Spatiotemporal Relationship Between Landscape Pattern and Ecosystem Service Connectivity in Wetland Environment: Evidence from Yellow River Delta, China

Chaozhi Hao, Shuyao Wu (), Wenjie Cheng, Mengna Chen, Yaofa Ren, Xiaoqing Chang and Linbo Zhang ()
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Chaozhi Hao: School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Shuyao Wu: College of Geography and Remote Sensing, Hohai University, Nanjing 211000, China
Wenjie Cheng: Humanities Laboratory for the Theory and Mechanism Research on the Value Realizing of the Yellow River Ecosystem Products, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Mengna Chen: Humanities Laboratory for the Theory and Mechanism Research on the Value Realizing of the Yellow River Ecosystem Products, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Yaofa Ren: Modelling, Evidence and Policy Research Group, School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
Xiaoqing Chang: Humanities Laboratory for the Theory and Mechanism Research on the Value Realizing of the Yellow River Ecosystem Products, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Linbo Zhang: Humanities Laboratory for the Theory and Mechanism Research on the Value Realizing of the Yellow River Ecosystem Products, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China

Land, 2025, vol. 14, issue 2, 1-23

Abstract: Ecosystem service connectivity (ESC) is the spatial and functional links among and within ecosystems that support unimpeded service flows, and that could play an important role in ecosystem stability enhancement and regional land planning. Understanding the relationships between landscape patterns and ESC is crucial to achieving certain sustainable development goals, but it has not yet received an adequate amount of attention. Here, we evaluated the changes and connectivity of five key types of ecosystem services from 2000 to 2020 and analyzed the correlations and spatial aggregations between the ESCs and landscape metrics in the wetlands of the Yellow River Delta, China. Various research methods, such as the InVEST model, spatial autocorrelation analysis, Spearman’s correlation, and self-organizing map, were applied. The results showed that water yield, water purification, and habitat quality showed high connectivity, but the overall ESC declined along with the restoration of the wetland area. Meanwhile, the High-High ESC cluster of water yield, water purification, and habitat quality had similar spatial distribution patterns, and both were dominated by tidal flats. Moreover, the ESC and landscape metrics showed significant correlations and spatial heterogeneity, and a potential connectivity between water yield and habitat quality was also found. These findings can assist decision-makers in developing effective ecosystem management strategies and provide a reference for future research on ecosystem service connectivity.

Keywords: ecosystem service connectivity; landscape metrics; spatial autocorrelation; bundles; Yellow River Delta (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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