Decoupling and Decomposition Analysis of Land Natural Capital Utilization and Economic Growth: A Case Study in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China

In order to reduce the depletion of land natural capital and develop economy simultaneously, it is necessary to study how to achieve the strong decoupling relationship between them. However, so far such studies have been relatively limited. Thus, taking the case of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, this paper firstly analyzes the state of land natural capital utilization in 1999–2017 by using improved ecological footprint. Then, decoupling state is quantified by Tapio decoupling model. Last, major driving factors on the decoupling relationship are explored with combination of LMDI decomposition and Kaya identity equation. Results showed that: (1) Both natural capital flows and stock depletion of cultivated land decrease obviously during the transition to corn-based intensive ecological agriculture. Grassland and water are the most unsustainable development sectors among all land types with their stock depletion intensified. Forest land and construction land could basically meet the consumer demand, but the flow occupancy of construction land is the fastest-growing segment. (2) Decoupling relationship is in an alternating state between weak decoupling and strong decoupling in 1999–2017. Wherein, the cultivated land and forest land showed a preferred decoupling state, followed by grassland, while the water and construction land showed the unfavorable expansive negative decoupling and weak decoupling. (3) Decomposition results show that intensity effect is the major factor that promotes the decoupling while economic effect inhibits the decoupling, but this negative impact is weakening in the process of industrial transformation. The other three factors affect less on the decoupling. This study has a certain reference value to construct an ecological civilization in eco-fragile regions and formulate relevant policies on the increase of land natural capital efficiency.