Multifunctional landscapes identification and associated development zoning in mountainous area

Multifunctional landscape has become a new discipline growth point in landscape ecology. Globally mountainous areas occupy about one fifth of Earth's surface. However, few studies focused on landscape multifunctionality in mountainous areas. Taking Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, China, as a case study area, five typical landscape functions (net primary productivity, soil retention, water yield, crop production, and residential support) were quantified and mapped. Hotspots of multiple landscape functions were identified using spatial overlap tools, interaction between each landscape function pair was discussed through Spearman's rank correlation analysis, and development zoning was conducted based on landscape function bundle. The results showed that, about 61% of the study area had at least one kind of landscape function hotspot, with only 2.7% covering three or more kinds of landscape function hotspots. Significant trade-offs or synergies existed between all pairs of landscape functions, except the pair of net primary productivity and residential support. With the application of Self-Organizing Feature Maps (SOFM) method, the study area was divided into four types of development zones (i.e. ecological shelter area, ecological transition area, suburban development area, and urban agglomeration area) which were all corresponding to different landscape function bundles. This study could provide spatial guidance for differentiated sustainable developing in mountainous areas according to local conditions of landscape multifunctionality

Linking ecosystem services and circuit theory to identify ecological security patterns

The rapid process of urbanization, accompanied by the sharp increase of urban population and expansion of artificial surface, has resulted in the loss of natural ecosystems and the degradation of ecosystem services. Identifying and protecting key places that have high importance for ecological sustainability are great challenges. Ecological security patterns are such an integrated approach to protecting regional ecological sustainability. In this study, taking Yunnan Province, China as a case study area, ecological sources were identified through ecosystem services, and circuit theory was used to model ecosystem processes in heterogeneous landscapes via calculating the ‘resistance’ or ‘current’, and thus to identify ecological corridors and key ecological nodes. The results showed that, ecological security patterns included 66 ecological sources, 186 ecological corridors, 24 pinch-points and 10 barriers. In details, the ecological sources were mainly distributed in the southwest and northwest of Yunnan Province, with the ecological corridors locating along the high mountains, and both ecological sources and corridors were mostly covered with forest land. Pinch-points covered by forest land and cultivated land, were distributed in the middle of Yunnan Province along the rivers. Approximately 75.9% nature reserves were located in the identified ecological sources, and the remainings were mainly distributed in eastern Yunnan Province with small area, showing the effectiveness in identifying ecological security patterns. Among 81 projects of low–slope hill development carried out in Yunnan Province, 46.9% showed potential human stress on regional ecological security. Based on ecosystem services and circuit theory, this study provides a new approach to identifying the spatial range of ecological corridors and the specific location of key nodes for effective ecological conservation and restoration

Spatial identification of conservation priority areas for urban ecological land: An approach based on water ecosystem services

How to effectively prevent land degradation and ecosystem deterioration in the process of urbanization has been the focus of land degradation researches in urban areas. Urban ecological land can be defined as the natural base on which a city relies to ecologically survive. It closely links the social economy with the natural eco‐environment, providing an important integrated approach to resolve the contradiction between urban expansion and natural ecosystems conservation in the process of urbanization. The research question addressed in this study is how to accurately identify the conservation priority areas for urban ecological land. Taking Zhuhai City, located in China, as an example, an approach based on seven kinds of water ecosystem services was put forward, combining social demand and natural supply for the services to determine service targets and conservation priority areas. The results showed that the conservation priority areas in Zhuhai City covered 868 km2, accounting for 51.03% of the total land area, which were mainly covered by woodlands or paddy fields and fish ponds. In addition, by synthesizing ecological importance and ecological sensitivity, management zones for urban ecological land were delineated, including 510 km2 of primary control areas and 358 km2 of secondary control areas. In the supply and demand view of water ecosystem services, this study put forward an integrated ecosystem‐based approach for conservation priority area identification of urban ecological land, aiming to prevent land degradation and achieve urban ecological sustainability

Balancing the Effects of Forest Conservation and Restoration on South China Karst Greening

Abstract Forest conservation and restoration are key components of ecological engineering. Previous studies often focused on the forest restoration impact on vegetation greening, ignoring the importance of forest conservation, and the link between forest conservation and restoration remains unclear. Based on land use data, forest cover loss data, and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Leaf Area Index, in this study, we explored the spatial pattern of forest conservation and restoration from 2000 to 2020, and quantitatively calculated the contribution of forest conservation and restoration to vegetation greening. The results showed that the forest conservation area was 821,888 km2, and the forest restoration area was 100,266 km2 in South China karst. The forest conservation and restoration area with vegetation greenness increasing were 358,236 and 54,397 km2, respectively, which contributed 39.85% and 6.05% to vegetation greening. Moreover, there was a nonlinear relationship between forest conservation and restoration, and the results showed an inverted U‐shape in most provinces. This study evaluated ecological engineering from the perspective of forest conservation and restoration, which could provide the scientific basis for differentiated ecological engineering planning