The role of land use change in affecting ecosystem services and the ecological security pattern of the Hexi Regions, Northwest China

Constructing an ecological security pattern is a crucial measure for safeguarding biodiversity and upholding ecosystem services. Current research on the construction of ecological security patterns often focuses on natural reserves or specific land-use types as ecological sources, while overlooking the connectivity and stability of potential ecosystem services. In light of this, this study proposes a method for extracting ecological sources based on ecosystem services and morphological spatial pattern analysis （MSPA） in the semi-arid region of western Heilongjiang Province. A resistance surface was created by considering both the natural environment and human activities in the study area, and subsequently, circuit theory was employed to determine the ecological security pattern. Furthermore, complex network theory was utilized to identify an optimized ecological network security. The findings revealed the following： ① Spatial heterogeneity in ecosystem services within the region was significant. The areas with high-level ecosystem services in 2000, 2010, and 2020 were 78 716 km2, 84 267 km2, and 82 849 km2, respectively, accounting for 50.21%, 53.75%, and 52.85% of the total area, respectively. ② Landscape fragmentation of ecological sources was pronounced, with ecological sources covering over 23% of the study area. The central region exhibited higher resistance values while the eastern forest area showed lower resistance values. The average resistance values of ecological resistance surfaces for the years 2000, 2010, and 2020 were recorded as being at levels of approximately 2.15, 2.07, and 2.17, respectively. ③ Ecological corridors demonstrated notable spatial heterogeneity. The augmentation of potential ecological corridors could significantly enhance stability and connectivity within the ecological network. Based on complex theory, the optimization process for ecological corridor planning resulted in a proposed optimized pattern termed "One Belt, Two Zones, Multiple Islands, and One Center" for achieving an enhanced level of ecological security. The study offers novel insights into the restoration and enhancement of the regional ecological environment and spatial layout, providing scientific evidence for promoting sustainable development in the provincial ecosystem. By integrating ecosystem services evaluation with MSPA and complex network theory, this approach emphasizes the importance of considering both natural environmental factors and anthropogenic influences when constructing a resilient ecological network. The findings underscore the imperative to enhance landscape connectivity and stability to ensure long-term ecological sustainability. The proposed ecological security pattern aims to strike a balance between ecological protection and regional development, guaranteeing the maintenance and improvement of ecological functions across western Heilongjiang Province's semi-arid region. This research can serve as an exemplary model for other regions grappling with similar challenges related to ecology and environment, thereby contributing significantly to the broader field of landscape ecology and conservation planning.

The most extensive carbon reservoir system on Earth is found in the vegetation and soil in terrestrial ecosystems, which are essential to preserving the stability of ecosystems. Land use/cover change (LUCC) patterns in terrestrial ecosystems significantly impact carbon storage (CS). Therefore, it is imperative to investigate the relationship between LUCC and CS to coordinate regional ecological conservation and industrial development. In this study, the characteristics of spatial and temporal changes in land use and CS in the Yanqi Basin from 2000 to 2020 were revealed using the PLUS (patch-generating land use simulation) model and the CS module of the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs) model. This study also predicted the spatial and temporal evolution of CS and the response mechanism of the Yanqi Basin from four scenarios—natural development scenario (NDS), ecological protection scenario (EPS), cropland protection scenario (CPS), and urban development scenario (UDS) for the years 2030, 2040, and 2050. This study shows the following: (1) Between 2000 and 2020, the Yanqi Basin witnessed an expansion in cropland and construction land, the order of the land use dynamic degree which is as follows: construction land > cropland > woodland > unused land > water > grassland. At the same time, the CS exhibited a trend of growth that was followed by a decline, a cumulative decrease of 3.61 Tg. (2) Between 2020 and 2050, woodland, grassland, and unused land decreased under the NDS and UDS. Meanwhile, grassland and woodland showed an expanding trend, and there was a decrease in cropland and construction land under the EPS; the CPS projected an increase in cropland to 3258.06 km2 by 2050. (3) CS under the UDS is always the lowest, and CS under the EPS is the highest; moreover, by 2050, CS under the EPS is projected to increase by 1.18 Tg compared with that under the UDS. The spatial distribution of CS shows a high value in the western part of the region and a low value in the eastern part of the region, which is more in line with the historical spatial distribution. (4) The development of land by human activities is one of the major factors leading to the change of CS. The direct cause of the decrease in CS is the transformation of large areas of cropland and woodland into construction land. Therefore, woodlands must be protected to improve CS and prevent ecological degradation. At the same time, future land use planning in the Yanqi Basin needs to limit the conversion rate of various types of land, control the construction land, optimize the urban pattern, improve the regional CS level, adhere to the concept of striving to achieve carbon neutrality, and realize the sustainable development of the region to provide scientific suggestions for carrying out macro-decision making regarding land use planning in arid areas.

