Coupling and Coordination of Implicit Land Use and Ecological Security in Huaihe River Basin, China

The Huai River Basin is located in Jiangsu, Anhui, Shandong, Hubei, and Henan provinces of China. We explored the spatiotemporal characteristics and their changes in the ecological security and the form index of implicit land use using an equivalent factor method and a coupling coordination model. The coupling coordination between land use and ecological security was explored by evaluating the transformation of implicit land use. It was important to optimize the spatial pattern of the Huai River Basin and develop the area as eco-friendly. The research results indicated that the form index of land use in the five provinces increased from 2000 to 2015 and the degree of implicit land use was high with spatiotemporal differentiation. The transformation of land use showed a cycle, and the transformation speed was fast but slowed. The level of coupling and coordinated development in the provinces varied greatly. The implicit land use and ecological security in each province were imbalanced which was improved.