tang et al., 2019).
Wet = A1 ρred + A2 ρnir1 + A3 ρblue + A4 ρgreen + A5 ρnir2 + A6 ρswir1 + A7 ρswir2 (2) To circumvent this issue, some researchers have adopted the Normalized
Difference Impervious Surface Index (NDISI) (Xu et al., 2019). It refines
In the formula 2, the terms, ρred, ρnir1, ρblue, ρgreen, ρnir2 ρswir1, ρswir2
the IBI by integrating the long-wave near-infrared band and the MNDWI
respectively represent the reflectance value for the 7 bands of the
index. This integration facilitates a clearer distinction between imper­
MOD09A1 image (Zhang et al., 2002); The symbols A1- A7 denote the
vious surfaces, water bodies, and sand. It’s noteworthy that the utili­
coefficients corresponding to the above 7 bands. For the MODIS multi-
zation of NDISI has enhanced the accuracy of extracting urban artificial
band image, the coefficient assigned to each band are as follows: A1
surfaces from about 73 % (with IBI) to over 90 % (Liu et al., 2019).
= 0.1147, A2 = 0.2489, A3 = 0.2408, A4 = 0.3132, A5 = -0.3122, A6 =
Building upon these findings, our study combines NDISI and SI to
-0.6416, A7 = -0.5089 (Xu et al., 2019).
introduce an advanced Dryness Index, named Normalized Difference
To ensure the accuracy of the wetness index inversion, water areas in
Impervious Surface and Soil Index (NDISSI). This innovative index
the image, such as rivers and lakes, need to be masked before calculating
amalgamates data from both built-up land and bare soil. The formula for
the wetness to avoid interference (Xu et al., 2008, Zhang et al., 2022b).
NDISSI (Xu, 2005, Zhang et al., 2022b) is presented as follows:
For this purpose, we employ the Modified Normalized Difference Water

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X. Lei et al. Ecological Indicators 161 (2024) 111969

NDISI + SI ∑ ( )
NDISSI = (4) n(xi − x) nj=1 Wij xj − x
2 LocalMoran′sI = ∑n 2
(11)
i=1 (xi − x)
ρLW − (MNDWI + ρnir2 + ρswir1 )/3
NDISI = nir
(5)
ρLW nir + (MNDWI + ρnir2 + ρswir1 )/3 2.3.3. GDP spatial model
The economic growth of a country or region is often measured by
(ρswir1 + ρred ) − (ρnir1 + ρblue ) Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which represents the total market value
SI = (6)
(ρswir1 + ρred ) + (ρnir1 + ρblue ) of all final goods and services produced within a year (Zhang and Seto,
In the formula 5, ρLW_nir represents the long-wave near-infrared data 2011). The components of GDP are primarily divided into three parts:
of MODIS. the primary industry GDP1 (including agriculture, forestry, animal
husbandry, and fisheries), the secondary industry GDP2 (covering in­
(4) LST – heat dustry and construction), and the tertiary industry GDP3 composed of
the service sector (Al-mulali et al., 2015). This paper utilizes nighttime
Land Surface Temperature (LST) is an important indicator for light data and land use data for the spatialization of GDP, aiming to
ecological environment analysis, as it is closely related to vegetation explore the urbanization development process of the Chengdu-
growth and water resource circulation. To represent LST, the LST- Chongqing urban agglomeration.
daytime product of MOD11A2 is utilized. However, in the original
data, the temperature is measured in Kelvin (K). Therefore, to make the (1) GDP1 spatial model modeling
data more interpretable, it is necessary to convert the original LST data
(LST0) from Kelvin to Celsius (℃). This conversion is achieved using Recent studies show a low correlation between GDP1 value and
formula 7, which is as follows (Yuan et al., 2021): nighttime light remote sensing data (Niu et al., 2023, Zhao et al., 2023).
Consequently, nighttime light data might be unsuitable for spatial
LST = 0.02LST0 − 273.15 (7) analysis in primary industry such as agriculture, forestry, animal hus­
In formula 7, LST represents the land surface temperature, while bandry, and fisheries. Outputs from these sectors are closely related to
LST0 denotes the original land surface temperature. land use types, including cultivated land, forests, shrubs and grassland,
After calculating the indices for greenness, wetness, dryness, and and water bodies. Thus, this study uses these four land features to
heat, this study utilized MODIS data spanning 2000 to 2022 to compute simulate primary industry values. It is worth noting that, following Li
four essential factors for the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration: et al.’s (2016) research and practical considerations, we define eco­
NDVI for greenness, WET for wetness, LST for land surface temperature, nomic forest land as forest areas oriented between 90 and 270 degrees
and the improved dryness index NDISSI. Subsequently, Principal with slopes under 20 degrees for our study.
Component Analysis (PCA) was conducted on these four key factors. ∑ ∑ ∑ ∑
GDP1n = Kfa × Ifa + Kfo × Ifo + Kgr × Igr + Kwa × Iwa + b1
Using the first principal component, PC1, we derived IRSEI0, which was
then normalized to yield IRSEI (Liu et al., 2015). (12)

IRSEI0 − IRSEImin In the formula 12, GDP1n is the output value of the primary industry in
IRSEI = (8) ∑
IRSEImax − IRSEImin the n year; b1 is a constant; Ifa is the total area of cultivated land in
∑ ∑
each city; Kfa is Ifa regression coefficient. The other I and k are
IRSEI0 = 1 − [PC1 (NDVI, WET, LST, NDISSI)] (9) defined identically. Ifo is the total area of economic forest land in each
In the formula 8–9, IRSEImin and IRSEImax represent the minimum city; Igr is the total area of grassland in each municipality; Iwa is the total
and maximum grid cell values of the IRSEI0 raster layer, respectively. water area of each municipality.

