Spatial Coupling Between Land Use Conflict and Ecosystem Services in an Arid Mountain–Oasis System: A Case Study on the Northern Slope of the Tianshan Mountains, China

With the advancement of urbanization, the land use structure has undergone continuous changes, intensifying spatial competition among different land use types. Consequently, land use conflicts have become increasingly prominent, exerting potential impacts on regional ecosystem services. Taking the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains as the study area, this study constructed a land use conflict index based on population density, GDP density, nighttime light index, NDVI, and distance to roads. Ecosystem service functions were evaluated using the InVEST water yield model and the RUSLE soil erosion model, and the relationship between land use conflicts and ecosystem services was analyzed via Spearman’s correlation analysis. The results show that land use conflicts on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains exhibit significant spatial heterogeneity. High-conflict areas are mainly concentrated in Urumqi, Changji, and along major transportation routes, whereas low-conflict areas are primarily distributed in the southern mountain ecological zone. High-value areas of water retention and soil conservation are mainly located in the Tianshan Mountains and regions with high vegetation coverage, while low-value areas are distributed in plains and urban areas. The overall differences in ecosystem services under different conflict levels are relatively small. Correlation analysis reveals that the land use conflict index has a significant but weak negative correlation with water retention (r=-0.03185,p<0.05), whereas its correlation with soil conservation is weak and insignificant (r=-0.02343,p>0.05).Overall, the spatial pattern of ecosystem services on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains is mainly controlled by natural factors such as topography and vegetation, and the impact of land use conflicts is relatively limited. This study can provide a scientific reference for the optimal allocation of land resources and ecological protection in arid regions.