Research on the evolution and the driving forces of land use classification for production, living and ecological space in China's Qilian Mountains Nature Reserve from 2000 to 2020

This research constructed a production-living-ecological function evaluation index system, used entropy method, land use transfer matrix, kernel density analysis and geodetector to evaluate the production-living-ecological functions of 13 districts and counties in China's Qilian Mountains for the period 2000-2020. The results of the study showed: There are obvious spatial differences in the function of production-living-ecological in the Qilian Mountains. The production and living function index are rising. The most advantaged areas are in the northern part of the research area where the terrain is flat and transportation is convenient. The ecological function index rises, falls, then rises again. The high-value area is mainly located in the south of the study area and its ecological function is intact. The Qilian Mountains are dominated by ecological spatial distribution; the area of production and living space increased throughout the study period. The increase in production space mainly comes from ecological space and unused land; the increase in living space mainly comes from production space and unused land. Ecological degradation is a serious problem in northern Qilian County and central Menyuan County. Among geographical factors, altitude has a significant impact on the evolution of living space; other geographical factors have a limited impact on functional space. Population density is the main factor in changing the areas of production and ecological space. The interaction affects production, living and ecological space more than any individual factor.