Implications of ecosystem services and ecological network coupling for ecological planning in karst regions of China

Abstract

Since the beginning of the 21st century, recognizing the need for sustainable development and the protection of ecosystems, the United Nations and international agencies have been actively promoting the protection of the natural environment. The construction of ecological networks (EN), as one of these efforts, emphasizes the connectivity between natural patches and their ability to support ecosystem services (ES). Currently, constructing ecological networks using ecosystem services as a comprehensive evaluation criterion has become one of the important ways to maintain sustainable ecosystems. Karst regions have received much attention due to their fragile ecosystems, and this paper reviews articles from around the world that have studied ecosystem services and ecological networks in these regions. It found that this research is gradually maturing, although the number of published articles on research related to ecological networks is relatively small, with the largest number of papers taking the Chinese Karst region as a study area. Indicator factors for the construction of ecological networks in this region are usually based on ecosystem services, but they are usually not considered comprehensive enough, e.g., the trade-offs and synergies among ecosystem services are rarely considered. At the same time, the construction of ecological networks requires dynamic monitoring and optimization on a larger scale in order to provide assistance for longer-term environmental protection.