Investigating the coordination between ecological and economic systems in China’s green development process: a place-based interdisciplinary evaluation

Harmonizing human activities with the natural environment has received much attention as a development goal and is longstanding pursuit of society. In this study, we investigated sustainability green from perspective coordination between economic environmental subsystems at place-based scale, 290 cities in China research objects. An interdisciplinary method combining an improved data envelopment analysis model Lotka-Volterra was conducted to examine two subsystems’ efficiency their correlation (i.e., mutualism, commensalism, amensalism, sacrifice, competition, independence). The results indicate that one-third cities’ are mutualistic state, relatively stable social-ecological system. However, state competition one-fourth cities, rather intense vulnerability, where harmonious coexistence humans nature facing more significant challenges. addition, vulnerability system economically developed shows substantial polarization. most these mutualism or amensalism relations, whereas underdeveloped even greater vulnerability.