Identification of territorial spatial conflict and its influencing factors from a cross-scale and multi-dimensional perspective: A case study of the Three Gorges Reservoir area, China

Territorial space supports human socioeconomic activities and ecosystem protection. Under rapid urbanization, competition among construction development, agricultural production, and ecological protection has intensified, making territorial spatial conflict (TSC) a key challenge for regional sustainability. Taking the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA) as a case study, this study constructs a cross-scale and multi-dimensional framework for identifying TSC by integrating spatial suitability conflict and landscape pattern spatial conflict. Construction suitability, agricultural suitability, and ecological protection importance are evaluated to characterize potential functional competition, while landscape pattern spatial conflict reflects explicit structural disturbance. Grid- and county-scale analyses are combined with interpretable machine learning to identify influencing factors and nonlinear associations with TSC intensity. The results show that: (1) construction suitability, agricultural suitability, and ecological protection importance exhibit distinct spatial patterns, forming the basis for potential functional competition. TSC types show a heterogeneous pattern in which low-potential areas, pairwise conflicts, and multifunctional compound conflicts coexist. High-conflict areas are mainly concentrated in western urbanized valleys and local transition zones where construction, agricultural, and ecological protection functions are spatially intertwined. (2) TSC intensity is closely associated with terrain constraints, development pressure, institutional boundaries, and socioeconomic dynamics. TPI has the largest model-based contribution, followed by annual economic growth rate, road network density, ecological protection redline proportion, and construction land proportion. TSC mainly emerges where multiple functions are compressed within limited valley spaces, development pressure concentrates in developed areas and along road networks, and ecological and farmland protection boundaries overlap. (3) This study proposes differentiated governance pathways consisting of dominant function precision governance, ecological barrier fortification, and spatial quality enhancement. The findings provide methodological support for TSC identification and practical guidance for optimizing territorial spatial patterns in mountainous reservoir areas.