The Construction and Optimization of Ecological Security Pattern in the Harbin-Changchun Urban Agglomeration, China

Rong Guo, Tong Wu, Mengran Liu, Mengshi Huang, Luigi Stendardo and Yutong Zhang
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Rong Guo: Key Laboratory of Cold Region Urban and Rural Human Settlement Environment Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150006, China
Tong Wu: Key Laboratory of Cold Region Urban and Rural Human Settlement Environment Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150006, China
Mengran Liu: Key Laboratory of Forest Plan Ecology, Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China
Mengshi Huang: Key Laboratory of Cold Region Urban and Rural Human Settlement Environment Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, School of Architecture, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150006, China
Luigi Stendardo: Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering, Padova University, 35131 Padova, Italy
Yutong Zhang: Department of Agriculture and Forestry Economic Management, School of Economic Management, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin 150040, China

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 7, 1-18

Abstract: Urban agglomerations have become a new geographical unit in China, breaking the administrative fortresses between cities, which means that the population and economic activities between cities will become more intensive in the future. Constructing and optimizing the ecological security pattern of urban agglomerations is important for promoting harmonious social-economic development and ecological protection. Using the Harbin-Changchun urban agglomeration as a case study, we have identified ecological sources based on the evaluation of ecosystem functions. Based on the resistance surface modified by nighttime light (NTL) data, the potential ecological corridors were identified using the least-cost path method, and key ecological corridors were extracted using the gravity model. By combining 15 ecological sources, 119 corridors, 3 buffer zones, and 77 ecological nodes, the ecological security pattern (ESP) was constructed. The main land-use types composed of ecological sources and corridors are forest land, cultivated land, grassland, and water areas. Some ecological sources are occupied by construction, while unused land has the potential for ecological development. The ecological corridors in the central region are distributed circularly and extend to southeast side in the form of tree branches with the Songhua River as the central axis. Finally, this study proposes an optimizing pattern with “four belts, four zones, one axis, nine corridors, ten clusters and multi-centers” to provide decision makers with spatial strategies with respect to the conflicts between urban development and ecological protection during rapid urbanization.

Keywords: ecological security pattern; ecosystem functions; least-cost path method; Harbin-Changchun urban agglomeration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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