The Impact of Land Use/Cover Change on Ecological Environment Quality and Its Spatial Spillover Effect under the Coupling Effect of Urban Expansion and Open-Pit Mining Activities

Suburban open-pit mining concentration areas are both the frontline of urban expansion and the main battlefield in mineral resource development. These dual forces have resulted in significant land use/cover changes (LUCC), which play a crucial role in determining the ecological environment quality (EEQ). However, research examining how LUCC affects EEQ under the coupled impact of these two development events is currently lacking. In this study, the response of EEQ to LUCC was evaluated using Landsat images from 2000, 2010, and 2020 for the southern suburban open-pit mining concentration area in Jinan City. A relative contribution index was used to address the ecological and environmental effects of non-dominant land use/cover types, and the impact of LUCC on EEQ and its spatial spillover effects were revealed by also carrying out a buffer zone analysis. The findings of this study indicate that: (1) the dominant land use/cover types that influence the EEQ spatial pattern are farmland, grassland, and construction land. Among them, the area of farmland was the largest, with more than 1800 km2. Changes in non-dominant land use/cover types to mining land and mine rehabilitation made the most significant relative contribution to the changes in EEQ, i.e., 0.0735 and 0.0184, respectively. (2) The transformation of farmland into construction land and mining land and woodland into mining land was shown to exacerbate the deterioration of the EEQ in the study area, with a deterioration area of 1367.54 km2 and spatial spillovers of up to 1000 m. (3) Returning farmland to woodland and grassland, as well as returning mine rehabilitation, were found to be the main factors contributing to the improvement of EEQ in the study area, with an improvement area of 1335.67 km2 and spatial spillover extending from 500 to 800 m. (4) Nevertheless, uneven changes in land use/cover continue to aggravate the agglomerative effect of EEQ deterioration. Further refinement and enhancement of the methods and standards of ecological governance are urgently needed to counterbalance the uneven spatial spillover effects between ecological degradation and improvement. This study provides a scientific reference for the promotion of ecological protection and sustainable development in mining cities.