Using stepping-stone theory to evaluate the maintenance of landscape connectivity under China’s ecological control line policy

Luo, Yang; Wu, Jiansheng; Wang, Xiaoyu; Peng, Jian

doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126356

Cited by 59 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Therefore, the two conclusions are not contradictory. Research showed that the basic ecological control line policy in Shenzhen failed to fully protect important stepping stones [30], which is consistent with the conclusion of this study, even if the scope of the EPR and the basic ecological control line do not completely overlap.…”

Section: Comparison With Similar Studiessupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Ecological sources are key ecological patches that promote ecological processes and provide ecosystem services [28,29]. Four ecosystem services were selected for ecological source identification: water conservation, soil conservation, biodiversity maintenance, and carbon sequestration [30]. By using the natural break method, the ESs were divided into five levels, and the areas with the top 20% ESs were then superimposed to form the ecological sources [30].…”

Section: Identification Of Ecological Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, it is necessary to identify the most important areas outside the EPR for ES and ecological connectivity maintenance. In this study, the protection vacancies for ES maintenance were identified as the ES loss hotspots caused by the occupation of the area outside the EPR, and the vacancies for ecological connectivity protection were identified as areas with ecological flow loss hotspots and important areas for maintaining the patency of the large-scale corridors [30].…”

Section: Identification Of Ecological Protection Vacanciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, a total number of 50 ecological sources were obtained, with a total area of 18,289.1 km 2 , accounting for 33.1% of the total study area, mainly distributed in the mountainous areas of the GBA. Using the natural break method [30], the current density was divided into five categories (Figure 5a). Results showed that the areas with the highest current density (≥1.95) covered an area of 23,314.88 km 2 , including 526 corridor patches, with areas ranging from 1.1 to 16,787.6 km 2 .…”

Section: Identification Of Ecological Corridorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Protection Effect and Vacancy of the Ecological Protection Redline: A Case Study in Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, China

et al. 2021

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The Ecological Protection Redline (EPR) is an innovative measure implemented in China to maintain the structural stability and functional security of the ecosystem. By prohibiting large-scale urban and industrial construction activities, EPR is regarded as the “lifeline” to ensure national ecological security. It is of great practical significance to scientifically evaluate the protection effect of EPR and identify the protection vacancies. However, current research has focused only on the protection effects of the EPR on ecosystem services (ESs), and the protection effect of the EPR on ecological connectivity remains poorly understood. Based on an evaluation of ES importance, the circuit model, and hotspot analysis, this paper identified the ecological security pattern in Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), analyzed the role of EPR in maintaining ES and ecological connectivity, and identified protection gaps. The results were as follows: (1) The ecological sources were mainly distributed in mountainous areas of the GBA. The ecological sources and ecological corridors constitute a circular ecological shelter surrounding the urban agglomeration of the GBA. (2) The EPR effectively protected water conservation, soil conservation, and biodiversity maintenance services, but the protection efficiency of carbon sequestration service and ecological connectivity were low. In particularly, EPR failed to continuously protect regional large-scale ecological corridors and some important stepping stones. (3) The protection gaps of carbon sequestration service and ecological connectivity in the study area reached 1099.80 km2 and 2175.77 km2, respectively, mainly distributed in Qingyuan, Yunfu, and Huizhou. In future EPR adjustments, important areas for carbon sequestration service and ecological connectivity maintenance should be included. This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the protection effects of EPR on ecological structure and function, and it has produced significant insights into improvements of the EPR policy. In addition, this paper proposes that the scope of resistance surface should be extended, which would improve the rationality of the ecological corridor simulation.

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Section: Comparison With Similar Studiessupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Identification Of Ecological Sourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Identification Of Ecological Protection Vacanciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Identification Of Ecological Corridorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Protection Effect and Vacancy of the Ecological Protection Redline: A Case Study in Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, China

et al. 2021

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“…Meet the conditions of the area to withdraw gradually. For legitimate industrial and mining enterprises in the controlled area, the government should clean up the mining industry according to the requirements of nature reserves and relocate within a time limit (Luo et al, 2021). The transformation from ecological space into agricultural production and urban construction space within the environmental buffer zone should be strictly prohibited.…”

Section: Strategies For Habitat Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of land use change on habitat quality and regional biodiversity capacity: Temporal and spatial evolution and prediction analysis

Zhou

2022

Front. Environ. Sci.

