Trade-off between comprehensive and specific ecosystem characteristics conservation in ecological security pattern construction

Since the Anthropocene, global natural ecosystems have suffered more severe and accelerating harm than at any other period in history. The growing conflict between urban expansion and ecological conservation highlights the importance of finding a balance. Ecological security pattern (ESP) focuses on minimizing the cost-benefit ratio of ecological conservation while maintaining a minimum level of land use demand. It is an effective spatial tool for balancing urban sprawl and ecological conservation, sustaining regional ecological security and safeguarding human well-being, and thus fostering sustainable development. However, when identifying ESP, it is still unclear whether core areas of specific or comprehensive ecosystem characteristics should be highlighted. In this study we established three ESP construction scenarios to explore the trade-off between the conservations of comprehensive and specific ecosystem characteristics. Scenario 1 and Scenario 3 respectively tended to prioritize the conservation of comprehensive and specific ecosystem characteristics respectively, while Scenario 2 represented an intermediate approach. Furthermore, conservation effectiveness of the three scenarios were assessed to choose the best solution under the objectives of ecosystem health, landscape connectivity and integrated conservation . The results showed that Scenario 3 had the largest number of ecological sources and ecological corridors, being 5.82 times and 7.48 times of that in Scenario 1, respectively. The total area of ecological sources in each scenario was 1626 km2, accounting for 24% of the study area. Besides, Scenario 3 had the largest area of ecological corridors, with a total area of 705 km2. Natural reserves of Helan Mountain, Sha Lake, and Baijitan were identified as ecological sources in all the three scenarios, emphasizing their conservation importance. The ESP identified in Scenario 1 exhibited better representativeness of ecosystem health, while the ESP identified in Scenario 3 demonstrated the highest level of landscape connectivity and integrated conservation. Scenario 2 was not the optimal solution under all conservation objectives. The results suggested that the scenario for the conservation of specific ecosystem characteristic had better conservation benefits. This study highlights the conservation trade-off between comprehensive and specific ecosystem characteristics, which will help to identify opitimal ESP construction solution.