2.3.2. Spatial autocorrelation analysis (2) GDP23 spatial model modeling

Spatial autocorrelation measures how a phenomenon in a specific
area correlates with the same phenomenon in its neighboring regions Since the difference between the secondary and tertiary industries in
(Ren et al., 2014, Kelejian and Prucha, 2001). This concept includes both the brightness of city lights is not significant, we combined the two in­
global and local spatial autocorrelations. Specifically, the global Mor­ dustries into one variable to conduct correlation analysis. At present, the
an’s index provides insights into the overall clustering patterns of the following three kinds of lighting data are often used to reflect the socio-
spatial layout of ecological environmental quality, as represented by economic development level of a region: Total Nighttime Light index
formula 10 (Zhang et al., 2008). (TNL), Average Light Intensity index (ALI), and Compounded Night
∑ ∑ ( ) Light Index (CNLI).
n ni=1 nj=1 Wij (xi − x) xj − x
GlobalMoran′sI = (∑ ∑ ∑n (10) ∑
DN max
n
i=1
n
j=1 Wij ) i=1 (xi − x)
2
TNL = (DNi ni ) (13)
i=0.3

In the formula10, n denotes the sample size. The symbols xi and xj ANL = TNL/(DNmax N) (14)
correspond to the observed values of attribute x at spatial locations i and
j, respectively. The symbols x represents the average value of this S = AN /A (15)
attribute xi, while Wij stands for the spatial weight matrix. Specifically,
this study employs a contiguity-based weight matrix: a value of 1 is CNLI = ALI × S (16)
assigned if region i is adjacent to region j, and 0 if not.
To gain deeper insights into the spatial clustering patterns of In formulas 13–16, DNi and ni represent the i-level gray pixel value and
ecological environmental quality in the Chengdu-Chongqing urban the number of pixels at this level within the administrative unit,
agglomeration, specifically the high-high and low-low areas, we respectively; DNmax indicates the maximum pixel value within an
analyzed the local spatial distribution characteristics. For this purpose, administrative unit; N is the total number of pixels with a light value in
we utilized the Local Moran’s Index for Spatial Association (LISA). The the region; S represents the lighting area ratio; AN and A denote the area
corresponding formula 11 (Chen, 2009) is as follows: occupied by the pixels with lighting values within the administrative

6
X. Lei et al. Ecological Indicators 161 (2024) 111969

unit and the total area of the administrative unit, respectively. systems is very high (Wang et al., 2019). In order to avoid false coor­
The above three NLIs from 2000 to 2022 were calculated respec­ dination, this paper adopts the urbanization and ecological environment
tively, and their correlation with GDP23 was analyzed. Subsequently, the coupling coordination development model (Chen and Cheng, 2022) to
regression model was established between GDP23 and the NLI that objectively reflect the coordinated development level of the two sys­
demonstrated the strongest correlation. tems, as shown in formula 23–24.
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
GDP23n = KQi + b23 (17) CCD = CD*T (23)

In the formula 17, GDP23 represents the output value of the secondary T = αU + βE (24)
and tertiary industries in the n year; b2 is a constant; K is the regression
model coefficient, and Qi is the preferred NLI. In the given formula 23–24, CCD represents the coupling coordina­
tion degree, with a value range of 0 ≤ CCD ≤ 1. A higher CCD value
(3) Linear correction indicates a more coordinated development level between the two sys­
tems, while a lower value suggests a significant imbalance. T stands for
The errors of GDP and GDP simulated (GDPall) directly by formulas the combined value of the two subsystems. The undetermined co­
12 and 17 are still large, and a pixel-by-pixel linear correction is carried efficients are represented by α and β. Based on existing research, urban
out under the condition that the actual GDP statistics of each district and systems hold equal importance to ecological systems (Aizizi et al.,
county remain unchanged. Then, in order to verify the difference be­ 2023), leading to the conclusion that α = β = 0.5.
tween the corrected GDPT fitting results and the original statistical re­
sults, Relative Error (RE) and Mean Relative Error (MRE) were used to 3. Results
verify the accuracy of the GDPT corrected by pixels. The revised GDP1
and GDP23 are superimposed and summed to obtain the total output 3.1. Improved results of IRSEI
value of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries in the region, and
the GDP spatial distribution map of Chengdu-Chongqing urban This article focuses on the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomera­
agglomeration in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2022 was generated. tion, analyzing its greenness, wetness, modified dryness, and heat
indices across five distinct periods: 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2022.
GDPall = GDP1 + GDP23 (18) To effectively interpret these indicators, Principal Component Analysis
(PCA) was utilized. PCA is known for its ability to simplify complex data
GDPT = GDPj (GDPt /GDPall ) (19) while preserving essential features, making it ideal for this analysis. The
(⃒ ⃒) PCA1 for each of the four indicators was calculated, providing a clear
⃒GDPT − GDPt ⃒
RE = ⃒⃒ ⃒ × 100%
⃒ (20) and concise representation of the data. Furthermore, to deepen the un­
GDPt derstanding of these indicators’ impacts over time, the loadings for each
indicator and the contribution rate of the first principal component were
1
MRE = RE (21) computed for each of the five periods (see Table 3 for details).
m
Table 3 provides insightful characteristics of the first principal
In formulas 18–21, GDPT is the simulated GDP value after pixel-by-pixel component, PCA1, across different years. Specifically, the contribution
linear correction; GDPj is the preliminary simulation value of each pixel. rates of PCA1 for the four indicators in each year are as follows: 82.14 %
GDPt is the actual GDP statistics of each city and county; GDPall is a GDP in 2000, 80.46 % in 2005, 85.19 % in 2010, 85.59 % in 2015, and 83.68
simulation for each city and county; m is the number of cities. % in 2022. These figures demonstrate that PCA1, after the principal
component analysis, effectively encapsulates the majority of informa­
2.3.4. Coupling coordination development model tion from the four indicators annually, thereby accurately representing
The Coupling and Coordination Development Model (CCD) is rooted the IRSEI in the study area. Additionally, the PCA1 values for each year
in the principle of synergistic development. It underscores the impor­ reveal that the NDVI (greenness) and WET (wetness) indicators have
tance of interactions and collaborations across various fields or systems positive values, implying a beneficial impact on the ecosystem. In
to pave the way for holistic sustainable development (Fan et al., 2019, contrast, the LST (heat) and NDISSI (dryness) indicators show negative
Xing et al., 2019). Inspired by the capacity coupling system models from values, reflecting their adverse effects on the ecosystem. This pattern is
physics, we formulated a model that bridges urbanization processes with consistent with real-world ecological trends and corroborates the ac­
ecological environmental development (Chen and Cheng, 2022). This curacy of the model’s construction, as reflected in the positive and
model serves as a tool to discern and forecast the interrelation and negative coefficients of these indicators in the regression equation.
evolving trends of both domains. To begin, we present the foundational Moreover, the average absolute loading of the NDVI is the highest at
coupling model for these two subsystems, as described in the following 0.677, signifying its paramount importance in contributing to ecological
formula (Zheng et al., 2020): quality. This is followed by the modified dryness index at 0.603, the heat
√̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
̅ index at 0.550, and the wetness index at 0.495, each reflecting their
/
CD = UE (U + E)2 (22) respective impacts on the ecological state.

