Archipelagic human-land spatial interrelations: An empirical study in Shengsi Archipelago, China

The human-land interrelations in archipelagic areas naturally present spatial heterogeneities at multiple scales. Revealing the archipelagic human-land spatial interrelations is important for improving the understanding of intrinsic relationships among natural contexts, human activities, and ecological conditions on islands and further enriching the research on human-land interrelation. In this study, Shengsi Archipelago, a China’s typical archipelago with highly spatial heterogeneities in natural, anthropogenic, and ecological factors, was selected as the study area, and field survey and remote sensing served as the data source. Nine types and 23 sub-types of human activities were identified over the archipelago, and human activity development indices were established to measure the intensities and spatial patterns of human activities based on the area and influencing coefficients. The spatial interrelations among natural, anthropogenic, and ecological factors were then analyzed using regression analysis at island scale, correlation analysis at grid scale, and canonical correspondence analysis at the dual scales. Results indicated that natural factors explained 22.30% and 7.30% of the spatial variances of human activities at island and grid scales, respectively; they exerted influences in two levels, namely, human activities as a whole and different types of human activities, and human activities did not show exactly consistent spatial inclinations across the two levels. Natural contexts explained 23.40% and 2.90% of the spatial variances of ecological conditions at island and grid scales, respectively. By contrast, human activities played the dominant role in the island ecosystem and explained 48.10% and 51.90% at island and grid scales, respectively; they influenced the spatial pattern of ecological conditions mainly through a synergistic way, and the influences were consistent across the two scales. The study validated the following hypothesis that human activities can spread over the archipelago in spite of the limits of natural contexts and become the main driving factor of the island ecological evolution.