Search Results (7)

Constructing regional ecological security patterns (ESP) and enhancing carbon sequestration are essential for achieving China’s dual-carbon goals. However, rapid urbanization has intensified landscape fragmentation, disrupted ecosystem flows, and significantly altered urban ecological networks, weakening their carbon sink functions. Using the Chengdu metropolitan area (CMA) as a case study, a time-series ESP from 2000 to 2020 was constructed. Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA), the Minimum Cumulative Resistance (MCR) model, the gravity model, and complex network theory were employed to assess the spatiotemporal evolution and carbon sequestration capacity of the ecological network. Results revealed continuous declines in ecological sources and corridors, an initial rise then stabilization in resistance, and weakening connectivity, particularly in central and western subregions. Reductions in modularity and topological indices reflected lower ecological stability and greater vulnerability. Forest land served as the primary carbon sink, closely associated with multiple topological metrics; grassland sequestration correlated with clustering, while water bodies were positively linked to centrality measures. Adding 10 stepping-stone nodes and 45 corridors could enhance carbon sequestration by approximately 4156 Mg C yr⁻¹, with forests contributing 94.8% by 2020. This study provides scientific support for resilient regional ESP construction and dual-carbon strategy advancement. Full article

The ecological security of a county is the basis for guaranteeing sustainable socio-economic development in the process of new urbanization, as well as the key to maintaining the rational functioning of natural ecosystems in urban and rural areas, and the primary prerequisite for satisfying the ecosystem service functions enjoyed by urban and rural residents. This study takes Pulandian, an estuary county with low mountains, hills, plains, and beach lands, as an example, and comprehensively applies various methods such as the model of driving–pressure–state–impact–response (DPSIR), the mainstream model of minimum cumulative resistance (MCR), the model of morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA), and the circuit theoretical model to assess the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of the ecological spatial network of Pulandian District from 1990 to 2020 and evaluate its ecological risk from the socio-economic and environmental perspectives to provide a basis for the construction of ecological resistance surfaces. On this basis, an ecospatial network optimization model was constructed to reduce ecological risk and meet ecological security requirements. The results showed that the ecological space showed an upward trend of increasing, then decreasing, and then increasing in the area during the 30-year period, but there was serious fragmentation in the low area of the northeastern river valley, the low-hill plain area in the central part of the county, and the coastal area in the southeastern part of the county. High-resistance radiation centered on townships with high urbanization breaks the original ecological spatial network gradient, resulting in the absence of ecological corridors in large areas of the central and southeastern regions. Therefore, seven new ecological source sites were added for the central and southern portions of the study area, and the number of optimized ecological corridors increased from 47 to 66. In addition, we established an ecosystem consisting of an ecological barrier, an ecological coastal zone, multiple ecological corridors, and multiple ecological sites as an optimization system. This is of great scientific value and practical significance to provide reference for optimizing the ecological spatial network in Pulandian District of Dalian, to promote coastal ecological protection and construction, and to promote regional construction and sustainable development. Full article

The Yellow River Basin serves as a crucial ecological barrier in China, emphasizing the importance of accurately examining the spatial distribution of forest carbon stocks and enhancing carbon sequestration in order to attain “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality”. Forest patches have complex interactions that impact ecosystem services. To our knowledge, very few studies have explored the connection between these interactions and carbon stock. This study addressed this gap by utilizing complex network theory to establish a forest ecospatial network (ForEcoNet) in the Yellow River Basin in which forest patches are represented as nodes (sources) and their interactions as edges (corridors). Our objective was to optimize the ForEcoNet’s structure and enhance forest carbon stocks. First, we employed downscaling technology to allocate the forest carbon stocks of the 69 cities in the study area to grid cells, generating a spatial distribution map of forest carbon density in the Yellow River Basin. Next, we conducted morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) and used the minimum cumulative resistance model (MCR) to extract the ForEcoNet in the basin. Finally, we proposed optimization of the ForEcoNet based on the coupling coordination between the node carbon stock and topological structure. The results showed that: (1) the forest carbon stocks of the upper, middle, and lower reaches accounted for 42.35%, 54.28%, and 3.37% of the total, respectively, (2) the ForEcoNet exhibited characteristics of both a random network and a scale-free network and demonstrated poor network stability, and (3) through the introduction of 51 sources and 46 corridors, we optimized the network and significantly improved its robustness. These findings provide scientific recommendations for the optimization of forest allocation in the Yellow River Basin and achieving the goal of increasing the forest carbon stock. Full article