In the formula 22, U represents the urbanization level subsystem,

Table 3
denoted by GDP spatial model, while E stands for the ecological envi­
The loadings of the four indicators and the contribution rate of the PCA1 in the
ronment subsystem, represented by IRSEI. CD signifies the coupling
years 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2022.
value between these two subsystems, with a range of 0 ≤ CD ≤ 1. A
higher CD value indicates a stronger coordination between the Time NDVI WET NDISSI LST PCA1 Contribution
Rate
subsystems.
However, the development of the two subsystems, urbanization level 2000 0.692 0.491 − 0.594 − 0.528 82.14 %
2005 0.654 0.468 0.621 0.547 80.46 %
and ecological environment, has its own dynamics, differences and
− −
2010 0.712 0.458 − 0.578 − 0.621 85.19 %
timing. Only considering the coupling degree of the two subsystems, the 2015 0.701 0.512 − 0.652 − 0.581 85.59 %
phenomenon of “false coordination” of the city-ecosystem may occur, 2022 0.624 0.544 − 0.569 − 0.473 83.68 %
that is, the urbanization level of the city and the quality of ecological Mean (absolute 0.677 0.495 0.603 0.550 –
value)
environment are both very low, while the coupling degree of the two

7
X. Lei et al. Ecological Indicators 161 (2024) 111969

In order to further simulate the change trend of ecological environ­ correlation suggests that extensive vegetation coverage and adequate
ment in Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, 50,000 sample soil moisture significantly contribute to enhancing regional ecological
points were randomly collected in the study area, and the IRSEI values of quality. On the other hand, areas with low IRSEI values are primarily
five periods and four remote sensing ecological indicators were extrac­ found in urbanized regions characterized by high temperatures and dry
ted for Pearson correlation analysis (see Fig. 3). The analysis results conditions (as depicted in Fig. 4b). This pattern indicates that extreme
showed that, consistent with the trend of principal component analysis, temperatures and lack of vegetation cover adversely affect ecological
there was a positive correlation between NDVI, WET and IRSEI, while quality.
there was a negative correlation between NDISSI, LST and IRSEI, and the
correlation magnitude was NDISSI, NDVI, WET and LST in order. All 3.2. IRSEI in Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration and its spatio-
correlations passed a significance test of P < 0.001, highlighting IRSEI’s temporal change analysis
ability to reflect the quality of ecological environment and the in­
terrelationships among different ecological indicators. In particular, the Fig. 5 illustrates the distribution of IRSEI for the Chengdu-Chongqing
positive correlation between NDVI and WET is logical considering the urban agglomeration across five different years: 2000, 2005, 2010,
significant impact of factors such as precipitation on vegetation growth 2015, and 2022. The data reveals a fluctuating trend in IRSEI values over
and health. We also constructed a multiple regression ecological index these years. Initially, there was a significant increase: the average IRSEI
model with NDVI, WET, LST and NDISSI as independent variables and value in 2000 was at its lowest, recorded at 0.307. By 2005, this value
IRSEI as dependent variables, all of which passed the 1 % significance peaked at 0.785, marking a substantial increase of approximately
test. The coefficient of determination (R2) of the model in the five pe­ 155.700 % from 2000. However, this upward trend reversed from 2005
riods were 0.748, 0.835, 0.894, 0.896 and 0.927, respectively, indi­ onwards. By 2022, the average IRSEI value had declined to 0.438, which
cating that the model had a good fit. is a 44.204 % decrease from its 2005 peak. Notably, the rate of decline in
IRSEI2000 = 0.757NDVI + 0.161WET − 0.266NDISSI − 0.575LST + 0.404 the average IRSEI value has been decelerating over time. Between 2005
and 2010, the annual decrease rate was 3.980 %, which slowed down
(25)
significantly to 0.414 % in the period from 2015 to 2022.
IRSEI2005 = 0.639NDVI + 0.143WET − 0.665NDISSI − 0.359LST + 0.671 In 2000, the IRSEI identified areas with low values, indicative of
poorer ecological environments, as being predominantly located in the
(26)
central urban regions of Chengdu and Chongqing. Over the span from
IRSEI2010 = 0.803NDVI + 0.064WET − 0.489NDISSI − 0.336LST + 0.576 2000 to 2022, these low IRSEI value areas experienced an expansion.
(27) This expansion manifested as a radiating pattern from the central urban
areas into the surrounding regions of Chengdu and Chongqing.
IRSEI2015 = 0.831NDVI + 0.068WET − 0.720NDISSI − 0.551LST + 0.173 Concurrently, this process led to the gradual emergence of secondary
(28) centers of ecological degradation, particularly in the densely built-up
areas of various cities and counties. Throughout these two decades,
IRSEI2022 = 0.837NDVI + 0.072WET − 0.326NDISSI − 0.463LST + 0.295 both the central urban areas of Chengdu and Chongqing and these newly
(29) formed secondary centers of environmental degradation have seen
continuous expansion. This expansion, facilitated by developments in
Fig. 4 displays a three-dimensional scatter plot illustrating the rela­
transportation and water conservancy infrastructure, eventually pre­
tionship of IRSEI with both positive (NDVI, Wet) and negative (LST,
senting a large patchy distribution pattern.
NDISSI) indices. This plot reveals that areas with high IRSEI values
To better understand the changes in the IRSEI of the Chengdu-
predominantly align with regions of dense vegetation, characterized by
Chongqing urban agglomeration over the past two decades, this study
high levels of greenness and moisture (as shown in Fig. 4a). This
adopted a five-level classification system for IRSEI. This system, based

Fig. 3. The analysis of the correlations among NDVI, WET, NDISSI, LST, and IRSEI. (a) for the year 2000, (b) for 2005, (c) for 2010, (d) for 2015, and (e) for 2022.