Impacts of multi-scenario land use change on ecosystem services and ecological security pattern: A case study of the Yellow River Delta

Spatio-temporal dynamics of ecological security pattern of the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration based on LUCC simulation

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 基于生态系统服务价值重构的干旱内陆河流域生态安全格局优化——以张掖市甘州区为例 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201803130495 作者: 作者单位: 西北师范大学 地理与环境科学学院,西北师范大学 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家自然科学基金项目（41661025）；西北师范大学青年教师科研能力提升计划（NWNU-LKQN-16-7） Establishment of ecological security patterns based on ecosystem services value reconstruction in an arid inland basin: A case study of the Ganzhou District, Zhangye City, Gansu Province Author: Affiliation: College of Geographic and Environmental Science,Northwest Normal University,College of Geographic and Environmental Science,Northwest Normal University Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:干旱区内陆河流域的生态环境极为脆弱，生态系统的微小变化也可能给流域生态安全带来巨大影响。甘州区位于干旱内陆河流域，生态问题突出，重视生态系统自身安全、构建合理的生态安全格局是保障该地区生态安全的有效措施。通过当量因子法估算2000、2005、2010年甘州区生态系统服务的静态价值，在充分考虑各项生态系统服务功能变化率及空间集聚程度对功能发挥影响的基础上，采用生态系统服务优先指数和空间丰富度指数，对甘州区2010年生态系统服务静态价值的估算结果进行动态重构。利用重构后的生态系统服务价值构建了甘州区3种不同安全水平情景下的生态安全格局。结果表明：1）甘州区生态系统服务价值总量逐步上升，各项服务多年变化率差异不大。2）重构后生态系统服务价值量为1438.21-390993元/hm2，大部分地区为中低值。3）低、中、高安全水平生态安全格局中，生态源地面积分别为155.75 km2，191.25 km2和224.5 km2。基于生态系统服务价值构建的生态安全格局是立足于生态系统服务现状提出的规划策略，可为区域生态保护规划和生态文明建设提供重要依据。 Abstract:With increasing populations and acceleration of urbanization, there is increasing worldwide concern about the importance of ecological security. Ecological security is premised on ecosystem services provided by ecosystems to humans. The construction of ecological security patterns is an effective measure to maintain normal ecosystem function and safeguard ecological security. Ganzhou District is located in an arid inland basin and the ecological security is a prominent problem. The traditional approach to construct the ecological security pattern can be divided into three steps:determining ecological security sources, building ecological resistance surface, and identifying key ecological corridors. The first step of determining ecological security sources is accurately identifying the ecosystem service value (ESV). Presently, most local studies have used the ESV unit area of Chinese terrestrial ecosystems to estimate the ESV. However, ecological systems are dynamic rather than static. Therefore, this cannot reflect the differences between kinds of ecosystem services, change rate of ESV, or degree of spatial agglomeration. However, to effectively protect the fast decreasing service, the influence of the spatial agglomeration of ecosystem services on the recognition of ecological sources by affecting their functions should be considered. Hence, a static ESV was reconstructed by changing the ESV rate to measure the priority of protected ecosystem services and using the key ecosystem service indicators to quantify the degree of spatial aggregation. Using the ESV unit area method for Chinese terrestrial ecosystems, the static ESV in the Ganzhou District in 2000, 2005, and 2010 was calculated. Taking into account the changing rate of ESV and degree of spatial agglomeration influence on their functioning, the priority and spatial richness indexes were used to reconstruct the ESV in 2010. Using the spatial distribution of the reconstructed ESV for ecological source identification, the area with high value ecosystem services was selected as the source of high, medium, and low security levels. Then, ecological corridors could be identified according to the minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model. Ecological corridors convey the transfer of ecological flow, ecological processes, and ecological functions in a region. Ecological corridors connect scattered ecological sources to constitute an ecological safety net. Therefore, ecological security patterns of different levels can be constructed. The results showed that (1) the total static ESV increased annually during 2000-2010, among which the values of soil formation and protection and waste treatment were the largest. In addition, there were no obvious differences among the changing rate of ESV; (2) the reconstructed ESV in 2000, 2005, and 2010 ranged from 1438.21 to 390993 yuan/hm2, whereas most regions were dominated by low and middle values; (3) the area of low, middle, and high levels of ecological source were 155.75, 191.25, and 224.50 km2, respectively. With the improvement of the ecological security level, the degree of integration of ecological sources has gradually increased, and the resistance and resilience against ecological stress have increased. Ecological security patterns could be used as a planning strategy based on the present situation of ecosystem services. They provide an important basis for urban environments to build an environment-friendly society. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

