Ecological Security Evaluation System Integrated with Circuit Theory for Regional Ecological Security Pattern Construction: A Coordinated Study of Chang-Zhu-Tan Metropolitan Area in China

Tingke Wu, Shiwei Lu () and Yichen Ding
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Tingke Wu: School of Digital Construction and Blasting Engineering, Jianghan University, Wuhan 430056, China
Shiwei Lu: School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Yichen Ding: School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 2, 1-22

Abstract: Rapid urbanization and land use changes have brought enormous pressure onto the ecological environment. Constructing ecological security patterns (ESPs) contributes to scientifically utilizing ecosystem functions, maintaining biodiversity, and protecting the ecological environment. Thus, this study proposed a regional ESP construction framework, which integrated circuit theory with an ecological security evaluation system composed of a landscape connectivity analysis, an ecosystem service evaluation, and an ecological sensitivity analysis, to generate the ESP of the national-level Chang-Zhu-Tan Metropolitan Area (CZTMA). The results showed that (1) there were 22 ecological sources mainly consisting of woodlands, grasslands, and water bodies and distributed heterogeneously from the eastern to western CZTMA; (2) 48 ecological corridors connected the large-scale ecological patches such as rivers, lakes, wetlands, and woodlands in the CZTMA, and the average distance of the east side was shorter, while the distance of the west side was longer; and (3) 13 ecological pinch nodes and 28 ecological barrier nodes were identified as important nodes. On this basis, this research constructed a multi-level ESP consisting of “one center and multiple cores, one belt and two screens, multiple corridors and multiple nodes” for the CTZMA, which not only guarantees the stability of ecosystems but also maintains their efficiency in providing ecological services and their resistance to the pressure of human activities. Moreover, a series of specific recommendations for the optimization of regional ESPs were provided, including protection of ecological sources and enhancement of their habitat quality, improvement of ecological corridor connectivity, maintenance of pinch nodes, and restoration of barrier nodes. Coordinated mechanisms at the provincial level were proposed. This study could help with ecological conservation and restoration, and strategic planning making in integrated nature–human systems that cross administrative boundaries.

Keywords: ecological security evaluation; ecological security pattern; circuit theory; metropolitan area (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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