8
X. Lei et al. Ecological Indicators 161 (2024) 111969

Fig. 4. Three-dimensional scatter plots illustrating the relationships between the four indices and IRSEI. (a) The plot between NDVI, WET, and IRSEI; (b) The plot
between LST, NDISSI, and IRSEI.

Fig. 5. IRSEI map of Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2022.

on the ecological environment grading standards outlined in the becoming pivotal in regional development and policy implementation
“Technical Specification for Ecological Environment Evaluation” (Yang (Zheng et al., 2019, Shi et al., 2019). This study employed spatial
et al., 2021), categorizes IRSEI as very poor (0–0.2), poor (0.2–0.4), autocorrelation analysis to investigate the spatiotemporal dynamics of
moderate (0.4–0.6), good (0.6–0.8), and natural (0.8–1). A detailed IRSEI at the prefecture-level city scale within the Chengdu-Chongqing
statistical analysis was conducted to assess the areas under each urban agglomeration from 2000 to 2022. The analysis, employing
ecological condition, as depicted in Fig. 6 and Table 4. The analysis local spatial autocorrelation, identified five clustering patterns in IRSEI
revealed a significant shift over the last twenty years: areas rated as changes: not significant, high-high (HH), low-low (LL), high-low (HL),
“very poor” increased by about 145.87 %, adding more than 17,649 and low–high (LH), as depicted in Fig. 7. The local Moran’s I index,
square kilometers. Similarly, “poor” areas expanded by 15,119 square calculated as 0.372, reveals a positive spatial correlation in the distri­
kilometers, marking a 79.27 % increase since 2000. In contrast, areas bution of ecological environment quality. The HH clusters, signifying
rated as “good” and “natural” saw a decline, with their proportions areas with rising IRSEI values and thus improved ecological conditions,
decreasing by 21.40 % and 37.79 %, respectively. In 2000, the majority are predominantly located in the peripheral regions outside the central
of the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, accounting for 63.37 cities of the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, including places
% of its total area, was classified as “good” or “natural”. In stark contrast, like Ya’an, southern Leshan, northern Mianyang, and eastern Chongq­
areas classified as “poor” or “very poor” comprised only 16.85 %. By ing. Conversely, the LL clusters, indicating areas with declining IRSEI
2022, this scenario had altered significantly: the proportion of areas values and worsening ecological conditions, are concentrated in the core
classified as “good” and “natural” had decreased to 44.33 %, while those development zones, such as Chengdu, Deyang, and Chongqing. Notably,
rated as “poor” and “very poor” had risen to encompass 34.56 % of the in 2000, 21 county-level units in these core areas were categorized as
total area. having “very poor” ecological conditions. By 2022, this number
In China, the administrative divisions are structured in a spatial hi­ increased to 24, extending into surrounding areas like Chengdu, Deyang,
erarchy, with prefecture-level administrative units increasingly Mianyang, Zigong, and Chongqing. Additionally, between 2000 and

9
X. Lei et al. Ecological Indicators 161 (2024) 111969

Fig. 6. IRSEI classification map of Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration.

Table 4
Statistical table of graded area of Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration.
IRSEI Level Very bad (£102km2) Bad (£102km2) Medium (£102km2) Good (£102km2) Natural (£102km2)

2000 120.99 (6.54 %) 190.74 (10.31 %) 365.93 (19.78 %) 554.63 (29.98 %) 617.715 (33.39 %)
2005 186.11 (10.06 %) 142.27 (7.69 %) 293.78 (15.88) 495.25 (26.77 %) 732.600 (39.60 %)
2010 260.94 (14.10 %) 326.71 (17.66 %) 351.32 (18.99) 433.69 (23.44 %) 477.35 (25.80 %)
2015 379.07 (20.49 %) 403.30 (27.80 %) 413.85 (22.37) 332.82 (17.99 %) 320.98 (17.35 %)
2022 297.48 (16.08 %) 341.93 (18.48 %) 390.35 (21.10 %) 435.95 (23.56 %) 384.30 (20.77 %)
Change (2000–2022) 176.49 (145.87 %) 151.20 (79.27 %) 24.42 (6.67 %) − 118.69 (-21.40 %) –233.42 (-37.79 %)

Table 5
Fitting relationship between three NLIs and GDP23.
TNL ANL CNLI TNL ANL CNLI

2000 0.983 0.419 0.053 0.992 0.647 0.230

2005 0.989 0.213 0.154 0.994 0.461 0.392
2010 0.957 0.05 0.056 0.978 0.225 0.237
2015 0.979 0.326 0.200 0.990 0.571 0.447
2022 0.933 0.256 0.115 0.966 0.506 0.339

Consequently, we used TNL as the basis to develop a linear regression

model for the secondary and tertiary industries, the details are shown in
Fig. 8.
Next, we applied formulas 18–21 to assess the accuracy of the
simulated GDP values for cities within the Chengdu-Chongqing urban
agglomeration for the years 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2022,
following pixel-by-pixel correction. The results of this verification are
depicted in Fig. 9. Overall, the GDP forecasts derived from the spatial
Fig. 7. Local spatial autocorrelation analysis of IRSEI changes from 2000 model demonstrate high accuracy across most cities. This is particularly
to 2022. evident for the years 2010, 2015, and 2022, where the average MSE was
recorded at 8 %, 4 %, and 3 %, respectively. The consistent decrease in
2022, nine prefecture-level units, encompassing 103 county-level units, MSE over these years indicates an improvement in the model’s predic­
experienced a decline in IRSEI values exceeding 0.1. tive accuracy over time.
Although the model demonstrates high simulation accuracy, its
performance is still influenced by various factors, including data quality
3.3. GDP spatialization and urbanization process analysis limitations, the level of economic development, and the structure of
industries. In particular, due to the scope of the study area and data
In this study, we analyzed the correlation between three nighttime reason, our paper is based on the 500-grid scale, and errors wound
light remote sensing indices (TNL, ALI, CNLI) and GDP23 for the years inevitably be introduced when grid cutting curves with small adminis­
2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2022. Our analysis revealed that TNL trative areas and strong economic strength (such as Yuzhong District and
exhibited the strongest correlation with GDP23, as shown in the Table 5.