This study compares and analyzes the impact of land use changes on ecosystem services and ecological security in different ecological backgrounds in Stockholm and Panjin. Using Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA), Analytic Hierarchy Process, and Circuit Theory, the dynamic changes in ecosystem services and ecological security patterns are assessed in these two regions. Based on the characteristics and land use changes from 2000 to 2020, four scenarios for 2050 are simulated using the PLUS model: Business-as-Usual (BAU), Priority Urban Development (PUD), Priority Ecological Protection (PEP), and Balanced Urban-Ecological Development.The results show that in Panjin, the growth rate of construction land was 21.49% from 2000 to 2020, and when this probability was applied to the transfer probability of Priority Urban Development in the Stockholm region, there was a significant change in the ecological security pattern. In contrast, in Stockholm County, the correlation between the change rates of all land use types and other indicators was weak, suggesting limited influence of these factors on land use changes. However, in Panjin, there was a strong positive correlation between the change rates of construction land, unused land, and population and GDP. This implies that in regions with lower economic levels, there is a higher dependence on ecosystem services and ecological security patterns compared to higher economic regions.Observations reveal an increase in forest and grassland area in Panjin City. However, the distribution of high-value ecological source areas is not concentrated enough and exhibits a high rate of change. In contrast, the Stockholm region has maintained a stable pattern of ecological source areas over the past 20 years. The Stockholm region has developed a relatively reasonable ecological security pattern, which is the result of continuous ecological protection and planning efforts over many years.

The unprecedented regional urbanization has brought great pressure on the ecological environment. Building an ecological security pattern and guide regional land and space development is an important technique to ensure regional ecological security and stability to achieve sustainable development. In this study, the Pingtan Island of China and the Durban city of South Africa were chosen as case study area for a comparative study of different scales. The importance of ecosystem services and ecological sensitivity were evaluated, respectively. The core area of landscape which is vital for ecological function maintenance was extracted by morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and landscape connectivity analysis. Furthermore, the ecological sources were determined by combining the results of ecological protection redline delimitation and core area landscape extraction. The potential ecological corridors were identified based on the minimum cumulative resistance model, and the ecological security pattern of study areas was constructed. The results showed that the ecological protection redline areas of Pingtan and Durban were 42.78 km2 and 389.07 km2, respectively, which were mainly distributed in mountainous areas with good habitat quality. Pingtan ecological security pattern is composed of 15 ecological sources, 16 ecological corridors, 10 stepping stone patches and 15 ecological obstacle points. The total length of corridors is 112.23 km, which is radially distributed in the form of “one ring, three belts”. The ecological security pattern of Durban is composed of 15 ecological sources, 17 ecological corridors, 11 stepping stone patches and 18 ecological obstacle points. The total length of corridors is 274.25 km, which is radially distributed in the form of “two rings and three belts”. The research results can provide an important reference for the land space construction planning and ecological restoration projects in Pingtan and Durban.

