Balancing urbanisation and habitat conservation on Lingkun Island, China

Context Small estuarine islands are biodiversity hotspots, yet are being rapidly transformed by infrastructure-led urbanisation. Aims Aim was to quantify land-cover change and ecological consequences on Lingkun Island, China (2009–2023). Methods Landsat time-series were segmented into 120,452 objects and classified into six land-use classes; 10 indicators of ecosystem function, disturbance and resilience were scored (0–5) and combined into composite indices of ecosystem quality and sensitivity. Key results Urban construction land expanded by 57.7%, whereas natural and semi-natural habitats shrank by 18.5%. Ecosystem quality index (IEQ) fell 28.4% (0.62–0.45) and ecosystem sensitivity Index (IES) rose 34.1% (0.41–0.55). Traditional orchards contracted 68.9% and aquaculture ponds 27.6%, leaving only 184 ha of contiguous wetland for East Asian–Australasian Flyway shorebirds and Japanese eel. The IEQ–IES framework, anchored in object-oriented segmentation, shows resilience deficits that pixel-based island studies overlook. Conclusions Railway-driven urbanisation has triggered a rapid, irreversible shift from heterogeneous rural mosaics to simplified urban systems, eroding ecological integrity and adaptive capacity. Implications Immediate wetland protection, a minimum 30% urban green-space mandate and community-based ecological monitoring are urged. Because the indicator framework relies on imagery and expert scoring, it is transferable to other ‘island–port–rail’ developments that must reconcile connectivity with conservation.