10
X. Lei et al. Ecological Indicators 161 (2024) 111969

Fig. 8. Fitting results of regression analysis between TNL and GDP23.

Fig. 9. Matching between simulated GDP value (GDPT) and actual GDP value (GDPt).

Dadukou District of Chongqing). Despite observing relatively high Mean agglomeration effects, culminating in the formation of a distinctive
Squared Errors (MSE) in certain cities, the overall error margin of the urban regional expansion model.
model remains minimal, as shown in Fig. 10. Furthermore, the corre­ Between 2000 and 2022, the Chengdu-Chongqing city cluster saw
lation between the simulated GDP values and the actual statistics for the continuous improvements in urbanization levels. The rapid emergence
five years consistently exceeds 0.99. This underscores the effectiveness of cities around Chengdu and Chongqing, the core urban centers, has led
of employing a GDP spatial model for delineating urbanization trends to yearly increases in GDP spatial density values. Central cities, con­
through industry segmentation. nected with surrounding cities through transportation networks, exhibit
Fig. 11 depicts the spatial distribution of GDP density in the a linear development pattern, gradually evolving into a trend of planar
Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration from 2000 to 2022. The expansion. Specifically, the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration’s
analysis indicates that during this period, Chengdu and Chongqing, as average GDP spatial density increased from 0.022 in 2000 to 0.041 in
pivotal drivers of regional growth, experienced significant development. 2005, reflecting an average annual growth rate of 0.38 %. Between 2005
Their economic vitality not only propelled the economic advancement and 2015, the city cluster experienced rapid development, with an
of neighboring cities but also facilitated the integration and expansion of average annual growth rate of 1.44 %. From 2015 to 2022, the region
the urban agglomeration in the region. This was achieved through the saw even more accelerated development, with the GDP spatial density’s
establishment of spatial interconnections and the leveraging of average annual growth rate reaching 3.04 %.

Fig. 10. Relative error between the simulated GDP value and the real GDP of each county.

11
X. Lei et al. Ecological Indicators 161 (2024) 111969

Fig. 11. Spatial distribution of GDP density maps of Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration from 2000 to 2022.

From the spatial distribution perspective, in 2000, Chengdu and 3.4. Analysis of coupling coordination degree of urbanization and
Chongqing’s city centers and their surrounding areas, such as Jinniu, ecological index
Wuhou, Qingyang, Chenghua, and Jinjiang districts, experienced robust
economic development. Simultaneously, Deyang and Mianyang cities The Coupling and Coordination Development (CCD) model serves as
began showing signs of rapid growth. Moreover, in Chongqing, districts a crucial instrument for evaluating the interrelationship between ur­
like Yuzhong, Jiangbei, Jiulongpo, Yubei, Nanan, and Banan displayed banization and the quality of the ecological environment. It is instru­
more significant economic performance, in contrast to the relatively mental in assessing the coordinated development of these two aspects
moderate development in other surrounding areas. The economic (Xing et al., 2019, Chen and Cheng, 2022). This paper, utilizing the
development in Chongqing also started to exhibit a radial distribution, urbanization characteristics represented by GDP spatial model and the
expanding into broader areas such as Beibei, Bishan, and Jiangjin dis­ ecological environment characteristics indicated by IRSEI, calculates the
tricts. By 2022, the GDP spatial density within the Chengdu-Chongqing CCD for the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration based on for­
urban agglomeration demonstrated a trend towards denser distribution. mulas 22–24. The spatial distribution of the CCD, as depicted in Fig. 12,
This indicates that an urban agglomeration centered around Chengdu reveals significant insights. Specifically, a lower CCD value is indicative
and Chongqing, interconnected by major transportation arteries, has of a rapid urban development pace, which often correlates with large-
been established, facilitating the swift development of surrounding cit­ scale urban construction activities. These activities can lead to the
ies and counties. overexploitation of natural resources, exerting considerable pressure on

Fig. 12. The coupling coordination degree (CCD) of urbanization and ecological environment of Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration from 2000 to 2022.

