Landscape Ecological Analysis of Green Network in Urban Area Using Circuit Theory and Least-Cost Path

Oh-Sung Kwon,Jung-Hwa Ra,Jin-Hyo Kim

doi:10.3390/land10080847

Oh-Sung Kwon, Jung-Hwa Ra + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/land10080847

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Abstract

Quantitative securing of green space in already developed cities has many practical limitations due to socio-economic limitations. Currently, South Korea is planning a green network to secure and inject effective green space, but it is difficult to reflect it in the actual space plan due to the abstract plan. This study utilizes circuit theory and least-cost path methods for presenting a green network that is objectified and applicable to spatial planning. First, an analysis of the Least-cost Path revealed 69 least-cost paths between 43 core green areas of the study site. Most least-cost paths have been identified as passing through small green areas and streams in the city. Using the circuit theory, it was also possible to distinguish areas other than least-cost paths from areas with high potential for development, areas where target species are concentrated within corridors. In particular, areas with relatively high green network improvement effects were derived within and around corridors. This study is most significant in establishing and evaluating existing urban green networks, overcoming the limitations discussed at the linear level and expanding to the area level. To increase the utilization of this study in the future, field surveys and monitoring studies on target species need to be supplemented.

Highlights

Over the past few decades, Korea has expanded its gray infrastructure, such as roads railways and buildings, due to economic growth centered on cities
Since the quantitative increase in green areas in overcrowded urban spaces leads to realistic limitations, research on green networks is being actively conducted to distinguish between relatively valuable green spaces and areas that require preferential input [9,10,11,12]
This study aims to present an analysis of the level of area that can be reflected in spatial planning, overcoming the existing green network limitations being prepared at the linear level

Summary

Introduction

Over the past few decades, Korea has expanded its gray infrastructure, such as roads railways and buildings, due to economic growth centered on cities. The large green space and connection corridor of the exurban, which supplies biodiversity to inner urban areas, are threatened with reduction and fragmentation [4,5]. To secure ecological quality by reflecting this trend of the times, discussions on quantitative securing of green space in the city are actively being held [6,7,8]. Inner green adjacency and connectivity can be used to quantify the relationship between complex ecological features, including habitat fragmentation [14], invasive species [15] and infectious [16,17]. From island-biogeography theory [18] to the current P-C-M model [19], it has been demonstrated that the closer the linkage between the green areas, the higher the similarity of species [20,21]. The connectivity, mobility, etc., of most green networks have not utilized the proximity defined by Euclidean distance, but have utilized the proximity measured using advanced approaches such as least-cost distance

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