Linking ecological background and demand to identify ecological security patterns across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in China

Abstract

Ecological security pattern (ESP) can maintain regional ecological security and thus support sustainable development. ESP should not only protect regional ecological processes, but also meet human demand for ecosystem services. It is aimed to propose a new method of identifying ecological sources in consideration of ecological background and demand, with a case study across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area in view of interregional ecological conservation cooperation. Ecological sources were identified with high supply and high comprehensively ecological supply–demand ratio (CESDR) of ecosystem services. Land use based resistance surface was modified using nighttime light intensity. Ecological corridors and potential ecological corridors were extracted using the Minimum Cumulative Resistance model. Ecological sources were mainly distributed in the north, accounting for 13.46% of the total area. Macao and Dongguan had no ecological sources, due to the high level of land urbanization, and the mismatch between high supply and high CESDR patches, respectively. Ecological sources in Hong Kong were connected with that in Shenzhen, showing good background of natural ecosystem connectivity as the foundation for interregional ecological conservation cooperation. Ecological corridors were mainly distributed in the periphery of the study area, connecting most cities except for Macao. The overall ESP showed a spatially circular pattern around the Greater Bay Area. The new method for ecological source identification could effectively enhance the sustainability of ecosystem conservation in view of integrating supply and demand of ecosystem services. It was necessary for all the three regions to strengthen ecological conservation cooperation.