12
X. Lei et al. Ecological Indicators 161 (2024) 111969

the ecological environment. Conversely, a higher CCD value signals a administrative units. For analytical clarity, these levels are classified
more stable rate of urban development, suggesting a trend towards a into three categories: low coupling state (indicating poor coordination),
balanced and sustainable relationship between urban growth and medium coupling state (indicating moderate coordination), and high
ecological preservation (Ariken et al., 2020). coupling state (indicating good coordination). In 2000, only a select few
As illustrated in Fig. 13, the Coupling and Coordination Development districts and counties around Chengdu and Chongqing, such as Yuzhong,
(CCD) of the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, from 2000 to Nan’an, Dadukou, Jiangbei, and Fuling Districts in Chongqing, and
2022, consistently demonstrated an upward trend. This trend signifies Wuhou, Qingyang, Jinniu, Jinjiang, and Chenghua Districts in Chengdu,
progressive improvements in the synergy between urbanization and the achieved a high coupling state. The urbanization and ecological envi­
ecological environment. From 2000 to 2015, the CCD’s growth was ronment in these areas have shown continuous improvement, with the
relatively stable, averaging an annual increase of 0.513 %. Notably, the average CCD value increasing from 0.182 in 2000 to 0.259 in 2015, and
period from 2015 to 2022 saw a marked acceleration in the growth rate further to 0.385 in 2022. This trend indicates that these areas, in com­
of CCD, with an average annual increase of 2.520 %. This consistent and parison to others, have achieved more mature urban development and a
robust growth in CCD indicates that the Chengdu-Chongqing urban better alignment with ecological quality. Surrounding cities extending
agglomeration is experiencing a balanced and healthy development. from Chengdu and Chongqing, including Jintang, Shehong, Jiajiang
From 2000 to 2005, the Urbanization characteristic (U) of the Counties, and Beibei, Yubei, and Bishan Districts, predominantly
Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration displayed a modest growth, remained in the medium coordination stage from 2000 to 2022. This
while the Ecological environment characteristic (E) saw a significant shows that while they are progressing, there is still a need for further
rise. In this period, the Coupling and Coordination Development (CCD) enhancement in the coordination between urbanization and ecological
index grew slowly, with U being less than E. This pattern suggests a lack environment.
of harmony between urbanization and the ecological environment, with
urbanization trailing behind. Between 2005 and 2015, U continued its 4. Discussion
steady growth, but E experienced a sharp decline, indicating a rapid
deterioration of the ecological environment, decreasing from 0.785 in 4.1. Improvement of remote sensing ecological index
2005 to 0.467. This trend reflects the adverse effects of accelerated ur­
banization on the ecological environment. Concurrently, the CCD index The RSEI effectively addresses the subjective biases and data source
still showed a gradual increase, with U remaining less than E, implying limitations inherent in the EI weighting factors by automatically
ongoing poor coordination between urbanization and ecological envi­ assigning weights to four key indicators: greenness, dryness, heat, and
ronment, and urbanization continuing to lag. In the period from 2015 to wetness. This approach greatly enhances its applicability in assessing
2022, urbanization accelerated, with U rising from 0.185 in 2015 to ecological environments. However, RSEI has limitations in fully
0.337 in 2022. However, E also declined, dropping from 0.467 in 2015 capturing the changes in ecological environment quality within rapidly
to 0.438, suggesting ongoing ecological challenges. Despite this, the urbanizing urban agglomerations (Xu et al., 2018). Addressing this gap,
CCD index saw a significant rise, indicating an improvement in the co­ the current study, which focuses on urban agglomerations and utilizes
ordination between urbanization and the ecological environment MODIS data, has refined the RSEI to create the IRSEI. This enhancement
compared to earlier periods, yet with U still less than E, urbanization involves the integration of the long-wave near-infrared band and the
was still not keeping pace with ecological considerations. Overall, the normalized impervious surface index into the dryness indicator. The
Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, despite experiencing phases need for this improvement arises from a specific flaw in the traditional
of rapid urbanization, has maintained a relatively healthy balance be­ RSEI’s dryness indicator, which is composed of the Index-based Built-up
tween urban development and ecological sustainability, as evidenced by Index (IBI) and the bare soil index. The IBI, in its process of identifying
the continuous growth of the CCD index. urban construction land, often mistakenly classifies impervious mate­
Fig. 14 displays the coupling and coordination levels between ur­ rials like cement and plastic, resulting in inaccurately high IBI values in
banization and ecological environment in the Chengdu-Chongqing areas of bare soil. This misclassification significantly undermines the
urban agglomeration, categorized by municipal and county-level accuracy of the dryness indicator. The newly developed IRSEI, with

Fig. 13. Chart trends of urbanization (U) and ecological environment (E) in Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration from 2000 to 2022.

13
X. Lei et al. Ecological Indicators 161 (2024) 111969

Fig. 14. Regional map of coupling coordination between urbanization and ecological environment in Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration.

these modifications, exhibits marked improvements over the RSEI in 4.2. Analysis of the overall ecological environment of Chengdu-Chongqing
several key aspects. urban agglomeration
Fig. 15 illustrates the advancements in the IRSEI. The IRSEI, dem­
onstrates a notable improvement in its performance, particularly in the The Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration displays notable
contribution rate of PCA1. In the IRSEI index, this rate has shown a spatial disparities in ecological environment quality, with a distinct
marked increase compared to the RSEI. For instance, in five different pattern where central areas have lower quality and surrounding areas
phases of images from the study area, the PCA1 contribution rates in the have higher quality. In the central region, the ecological environment
IRSEI escalated from 79.86 %, 73.24 %, 83.24 %, 84.59 %, 79.81 % (as quality index remains relatively stable over the years, showing minimal
observed in the RSEI) to 82.14 %, 80.46 %, 85.19 %, 85.59 %, 83.68 % variation. The areas with high IRSEI values predominantly encircle the
respectively (as depicted in Fig. 15a). This enhancement is particularly Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, particularly in the western
evident in the dryness indicator within PCA1 of the IRSEI. While the mountainous regions like Ya’an and Leshan. Although the southeastern
coefficients for the other three indicators remained relatively stable, the part of Chongqing also exhibits high IRSEI values, they are not as
absolute values of the dryness indicator coefficients saw a significant elevated as those in the western Chengdu-Chongqing area. In contrast,
rise, moving from 0.415, 0.384, 0.429, 0.497, 0.328 in the RSEI to the urban construction zones of Chengdu and Chongqing are identified
0.528, 0.547, 0.621, 0.581, 0.473 in the IRSEI, an average increase of as areas with low IRSEI values. This disparity is attributed to the
over 35 % (as shown in Fig. 15b). This substantial enhancement in both favorable climatic conditions in the surrounding mountainous areas,
the PCA1 contribution rate and the absolute values of the dryness co­ which offer optimal temperature and precipitation for vegetation, thus
efficients underscores the IRSEI’s improved capability to extract more facilitating its growth and development (Jung et al., 2019). Moreover,
comprehensive information for ecological assessments and to more the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, situated in the upper
precisely reflect the adverse effects of dryness on the ecological reaches of the Yangtze River, has been actively engaged in ecological
environment. civilization initiatives, including converting farmland to forests and
afforestation. These efforts have substantially improved the IRSEI values

Fig. 15. Improved before and after chart. (a) is the comparison of PCA1 contribution rate between IRSEI and RSEI, and (b) is the performance of dryness index in
PCA1 before and after improvement.

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X. Lei et al. Ecological Indicators 161 (2024) 111969

