Decoupling and recoupling: the evolving relationship between landscape pattern and ecological resilience under urbanization in the Yangtze River Delta

Reconciling rapid urbanization with ecological stability is a critical challenge for sustainable development in global urban agglomerations. However, how urbanization reshapes the dynamic coupling between landscape patterns and ecological resilience remains poorly understood. This research integrated landscape indicators and coupled multiple coordination models to explore the impact of landscape pattern and ecological resilience on urbanization in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), China. The results revealed that while the landscape became increasingly fragmented (Patch Density ↑6.78%) and disaggregated (Aggregation Index ↓1.4%), it also grew more compositionally diverse (Shannon’s Evenness Index ↑10.64%), concurrent with a significant overall improvement in ecological resilience. Spatially, this created a “high core-low periphery” structure, with resilience concentrated in major cities and key ecological barrier zones. The coupling coordination between landscape patterns and resilience steadily advanced from a state of near dissonance to basic coordination. However, this progress was spatially uneven, with large cities achieving primary coordination first, driven by policy and resource advantages. Most critically, by employing an Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) model, we uncover a robust positive “N”-shaped relationship between urbanization and the landscape-resilience coupling. This trajectory reveals a “decoupling and recoupling” dynamic where a temporary suppressive stage is successfully reversed through targeted policy, offering a new framework for understanding socio-ecological trajectories and a scientific basis for designing synergistic policies to enhance regional sustainability.