The study of ecological security patterns is of great significance to the balance between regional economic development and environmental protection. By optimizing the regional ecological security pattern through reasonable land-use planning and resource management strategies, the purpose of maintaining ecosystem stability and improving ecosystem service capacity can be achieved, and ultimately regional ecological security can be achieved. As a typical ecological civilization city in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, Yichang City is also facing the dual challenges of urban expansion and environmental pressure. The construction and optimization of its ecological security pattern is the key to achieving the harmonious coexistence of economic development and environmental protection and ensuring regional sustainable development. Based on the ecological environment characteristics and land-use data of Yichang City, this paper uses morphological spatial pattern analysis and landscape connectivity analysis to identify core ecological sources, constructs a comprehensive ecological resistance surface based on the sensitivity–pressure–resilience (SPR) model, and combines circuit theory and Linkage Mapper tools to extract ecological corridors, ecological pinch points, and ecological barrier points and construct the ecological security pattern of Yichang City with ecological elements of points, lines, and surfaces. Finally, the community mining method was introduced and combined with habitat quality to analyze the spatial topological structure of the ecological network in Yichang City and conduct ecological security zoning management. The following conclusions were drawn: Yichang City has a good ecological background value. A total of 64 core ecological sources were screened out with a total area of 3239.5 km². In total, 157 ecological corridors in Yichang City were identified. These corridors were divided into 104 general corridors, 42 important corridors, and 11 key corridors according to the flow centrality score. In addition, 49 key ecological pinch points and 36 ecological barrier points were identified. The combination of these points, lines, and surfaces formed the ecological security pattern of Yichang City. Based on the community mining algorithm in complex networks and the principle of Thiessen polygons, Yichang City was divided into five ecological functional zones. Among them, Community No. 2 has the highest ecological security level, high vegetation coverage, close distribution of ecological sources, a large number of corridors, and high connectivity. Community No. 5 has the largest area, but it contains most of the human activity space and construction and development zones, with low habitat quality and severely squeezed ecological space. In this regard, large-scale ecological restoration projects should be implemented, such as artificial wetland construction and ecological island establishment, to supplement ecological activity space and mobility and enhance ecosystem service functions. This study aims to construct a multi-scale ecological security pattern in Yichang City, propose a dynamic zoning management strategy based on complex network analysis, and provide a scientific basis for ecological protection and restoration in rapidly urbanizing areas.

Ecological network identification and connectivity robustness evaluation in the Yellow River Basin under a multi-scenario simulation

As a typical karst landform region, the Lijiang River Basin, located in Southwest China, is characterized by both soil erosion and ecological fragility. The transformation of land use, driven by long-term intensive human activities, has exacerbated the degradation of ecosystem services, threatening the region’s carbon sink function. To clarify the coupling mechanism between land use and land cover change (LUCC) and carbon storage, this paper integrates complex network theory with the PLUS-InVEST model framework. Based on land use data from five periods, i.e., 2001, 2006, 2011, 2016, and 2021, the key transformation types are identified, and the evolution of carbon storage from 2021 to 2041 is simulated under three scenarios, namely, inertial scenario, ecological protection scenario, and urban development scenario. The paper finds that (1) land use transformation in the basin exhibits spatial heterogeneity and network complexity, as evidenced by a significant negative correlation between the node clustering coefficient and the average path length, revealing that land type transitions possess small-world network characteristics. (2) The forested land experienced a net decrease of 196.73 km2 from 2001 to 2021, driving a 3.03% decline in carbon storage. This highlights the inhibitory effect of unregulated urban expansion on carbon sink capacity. (3) Scenario simulations indicate that the carbon storage under the ecological protection scenario will be 1.0% higher than under the inertial scenario and 1.5% higher than under the urban development scenario. These suggest that restricting impervious land expansion and promoting forest and grassland restoration can enhance carbon sink capacity. Therefore, this paper provides a quantitative basis for optimizing territorial spatial planning and coordinating the “dual carbon” goals in karst regions.