in these peripheral regions (Li et al., 2023). On the other hand, the the project to the status of a national-level strategy, as detailed on the
central areas of the agglomeration suffer from lower IRSEI values, pri­ National Development and Reform Commission’s website (International
marily due to the impacts of rapid urbanization, high population den­ online, 2021). Situated in the Sichuan Basin, both Chengdu and
sity, and urban sprawl, which intensify pollution. This observation is Chongqing have experienced rapid development over the past decades,
corroborated by research conducted by Zhang et al., (2023b) and Wei demonstrating robust growth. Chengdu, lying adjacent to the Min
et al. (2023). Mountains, has undergone expansion towards the east, west, and north,
In terms of time, the overall ecological environment quality of the progressively forging stronger urbanization connections with Chongq­
Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration reached its peak in 2005. ing (Sun et al., 2014). In terms of urbanization, the prefecture-level
Since then, from 2005 to 2022, there has been a continuous decline in cities of Sichuan Province have slightly outpaced Chongqing. This
the region’s ecological environment quality. Notably, while this disparity is largely attributed to the mountainous terrain in Chongqing’s
declining trend is clear, the rate of decline has been gradually slowing northeastern and southeastern regions, which presents considerable
down. This paper’s findings, which focus on the Chengdu-Chongqing development challenges. Consequently, urban development in
urban agglomeration, offer a unique perspective compared to other Chongqing has been predominantly concentrated in the Yangtze River
research. For instance, Zhang et al., (2023b) observed an overall in­ basin, an area characterized by relatively lower human activity intensity
crease in the vegetation ecological environment quality index of the compared to Sichuan’s prefecture-level cities. Analysis of GDP spatial
Chengdu-Chongqing area from 2000 to 2020, and Wei et al. (2023) re­ data from 2000 to 2022 reveals a distinct pattern: the central urban
ported improvements in the landscape ecological risk for the same urban areas of Chengdu and Chongqing, along with adjacent regions, have
agglomeration during this period. The slight differences in these findings progressively evolved into a “network-like” structure through road
may stem from the comprehensive nature of the IRSEI, which, besides connections (refer to Fig. 11). This pattern of development aligns with
vegetation and landscape factors, also incorporates humidity, improved the overarching paradigm of the Chengdu-Chongqing Twin-City Eco­
aridity, and thermal information, providing a more holistic reflection of nomic Belt (Sun et al., 2018, Zhang et al., 2022b).
the region’s ecological status.
Delving into the factors influencing IRSEI changes from 2000 to 4.4. Analysis of coupling of the whole ecological environment and
2022, this paper highlights the significant role of governmental initia­ urbanization in Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration
tives. Starting in 2001, Chengdu embarked on an ambitious “Environ­
mental Protection Model City” plan, encompassing a wide range of As urbanization advances, its impact on the ecological environment
measures such as smoke and dust control, urban environmental noise becomes more apparent, and the ecological environment’s constraints
management, drinking water quality improvement, vehicle exhaust on urbanization intensify (Liu and Wang, 2015). This interplay has been
emission reduction, expansion of green spaces, and overall environ­ substantiated by various studies (Hou et al., 2022, Kuang et al., 2011,
mental pollution control (Sichuan News Network-Chengdu Evening Ma et al., 2010, Man et al., 2019, Shields and Tague, 2015). Notably, the
News, 2005). These comprehensive efforts culminated in Chengdu being Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration has seen an improvement in
recognized as a “National Environmental Protection Model City” in 2005 the coupling and coordination between urbanization and the ecological
(Sichuan Publishing, 2023). This achievement suggests that the gov­ environment, particularly from 2015 to 2022. According to official data,
ernment’s proactive environmental policies were key to the notable in 2022, the average number of days with good air quality in the 16
enhancement of Chengdu’s environmental quality in 2005, which cities at or above the prefecture level in the Chengdu-Chongqing area
coincided with the peak IRSEI value for the Chengdu-Chongqing urban increased by 6.0 percentage points compared to 2015, and the intensity
agglomeration. of carbon emissions per unit of GDP decreased by 25.89 % (Sichuan
In the context of rapid urbanization, the pursuit of Sustainable Provincial Big Data Center, 2022). These statistics corroborate the
Development Goals (SDGs) and the implementation of green co- findings of this paper.
construction policies under the “Belt and Road” initiative have under­ In bustling areas like Chengdu and Chongqing, the synergy between
scored the need for a balance between regional development and envi­ urbanization and the ecological environment is more pronounced than
ronmental protection (Xu et al., 2023, Kuang et al., 2016). in their surrounding areas. These cities, being at the heart of the
Consequently, despite the downward trend of the IRSEI, the deceleration Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, have historically grappled
in its decline indicates the effectiveness of human regulatory measures with environmental challenges like smog and water pollution due to
in mitigating the adverse ecological impacts of urbanization. This aligns their heavy industrial base and urban expansion. However, the region’s
with the findings of Zheng et al. (Zheng et al., 2020), who also under­ gradual shift towards deindustrialization and high-end industrial
scored the significant impact of human intervention on environmental development, with the structural reform of the supply side, is effectively
quality. mitigating these environmental issues at their source. Moreover, the
The “Chengdu-Chongqing Area Twin-City Economic Circle Con­ focus on integrating economic development with ecological environ­
struction Plan (Scheme) Key Project List” for 2023 is particularly note­ mental protection has furthered ecological improvements in these
worthy for its inclusion of 47 ecological and environmental protection metropolitan areas, aligning urbanization levels more closely with
projects, representing a substantial investment of 867 billion yuan ecological considerations. Chen et al. (2022) noted that in Chengdu,
(Chengdu local Chronicles Office, 2023). This substantial investment urbanization outpaced ecological development. Our study observed a
clearly demonstrates the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration’s similar pattern in Chengdu but found that, when considering the entire
commitment to ecological and environmental protection. Given these Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, urbanization generally trails
significant measures, it is reasonable to anticipate a continued deceler­ behind ecological development. Despite the continuous economic
ation in the decline rate of the IRSEI index, and we might even begin to growth in Chengdu and Chongqing, and their higher urbanization levels
see an upward trend in the index in the near future. compared to surrounding cities, the overall urbanization of the
agglomeration, which predominantly comprises small and medium-
4.3. Analysis of GDP spatialization and urbanization process sized cities and towns, still lags behind ecological progress. The re­
gions farther from the bustling centers of Chengdu and Chongqing enjoy
The concept of the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration was better initial ecological conditions, yet they face a longer journey in
first introduced in 2016. By 2020, this concept gained significant mo­ economic development. Government policies have set clear develop­
mentum when the Central Financial and Economic Affairs Commission, ment objectives for the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration,
at its sixth meeting, resolved to actively advance the construction of the aiming to transform Chongqing and Chengdu into hubs of high-quality
Chengdu-Chongqing Twin-City Economic Circle. This decision elevated development in the western region and to foster the growth of

