Designing Ecological Security Patterns Based on the Framework of Ecological Quality and Ecological Sensitivity: A Case Study of Jianghan Plain, China

Xueping Su, Yong Zhou and Qing Li
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Xueping Su: The College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Yong Zhou: The College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China
Qing Li: The College of Urban & Environmental Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan 430079, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 16, 1-32

Abstract: Researchers and managers of natural resource conservation have increasingly emphasized the importance of maintaining a connected network of important ecological patches to mitigate landscape fragmentation, reduce the decline of biodiversity, and sustain ecological services. This research aimed to guide landscape management and decision-making by developing an evaluation framework to construct ecological security patterns. Taking the Jianghan Plain as the study area, we identified key ecological sources by overlaying the spatial patterns of ecological quality (biodiversity, carbon storage, and water yield) and ecological sensitivity (habitat sensitivity, soil erosion sensitivity, and water sensitivity) using the Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model and the Chinese Soil Loss Equation Function. Ecological corridors were obtained by the least-cost path analysis method and circuit theory. A total of 48 ecological sources (3812.95 km 2 ), primarily consisting of water area, forestland, and cropland, were identified. Ninety-one ecological corridors were derived, with a total length of 2036.28 km. Forty barriers and 40 pinch points with the highest improvement coefficient scores or priority scores were selected. There were 11 priority corridors with very high levels of connectivity improvement potential and conservation priority, occupying 16.15% of the total length of corridors. The overall potential for ecological connectivity is high on the Jianghan Plain. Our framework offers a valuable reference for constructing ecological security patterns and identifying sites for ecological restoration at the regional scale.

Keywords: ecological quality; ecological sensitivity; ecological security pattern; ecological corridor; circuit theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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