Ecological network construction and identification of important elements based on morphological spatial pattern analysis and circuit theory in Pingxiang City

Abstract

The rapid urbanization is disrupts landscapes, posing threats to ecological security. The construction and optimization of ecological network is an effective way to bridge the conflicts between economic development and ecological protection. Numerous researches applied “patch-corridor-matrix” paradigm of landscape ecology to construct ecological network, The construction of corridors is generally carried out using the minimal cumulative resistance model, which is relatively subjective and does not fully consider ecological processes. Taking Pingxiang City, Jiangxi Province, as case study area, this paper accurately extracted ecological corridors and built ecological network on the basis of identifying ecological patches with core areas as the main body. The circuit theory was used to detect the ecological pinch points and ecological barrier points in the corridor. Moreover, The area and corridor was evaluated by the current centrality index and the comprehensive link priority. The results showed that: (1) The combined method was superior to the single morphological spatial pattern analysis method in identifying ecological source areas. 28 important ecological source patches were obtained in Pingxiang City. (2) The ecological network of Pingxiang City was composed of 28 ecological source areas and 55 corridors, including 38 ecological pinch points, 48 ecological barrier points and 71 ecological break points. Priority should be given to the protection and restoration of the identified ecological pinch points and barrier points.(3)The importance evaluation of source areas and corridors by comprehensive current density was more efficient and accurate, providing a basis for ecological restoration and protection in Pingxiang City. The source area was divided into three levels, accounting for 18.89%, 40.18%, and 40.93% of the total source area. There were 33 first-level corridors and 23 s-level corridors, accounting for 21.35% and 78.65% of the total corridor length. This study, by constructing the ecological network of Pingxiang City, not only enriches the fundamental theory of ecological networks but also reveals the interactive relationship between the urbanization process and the ecological environment in Pingxiang. It provides practical references for urban planning and ecological protection in Pingxiang and similar mountainous and hilly areas for sake of promoting sustainable development.