Incorporating network topology and ecosystem services into the optimization of ecological network: A case study of the Yellow River Basin

Human activity-induced landscape fragmentation seriously affects regional connectivity and biodiversity and hinders human well-being and sustainable development. These effects can be mitigated by the construction of ecological networks (ENs), but building extensive ENs requires cross-regional planning and coordination. Since ecosystems in different regions provide varying benefits to humans, optimizing ENs based on the quality of ecosystem services (ESs) is an effective way to rapidly improve regional landscape connectivity. In this study, we constructed an EN in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) according to landscape ecology and complex network theory, examined the network topology, measured three ESs using the InVEST model, and optimized the EN based on the coupling of EN topology and ES quality. In the YRB, the biodiversity index and carbon storage capacity were relatively higher and invariable. However, the wind-breaking and sand-fixing index was poorer, but it increased by 146 % during the study period. The number of ecological patches was roughly 48, accounting for about 40 % of the YRB region. From 1995 to 2020, the average ecological resistance decreased by 29 %, and the average number of corridors was 99, but the average corridor length first increased and then decreased. The number and area of ecological pinch points and barriers changed significantly. The EN topology strongly correlated with biodiversity and wind-breaking and sand-fixing, but not with carbon storage. In the face of random attacks, the optimized EN demonstrated significantly greater connectivity robustness. Under deliberate attacks, it exhibited better resilience and buffering power when the percentage of attacking nodes is in the 30 %–80 % range. For the ecological patches within a certain range of the attacking node, appropriate development and planning can be carried out in the future, while for the patches outside the range, strict ecological protection measures need to be implemented. This study provides theoretical references for improving EN planning efficiency and promoting synergistic cooperation in the YRB.