{
  "abstract": "The Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB), China’s “golden waterway” and “green barrier”, relies on its “Forest–Cropland–Water” system for carbon sequestration, grain production, and water conservation. Tracking its vulnerability and coordination on a spatiotemporal scale reveals barriers to balancing ecological security with sustainable growth. Our study innovatively proposes a multi-system coupling evaluation framework. We integrate the Order relation (G1) method, the CRiteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation (CRITIC) method, and a game theory combination weighting to assess the ecological vulnerability of the “Forest–Cropland–Water” system across YREB. Using coupling coordination and spatial autocorrelation models, we then map the spatiotemporal pattern and spatial clustering characteristics of ecosystems interactions. Finally, geodetector method is employed to identify the principal drivers of coupling coordination. In 2000–2023, the ecological vulnerability of each ecosystem and the overall system exhibited a fluctuating downward trend. Spatial clustering of coupling coordination gradually weakened, and coupling types shifted from mild imbalance toward mild coordination. Concurrently, high vulnerability areas progressively transitioned to moderate and low vulnerability. Among the driving factors, Land use intensity and aerosol optical depth consistently exhibited the strongest explanatory power for the coupling coordination degree of the “Forest–Cropland–Water” system, whereas the influence of extreme high-temperature days markedly declined over time and the remaining selected factors played only subsidiary roles. This work provides a systematic framework for assessing future multi-system ecological vulnerability and coupling relationship, offering scientific guidance for promoting sustainable natural-resource management and inter-basin development.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Center for Geophysical Survey, China Geological Survey, Langfang, China",
    "Technology Innovation Center for Earth Near Surface Detection, China Geological Survey, Langfang, China",
    "Key Laboratory of Coupling Process and Effect of Natural Resources Elements, Beijing, China",
    "Integrated Natural Resources Survey Center, China Geological Survey, Beijing, China"
  ],
  "article_type": "Research Article",
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 11,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0
      ],
      "name": "Shuai Wu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1
      ],
      "name": "Xuanhui Li"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        2
      ],
      "name": "Xiaohuang Liu"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        3
      ],
      "name": "Guanzhong Zeng"
    },
    {
      "name": "Wei Zhang"
    },
    {
      "name": "Xiaojing Liu"
    },
    {
      "name": "Qinghua Zeng"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jie Sun"
    },
    {
      "name": "Liang Ru"
    },
    {
      "name": "Hang Xing"
    },
    {
      "name": "Jiankun Kang"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/anam1gah4xzpj.bib",
  "cited_by": 0,
  "doi": "10.1371/journal.pone.0360810",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "anam1gah4xzpj",
  "issns": [
    "1932-6203"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360810",
  "language": null,
  "licence": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "licence_label": "CC BY 4.0",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "2306|Land Use and Ecosystem Services"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Agriculture/Agricultural soil science"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Ecology/Ecosystems"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Ecology/Ecosystems/Forests"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Biology and life sciences/Ecology/Forest ecology"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Hydrology/Surface water"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Soil science/Agricultural soil science"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Earth sciences/Soil science/Soil ecology"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Ecology/Ecosystems"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Ecology/Ecosystems/Forests"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Ecology/Forest ecology"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Natural resources/Water resources"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Pollution/Water pollution"
    ],
    [
      "plos",
      "/Ecology and environmental sciences/Terrestrial environments/Forests"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W7221704511",
  "pdf_url": "https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0360810&type=printable",
  "pmcid": null,
  "pmid": null,
  "published": "2026-10-13",
  "publisher": "Public Library of Science",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/anam1gah4xzpj.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T12:17:23Z",
      "native_id": "10.1371/journal.pone.0360810",
      "source": "plos",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0360810"
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  ],
  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biology",
      "origin": "plos:ecology",
      "subfield": "ecology"
    },
    {
      "field": "earth",
      "origin": "plos:hydrology",
      "subfield": "hydrology-soils"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Spatiotemporal evolution and coupling of “Forest–Cropland–Water” ecosystem vulnerability in the Yangtze River Economic Belt",
  "title_text": "Spatiotemporal evolution and coupling of “Forest–Cropland–Water” ecosystem vulnerability in the Yangtze River Economic Belt",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-10-30T12:17:30Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/anam1gah4xzpj",
  "venue": "PLOS One",
  "versions": []
}