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The ecological stability of a region and the promotion of its coordinated environmental and economic development depend on habitat quality, which is a key indicator of the territory’s biodiversity capacity. A case study is done in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province, to determine how land use changes affect habitat quality. The types of land use in 2030 are simulated based on 2000, 2010, and 2020. The InVEST and CA-Markov models analyze and predict how land use will change in Suzhou. Spatial analysis methods, such as the standard deviation ellipse, the center of gravity analysis, spatial autocorrelation, and random forest models, were used to reveal the spatial and temporal variation characteristics of habitat quality and to analyze its influencing factors. The bare land, building lands, and non-construction lands significantly increased in Suzhou city’s land use types between 2000 and 2030 due to land use changes, while the water bodies and forests gradually decreased. Most of the high-quality habitats in this region are found in the water bodies and the mountains. In contrast, the poor habitat quality in this area is mainly concentrated in urban construction lands. The habitat quality gradually declined over time, and its center of gravity followed the migration path from northeast to southwest. The temporal and spatial distribution of habitat degradation in Suzhou reveals a trend of habitat degradation from downtown to suburban areas. This degradation is most common in mountainous and forest areas where the landscape is highly fragmented. Habitat quality in Suzhou city has changed over time and space due to spatial patterns, socioeconomic factors, land use, and the natural environment, with land use having the most significant impact.

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Optimization strategies of ecological security patterns through importance of ecosystem services and ecological sensitivity—A case study in the Yellow River Basin

Wei,

Liu,

et al. 2023

Land Degrad Dev

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With the aggravation of environmental conflicts, exploring the green development path is an inevitable choice to alleviate land tension, guarantee the harmony of human–land relations, and promote coordinated regional development. The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is an important national ecological barrier area, but the impact of its environmental problems can no longer be ignored. Ecological security patterns (ESPs) provide remarkable means for the identification, configuration, and optimization of ecological spaces, which can help people identify the most central zone that needs to be protected. In this paper, we proposed environmental optimization strategies applicable to YRB as a case area. Firstly, the basic framework of ESPs was constructed based on the “three‐step” method, where ecological sources were delineated by importance/sensitivity, resistance surfaces were created by entropy weight method, and the distribution ranges of ecological corridors, nodes, and barriers were confirmed by circuit theory. Meanwhile, stepping stones were introduced to optimize the ESPs, which were obtained through hotspot analysis and buffer analysis. The results displayed that (1) ecological sources covered an area of 166,699.32 km2, occupying 21% of the basin area. They were widely distributed in the upper and middle junctions, southeast and east of the basin, and of the land types that make up them, cropland, woodland, and grassland account for 97.6%. (2) The spatial distribution of resistance values varied considerably with low values predominantly found along water systems and high values predominantly found in densely populated urban areas. (3) Through the Linkage Mapper tool, 344 ecological corridors were acquired, with dense and short corridors in the southeast and sparse and long corridors in the northwest; 146 ecological nodes were acquired, which were the priority areas for ecological protection; and 154 barriers were acquired, the improvement or removal of which can enhance the connectivity between sources. In addition, the application of stepping stones further enhanced the connectivity between landscapes. The ESPs assessment framework constructed in this paper can provide strong support for relevant departments to carry out ecological monitoring and formulate environmental protection strategies.

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Using stepping-stone theory to evaluate the maintenance of landscape connectivity under China’s ecological control line policy

Cited by 59 publications

References 33 publications

Protection Effect and Vacancy of the Ecological Protection Redline: A Case Study in Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, China

Protection Effect and Vacancy of the Ecological Protection Redline: A Case Study in Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, China

Impact of land use change on habitat quality and regional biodiversity capacity: Temporal and spatial evolution and prediction analysis

Optimization strategies of ecological security patterns through importance of ecosystem services and ecological sensitivity—A case study in the Yellow River Basin

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