Construction and Optimization of an Ecological Network in the Yellow River Source Region Based on MSPA and MCR Modelling

Jia Liu, Jianjun Chen (), Yanping Yang, Haotian You and Xiaowen Han
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Jia Liu: College of Geomatics and Geoinformation, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Jianjun Chen: College of Geomatics and Geoinformation, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Yanping Yang: College of Geomatics and Geoinformation, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Haotian You: College of Geomatics and Geoinformation, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China
Xiaowen Han: College of Geomatics and Geoinformation, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541004, China

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 4, 1-17

Abstract: The source region of the Yellow River (SRYR) is an important water conservation and farming area in China. Under the dual influence of the natural environment and external pressure, ecological patches in the region are becoming increasingly fragmented, and landscape connectivity is continuously declining, which directly affect the landscape patch pattern and SRYR sustainable development. In the SRYR, morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and landscape index methods were used to extract ecologically important sources. Based on the minimum cumulative resistance model (MCR), Linkage Mapper was used to generate a potential corridor, and then potential stepped stone patches were identified and extracted by the gravity model and betweenness centrality to build an optimal SRYR ecological network. The distribution of patches in the core area of the SRYR was fragmented, accounting for 80.53% of the total grassland area. The 10 ecological sources based on the landscape connectivity index and 15 important corridors identified based on the MCR model were mainly distributed in the central and eastern regions of the SRYR. Through betweenness centrality, 10 stepped stone patches were added, and 45 planned ecological corridors were obtained to optimize the SRYR ecological network and enhance east and west connectivity. Our research results can provide an important reference for the protection of the SRYR ecosystem, and have important guiding significance and practical value for ecological network construction in ecologically fragmented areas.

Keywords: source region of the Yellow River (SRYR); landscape connectivity; morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA); minimum cumulative resistance model (MCR); ecological network (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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