Unequal Impact of Road Expansion on Regional Ecological Quality

The expansion of road networks profoundly affects ecological systems by intensifying habitat fragmentation, altering hydrological processes, and exacerbating pollution. However, our understanding of the multi-scale spatiotemporal coupling between road networks and ecological quality remains limited. Thus, taking Fuzhou City in Southeastern China as a case study (~12,000 km2), we apply bivariate spatial autocorrelation, geographical detectors (GDs), and multi-scale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) to explore the multi-scale interactions between road networks and ecological quality. Results reveal the following: (1) From 2016 to 2021, kernel density estimation (KDE) analysis of the road network indicates coordinated growth in both urban and rural areas, with an increase of 0.759 km/km2. Analysis based on the remote sensing-based ecological index (RSEI) shows a decrease from 2000 to 2016, and then an increase from 2016 to 2021, with a trend of increasing gradually from urban center to rural area. (2) Predominant tradeoff relationships exist between KDE and RSEI in 2016 and 2021, while notable synergistic relationships emerge between ΔKDE and ΔRSEI. (3) Multi-scale GD analysis identifies ΔKDE as a principal factor influencing ΔRSEI, and the MGWR reveals their significant synergistic associations at an optimal scale of 3000 m. These findings highlight the unequal impact of road network expansion on ecological quality, underscoring the pivotal role of road density changes in its spatiotemporal dynamics. They offer essential insights for sustainable transport and ecological planning.