Identify Ecological Corridors and Build Potential Ecological Networks in Response to Recent Land Cover Changes in Xinjiang, China

Yanjie Zhang and Wei Song
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Yanjie Zhang: College of Tourism and Urban-Rural Planning, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu 610059, China
Wei Song: Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 21, 1-23

Abstract: Using Linkage Mapper corridor simulation software, which is based on minimum cost distance, we identify ecological corridors and build potential ecological networks in response to recent land cover changes in Xinjiang, China. Based on the analysis of land use/cover changes, the change of landscape pattern index is also calculated. The results show that: (1) During the year 2000–2015, cultivated land and built-up areas of Xinjiang showed an increasing trend. Due to urbanization, Xinjiang’s landscape connectivity is getting worse, and the landscape is becoming more and more fragmented and isolated. (2) We have constructed 296 ecological corridors, with a total length of 2.71 × 10 4 km and an average corridor length of 90.98 km. A total of 145 ecological source patches and 500 ecological nodes were connected by 296 ecological corridors. (3) The ecological corridor of Xinjiang presents the characteristics of “dense-north and sparse-south” in space. The areas with dense distribution of ecological corridors mainly include Urumqi, Changji, Turpan, Tacheng, Kizilsu Kirgiz, Karamay, and Yining, and the Taklimakan desert fringe. The sparse distribution is mainly in the whole Taklimakan desert.

Keywords: landscape pattern; land use changes; ecological network; Xinjiang; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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