Forest and grass ecological space is the key component of the ecosystem and plays a vital role in regulating the carbon, water, and energy cycle. The long-term exploitation of forest and grass ecological space and huge population pressure have gradually degraded the function of China’s ecosystem. Therefore, forest and grass ecological space plays an important role in maintaining the stability of the ecosystem. The relationship between forest and grass ecospatial network structure and ecosystem service has been the focus of research. In this study, the forest and grass ecospatial network is constructed based on the minimum cumulative resistance (MCR) model. Then, the topological indicators (degree, weight clustering coefficient, node weight, unit weight, weight distribution difference, betweenness, PageRank) of the forest and grass ecospatial network were calculated by combining the complex network theory to analyze the relationship between these topological indicators and the three ecosystems (water retention, soil conservation, carbon storage). Based on the ecological significance of topological indicators, we identified ecologically fragile areas and proposed areas and directions for optimizing the ecospatial structure. Results show that the spatial distribution of the three ecosystem services in the southeast region of China is higher than that in the northwest region of China and shows a gradual decrease from the east to the west. The degree, node weight, unit weight, PageRank, and betweenness were highly significant and positively correlated with the three ecosystem services, among which PageRank had the highest correlation with water retention (p < 0.01, R² = 0.835). Based on the spatial distribution characteristics of the different topological indicators, the quantitative relationship between the structural characteristics of the forest and grass ecospatial network and ecosystem services is clarified, revealing the intrinsic connection between ecological processes and ecosystem services. Through rational optimization of the forest and grass ecospatial network, ecosystem services can be effectively improved and ecosystem stability can be enhanced. Full article

(1) Background: Eco−spatial networks play an important role in enhancing ecosystem services and landscape connectivity. It is necessary to study landscape structure optimization to achieve synergistic gains in network connectivity and ecosystem functionality. (2) Method: Based on remote sensing data, RS and GIS were used to evaluate the spatiotemporal changes in ecosystem services in China. Combined with complex network theory, the spatiotemporal evolution of China’s ecological spatial network and its topological structure from 2005 to 2020 is discussed. Network function–structure co−optimization was carried out using the edge augmentation strategy. (3) Result: The “three River resource” has high water conservation and high soil and water conservation in southeastern hilly areas. There is strong windbreak and sand fixation in southeastern Inner Mongolia. In the past 15 years, there have been about 8200 sources and about 14,000 corridors. The network has the characteristics of small−world and heterogeneity. After optimization, 18 sources and 3180 corridors are added, and the network connectivity and robustness are stronger. Finally, five regions are divided according to the network heterogeneity and corresponding protection and management countermeasures are proposed to provide scientific guidance for the country’s territorial space planning. Full article

In the context of strengthening the construction of ecological civilization and accelerating the “carbon peak” in China, the regional ecological pattern and its connection with carbon sink capacity have become an urgent topic. Given that Inner Mongolia is a large carbon emission province and the conflict between economic development and ecological protection is particularly prominent, we took Inner Mongolia as an example to extract its ecospatial network, then calculated the integrity index, topological indices, and recovery robustness of the network and evaluated integrity and other properties of the ecospatial network structure by combining them with the ecological background. In addition, we analyzed the relationship between the topological indices and net primary productivity (NPP). The results showed that the network was scale-free and heterogeneous, with low integrity, connectivity and stability, which were the focus of future optimization. The nodes with important functions were mainly distributed in the farm-forest ecotone, grasslands, and the agro-pastoral ecotone; under the simulation attack, the node recovery robustness was stronger than the corridor recovery robustness, and NPP was negatively and significantly correlated with the woodland nodes and grassland nodes. In terms of ecological restoration, the unused land in the west is a key area, and it is necessary to add new ecological nodes and corridors. In terms of enhancing carbon sequestration capacity, under the premise of ensuring network connectivity, the appropriate and rational merging of ecological nodes and corridors within woodlands and grasslands is a particularly effective means. This study provides a reference for evaluating and optimizing the ecological pattern of areas with prominent ecological problems and improving the carbon sink of ecosystems in terms of their ecospatial network structure. Full article

Achieving carbon neutrality is a necessary effort to rid humanity of a catastrophic climate and is a goal for China in the future. Ecological space plays an important role in the realization of carbon neutrality, but the relationship between the structure of vegetation ecological space and vegetation carbon sequestration capacity has been the focus of research. In this study, we extracted the base data from MODIS products and other remote sensing products, and then combined them with the MCR model to construct a vegetation ecospatial network in the Yellow River Basin in 2018. Afterward, we calculated the topological indicators of ecological nodes in the network and analyzed the relationship between the carbon sequestration capacity (net biome productivity) of ecological nodes and these topological indicators in combination with the Biome-BGC model. The results showed that there was a negative linear correlation between the betweenness centrality of forest nodes and their carbon sequestration capacity in the Yellow River Basin (p < 0.05, R² = 0.59). On the other hand, there was a positive linear correlation between the clustering coefficient of grassland nodes and their carbon sequestration capacity (p < 0.01, R² = 0.49). In addition, we briefly evaluated the vegetation ecospatial network in the Yellow River BASIN and suggested its optimization direction under the background of carbon neutrality in the future. Increasing the carbon sequestration capacity of vegetation through the construction of national ecological projects is one of the ways to achieve carbon neutrality, and this study provides a reference for the planning of future national ecological projects in the Yellow River Basin. Furthermore, this is also a case study of the application of remote sensing in vegetation carbon budgeting. Full article