15
X. Lei et al. Ecological Indicators 161 (2024) 111969

surrounding smaller cities and towns. In summary, the urbanization quality monitoring and data compression, surpassing the RSEI method.
process in the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration is in its nascent Therefore, future research stemming from this paper should consider
stage, presenting substantial development potential. The ongoing enhancing the principal component analysis method to further minimize
growth of Chengdu-Chongqing Development indicates a relatively information redundancy and capture more nuanced relationships be­
balanced relationship between ecological sustainability and urbaniza­ tween indicators.
tion in the agglomeration.
Research indicates that while urbanization has significantly altered 5. Conclusions
the ecological environment, from 2000 to 2022, under the effective
ecological governance in the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration, This paper leveraged Google Earth Engine (GEE) and MODIS images
the level of coupling and coordination between urbanization and the for the analysis of ecological changes spanning the years 2000 to 2022.
ecological environment has continued to improve despite increased To achieve a more precise characterization of ecological quality, the
human activity intensity. This reflects the success of proper land use Improved Remote Sensing Ecological Index (IRSEI) was employed.
planning and ecological governance strategies in maintaining the Furthermore, this study integrates night light remote sensing data with
ecological environment. Through rational land use planning and holistic land use and socio-economic information to construct the GDP sub-
ecological maintenance, a win–win situation for economic development industry spatialization model to get a detailed analysis of the urbani­
and ecological environment protection can be achieved. When the zation process. Integrating these methodologies and adopting a coupling
ecological environment is properly managed, there is a positive corre­ and coordination development model, the research undertakes a dy­
lation between human activity intensity and ecological protection, namic monitoring and evaluative analysis of the interaction and
fostering a harmonious coexistence between humans and the environ­ harmonized development between the ecological environment and ur­
ment. This underscores the importance and practical value of the banization from 2000 to 2022. The derived conclusions are as follows:
concept of harmonious coexistence between humans and nature.
1. The load absolute value of the improved dryness index shows an
4.5. Application potential and limitation average increase of 35 % compared to the traditional RSEI. This
significant increase indicates that the enhanced dryness index,
Since the RSEI index assessment method was introduced (Xu, 2013), NDISSI, is now more sensitive and provides a more accurate reflec­
its application has expanded significantly. RSEI’s widespread use in tion of urban dryness conditions. Furthermore, compared with RSEI,
various study areas (Zheng et al., 2019, Aizizi et al., 2023) is attributed IRSEI shows a notable increase of 3.26 % in the amount of useful data
to the easy access to data and the model’s stability. Despite the differ­ for ecological quality analysis. Additionally, the correlation between
ences in climate and geographical locations of these study areas, the each ecological indicator and the model in the IRSEI framework is
focus has predominantly been on small-scale areas, limited by the res­ stronger than that in the RSEI, suggesting a more robust and reliable
olution of the chosen satellite images (Landsat/OLI, Sentinel-2). This tool for ecological assessment.
limitation underscores the need for developing new satellite data sour­ 2. From 2000 to 2022, the ecological environment quality in the
ces to enhance RSEI-based environmental assessments. In this context, Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration initially exhibited an up­
MODIS images, known for their medium resolution and high data ward trend, followed by a decline. However, the pace of this decline
quality, have emerged as a preferred choice. This study leverages mul­ has been progressively slowing. The analysis of this variation pattern
tiple MODIS standard data products for a comprehensive long-term reveals that human regulatory interventions have effectively coun­
assessment of the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration’s tered the ecological degradation associated with urbanization.
ecosystem and environment, demonstrating the IRSEI model’s stability 3. Between 2000 and 2022, the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomer­
and feasibility in environmental evaluation. The IRSEI in this study, ation experienced rapid urbanization, as indicated by the GDP sub-
derived entirely from remote sensing images, effectively encapsulates industry spatialization model. This period saw an upward trend in
the ecological environment by integrating key ecological factors such as the CCD between the IRSEI and the GDP spatial model, reflecting
greenness, wetness, heat, and improved dryness. However, reliance on enhanced coupling and coordination between urbanization and the
satellite imagery can introduce systematic errors due to variations in ecological environment. Particularly, the core cities like Chengdu
sensors and transmission times. Efforts to minimize the time window for and Chongqing presented higher levels of coupling and coordination
image selection, aimed at ensuring comparability and reducing cloud compared to their surrounding cities. This significant difference
interference, do not fully negate the potential discrepancies in image suggests that urban development in these core cities is stabilizing,
collection times across different years. which indicates that a more synchronized advancement in both
The IRSEI index assessment method developed in this study effec­ urban growth and ecological environment management.
tively captures comprehensive information from various indicators and
suppresses noise, providing a thorough reflection of ecological envi­ Funding
ronment quality. However, it has certain limitations, notably its failure
to include other vital ecological assessment factors. Specifically, the This research was funded by the Technology Innovation Center for
impact of air quality on urban ecological quality was not considered. To Ecological Monitoring & Restoration Project on Land (Arable), MNR
address this gap, Ou et al. (2023) and colleagues enhanced the RSEI by (grant number GTST2021-011), the Jiangsu Province Land Space
integrating an air quality index, which significantly improved the Ecological Monitoring Project (grant number SCZH [2020] 20), the
model’s ability to reflect the ecological environment quality, as Jiangsu Province Land Space Ecological Monitoring (2022–2025) Proj­
demonstrated in their study of Nanning. Given that the Chengdu- ect (grant number SCZH [2022] 27).
Chongqing urban agglomeration is situated in a terrain that is prone
to haze (Cheng, et al., 2017), incorporating atmospheric parameters like CRediT authorship contribution statement
aerosol optical depth (Ayodele et al., 2023) in future studies is essential.
Additionally, while this study employs principal component analysis to Xiangqi Lei: Writing – review & editing, Writing – original draft,
compress data and eliminate redundancy, it overlooks the potential Visualization, Validation, Software, Methodology. Hanhu Liu: Writing
weak linear or nonlinear relationships between different indicators. Liu – original draft, Resources, Methodology, Funding acquisition. Shaoda
et al. (2022) demonstrated the effectiveness of kernel principal Li: Project administration, Conceptualization. Qingqu Luo: Software.
component analysis in constructing a nonlinear remote sensing ecolog­ Sizhi Cheng: Supervision, Formal analysis. Guyue Hu: Writing – review
ical index, which showed promising results in ecological environment & editing. Xiao Wang: Visualization. Wenqian Bai: Validation.

16
X. Lei et al. Ecological Indicators 161 (2024) 111969

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solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of special/[Link] 2021 Available online:
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