Impact of land use change on carbon storage based on the PLUS–InVEST model: A case study in the urban belt along the Yellow River, China

Modelling regional ecological security pattern and restoration priorities after long-term intensive open-pit coal mining

Land use change has a significant impact on the sustainability of ecosystems, and ecological security patterns (ESPs) can improve environmental quality through spatial planning. This study explored a multi-scenario ESP framework by integrating future land use simulation (FLUS) and minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) for urban agglomeration along the Yellow River Basin (YRB) in Ningxia. The research involved simulating land use change in 2035 under four development scenarios, identifying ecological security networks, and evaluating network stability for each scenario. The study revealed that the ecological sources under different development scenarios, including a natural development scenario (NDS), an economic development scenario (EDS), a food security scenario (FSS), and an ecological protection scenario (EPS), were 834.82 km2, 715.46 km2, 785.56 km2, and 1091.43 km2, respectively. The overall connectivity values (OG) for these scenarios were 0.351, 0.466, 0.334, and 0.520, respectively. It was found that under an EPS, the ESPs had the largest area of ecological sources and the most stable ecological network structure, which can effectively protect natural habitats. This study provides a valuable method for identifying ESPs that can respond to diversity and the uncertainty of future development. It can assist decision-makers in enhancing the ecological quality of the study area while considering various development scenarios.

Scenario simulation of land use change and carbon storage response in Henan Province, China: 1990–2050

In this study, we examined the impacts of urbanization on the natural landscape and ecosystem services of the Muthurajawela Marsh and Negombo Lagoon (MMNL) located in the Colombo Metropolitan Region, Sri Lanka, with the goal to help inform sustainable landscape and urban planning. The MMNL is an important urban wetland ecosystem in the country but has been under the immense pressure of urbanization where the natural cover (e.g., marshland and mangrove areas) is continuously being converted to urban use (e.g., residential and commercial). Here, we estimated and assessed the changes in the ecosystem service value (ESV) of the MMNL based on land use/cover (LUC) changes over the past two decades (1997–2017). Considering two plausible scenarios, namely a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario and ecological protection (EP) scenario, and using a spatially explicit land change model, we simulated the future (2030) LUC changes in the area and estimated the potential consequent future changes in the ESV of the MMNL. The results revealed that from 1997 to 2017, the ESV of the MMNL decreased by USD 8.96 million/year (LKR 1642 million/year), or about 33%, primarily due to the loss of mangrove and marshland from urban expansion. Under a BAU scenario, by 2030, it would continue to decrease by USD 6.01 million/year (LKR 1101 million/year), or about 34%. Under an EP scenario, the projected decrease would be lower at USD 4.79 million/year (LKR 878 million/year), or about 27%. Among the ecosystem services of the MMNL that have been, and would be, affected the most are flood attenuation, industrial wastewater treatment, agriculture production, and support to downstream fisheries (fish breeding and nursery). Overall, between the two scenarios, the EP scenario is the more desirable for the sustainability of the MMNL. It can help flatten its curve of continuous ecological degradation; hence, it should be considered by local government planners and decision-makers. In general, the approach employed is adaptable and applicable to other urban wetland ecosystems in the country and the rest of the world.