Construction and Optimization of an Ecological Network in the Yellow River Source Region Based on MSPA and MCR Modelling

Abstract

The source region of the Yellow River (SRYR) is an important water conservation and farming area in China. Under the dual influence of the natural environment and external pressure, ecological patches in the region are becoming increasingly fragmented, and landscape connectivity is continuously declining, which directly affect the landscape patch pattern and SRYR sustainable development. In the SRYR, morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and landscape index methods were used to extract ecologically important sources. Based on the minimum cumulative resistance model (MCR), Linkage Mapper was used to generate a potential corridor, and then potential stepped stone patches were identified and extracted by the gravity model and betweenness centrality to build an optimal SRYR ecological network. The distribution of patches in the core area of the SRYR was fragmented, accounting for 80.53% of the total grassland area. The 10 ecological sources based on the landscape connectivity index and 15 important corridors identified based on the MCR model were mainly distributed in the central and eastern regions of the SRYR. Through betweenness centrality, 10 stepped stone patches were added, and 45 planned ecological corridors were obtained to optimize the SRYR ecological network and enhance east and west connectivity. Our research results can provide an important reference for the protection of the SRYR ecosystem, and have important guiding significance and practical value for ecological network construction in ecologically fragmented areas.

Provincial-Scale Research on the Eco-Security Structure in the Form of an Ecological Network of the Upper Yellow River: A Case Study of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region

“…The gravity model, also known as the attraction model, indicates that the larger the mutual attraction force, the higher the importance of the ecological corridor, and vice versa. The calculation [61][62][63] is usually based on the source patch area. However, due to the complexity of the source structure, the results based solely on the area calculation may be biased.…”

Research on the Relationship between the Structure of Forest and Grass Ecological Spaces and Ecological Service Capacity: A Case Study of the Wuding River Basin

“…The extraction methods for ecological source areas mainly include direct identification, index evaluation, morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA), and comprehensive identification methods. In this paper, the comprehensive identification method is adopted, which integrates the advantages of the other three methods, such as the intuitive and easy-to-understand nature of the direct recognition method [12], the objective quantification of the index evaluation method [13], and the precise identification of landscape characteristics provided by MSPA [14]. This method can better reflect the role of ecological source areas in both landscape structure and ecological function.…”