393 / 2022-05-02 17:16:29

Extraction of ecological restoration zones in the Yellow River Basin and its impact on the temporal and spatial dynamics of ecosystems

ecological restoration,ecological restoration zones,Yellow River Basin, ecosystem services, spatial dynamic.

Environmental Science and Engineering > 3. Land Reclamation and Ecology Rehabilitation

The Yellow River Basin (YRB), as an important ecological barrier in China, has sustained extensive and profound ecological restoration efforts in the past decades. However, the spatial extent, spatio-temporal dynamic patterns ,and dynamic impacts on the ecosystem of its ecological restoration zones (ERZs) are still limitedly explored. In this study, we used remote sensing technology, LUCC products ,and trajectory-based change monitoring methods to quantitatively extract and characterize the spatial pattern of ERZs in YRB from 1985 to 2019. Three ecosystem services (ESs), including carbon storage (CS), habitat quality (HQ), and soil conservation (SC), were selected to quantitatively assess the ecosystem quality of YRB in combination with the physiographic profile of YRB. The ecological restoration index（ERI） was constructed to establish the dynamic linkage between ERZs and ecosystems, and to explore the characteristics of the relationship between the spatial and temporal dynamics of ERZs on ecosystems. The results showed that from 1990 to 2015, the area of the ERZs in YRB was 184197.05 km². The changes in the geographic centers of the three subcategories of ERZs, forest restoration zones (FRZs), grassland restoration zones (GRZs), and shrub restoration zones (SRZs), show an obvious pattern of geographic migration. The total basin-wide carbon storage fluctuates up and then decreases sharply, reaching 170.33´10⁸ Mg in 2019. The average habitat quality dynamics increases significantly, from 0.407 to 0.411. This study is expected to help clarify the characteristics and quantitative structure of the spatial dynamic change pattern of ERZs in YRB, quantitatively portray the synergistic/coupled effects of ERZs and ecosystem quality, and ultimately lead to the systematic and orderly deepening of ecological restoration in the YRB ecosystem.