A conservation planning framework for China's national key ecological function area based on ecological risk assessment

Identification of degradation risk areas and delineation of key ecological function areas in Qinling region

As a critical component of the geographical divide between the northern and southern regions of China, the ecological stability of the Qinling region has profound implications for ecological balance within China and across East Asia. However, the degradation risk areas of the Qinling region remain unclear, and there are gaps in the delineation of key ecological protection areas. This study examines the improvement and decline in the Qinling region from 2000 to 2023 in terms of ecosystem patterns, quality, and functions. Moreover, key ecological function and degradation risk zones were identified, and future development paths were proposed for the Qinling region. The findings indicate that: (1) Urban area expansion was the most rapid, increasing by about 1800 km², with an average yearly growth rate of 2.43%. Ecosystem quality increased in 48.07% of the Qinling region. The degradation risk zones of ecosystem quality and function were primarily located in the Sanjiangyuan, the Minshan-Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and the Loess Plateau in Shaanxi, Henan, and Gansu. The core areas for water and soil conservation only accounted for 17.92% and 10.47%, respectively, mainly distributed across the Qinling-Daba Mountains. Based on ecological patterns, quality, functions, and ecological protection and restoration projects, the Qinling region has been divided into two majority categories and 16 subcategories: 7 ecologically key functional areas and 9 degradation risk areas. This study offers recommendations for formulating ecological protection and restoration policies, thereby promoting the sustainable development of the region's ecology and economy.

Construction and Optimization of Wetland Landscape Ecological Network in Dongying City, China

Rapid urbanization has led to deteriorated wetland water quality, reduced biodiversity, and fragmented wetland landscapes, which seriously threaten the sustainable development of regional ecology. Based on land use data of Dongying City, Shandong Province, in 2020, this study selected the landscape disturbance degree and landscape fragility index to construct a landscape ecological risk evaluation model and to analyze the spatial distribution characteristics of landscape ecological risk in Dongying City in 2020. The MSPA-Conefor-MCR model was used to extract the ecological network of wetlands in Dongying City, and the topological structure indices were quantitatively analyzed. Combined with the actual situation within the study area, the source sites to be optimized were identified by risk zoning and source importance; the ecological resistance surface was modified using landscape ecological risk, and the ecological network was optimized by simulating edge increase in order to evaluate the robustness of the ecological network before and after optimization and to verify the edge increase effect. The results show that the ecological risk in Dongying is high, mainly distributed in the central region and extending to the northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest. A total of 131 ecological source sites (6 core and 125 resting-stone source sites) and 180 ecological corridors were extracted, and the whole ecological network was found to be less stable and to have stronger network heterogeneity using a topological analysis. By simulating 11 additional edges, the robustness of the optimized ecological network was significantly improved. Optimizing the simulated-edge increase can enhance the smoothness of ecological energy flow, which can provide a scientific basis for the construction of the ecological security pattern of wetlands in Dongying City.

Effectiveness of the Qilian Mountain Nature Reserve of China in Reducing Human Impacts

The management effectiveness of protected areas plays a key role in biodiversity and ecosystem services conservation. We evaluated the effectiveness of Qilian Mountain Nature Reserve (QMNR) in reducing human footprint (HF). Four dominant human activity factors, including population density, land use, road distribution, and night light, were incorporated for HF mapping. Comparisons of the HF value between inside and outside QMNR and its four functional zones were conducted. The results show that both the HF inside and outside of QMNR were increasing, but the difference between them was increasing, indicating partial management effectiveness. The north part of the central reserve has a good effect in reducing human impacts, while the effectiveness was poor at both ends of the reserve. The HF value of the most strictly managed core and buffer zones increased by 10.50 and 6.68%, respectively, for 2010–2020. The QMNR was effective in controlling population density and land use, but ineffective in reducing road construction, mining, and construction of hydropower facilities.