Construction of an integrated framework for assessing ecological security and its application in Southwest China

Abstract

Ecological security is a prerequisite for the sustainable development of a region. The question of how to carry out a scientific and accurate ecological security assessment is therefore of great significance. Southwest China faces the dual challenges of maintaining ecological security and advancement of the economy. Thus, an evaluation of its ecological security status is essential. In this study, ecosystem services, ecological sensitivity, and landscape patterns were used to construct an integrated framework for assessing ecological security. The ecological security status of 549 counties (cities and districts) in Southwest China were evaluated for the years 2000, 2020, 2015, and 2018. Levels of ecological security in northern Guangxi, the western part of the Chengdu Plain, and the western and southern parts of Yunnan Province were generally higher than those in other areas. Conversely, levels of ecological security in western Sichuan Province, in metropolitan areas of Yunnan Province, and in the cities of Chengdu, and Chongqing were consistently low. From 2000 to 2018, the ecological security index (ESI) values of 52.82% of the study units concentrated in central and western Sichuan, eastern and southern Yunnan, and central and southern Guangxi increased, whereas those of 47.18% of study units concentrated in northeastern Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou, and northern Guangxi decreased. The level of ecological security in Southwest China is affected by the climate and by human activities. The following recommendations emerged from the study’s findings for maintaining the region’s ecological security. Local governments should strengthen the construction of cleaner industries, continue to return farmland to forests and promote crop rotation and fallow management, increase investments in and the development of nature reserves, implement outmigration schemes for ecologically fragile regions, and improve land conservation and intensive land use.