Search

The Loess Plateau region is characterized by fragmented habitats and ecological vulnerability. Analyzing the changes in land use and ecological risk within the region is of great significance for promoting high-quality development of the Loess Plateau. The study utilized land use data from 2000, 2010, and 2020 in the Loess Plateau region to assess the spatio-temporal variation in land use patterns and landscape ecological risks, aiming to provide valuable references and decision support for ecological risk management and sustainable development in the area. The results indicated that the main land use types in the region are grassland and cropland. From 2000 to 2020, forest, grassland, and water areas increased by 1.39 × 106, 6.25 × 105, and 7.09 × 104 ha, respectively. The impervious area increased rapidly, growing from 9.77 × 104 ha in 2000 to 1.85 × 106 ha in 2020. The cropland decreased by 1.82 × 106 ha from 2000 to 2020, with 4.61 × 105, 4.95 × 106, and 8.91 × 105 ha of cropland converted to forest, grassland, and impervious area, respectively. The fragmentation of the ecological landscape in the region has decreased, and the diversity and richness of landscape types have increased. The fragmentation of cropland, forest, and grassland has decreased, and landscape patches have become more concentrated. High-value areas of landscape ecological risk in the region show a trend of continuous aggregation, altering the dispersion pattern of high-risk areas. Currently, high-risk areas of landscape ecology in the Loess Plateau region are mainly concentrated in northern Shaanxi and some areas along the Yellow River, such as Yulin, Yan'an, Ordos, and others. Currently, the ecological environment remains a bottleneck constraining the high-quality development of the Loess Plateau. It is necessary to persist in coordinated governance and ecological engineering construction, and improving the quality of ecological environment is a prerequisite for consolidating the social foundation and leading the high-quality development of the ecological industry on the Loess Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Pattern metrics drawn from image processing and remote sensing have been applied as descriptors of the texture of landscape gradient data. Like some classical pattern metrics in ecology, texture has several facets which are measured by examining an adjacency matrix—the frequencies of co-occurring pixel values on a map—in different ways. Objectives: To improve the interpretation and application of such metrics in landscape ecology we reformulate and interpret several of them by analogy to traditional metrics used with categorical data. Results and conclusions: 1. Four of the eight classical texture metrics measure attraction—the tendency for the same or similar values to be adjacent. Four others measure dispersion—the diversity of adjacencies relative to the entire adjacency matrix, the diagonal of the matrix, or the origin of the matrix. 2. The attraction metrics (dissimilarity, contrast, inverse difference, and homogeneity) differ only in the algebraic weights applied to different parts of an adjacency matrix. 3. The dispersion metrics (entropy, uniformity, difference entropy, and sum entropy) can be made more comparable by rescaling them to their maximum possible values. 4. While the metrics may be applied to any adjacency matrix, the choices about the method used to create an adjacency matrix have subtle yet important implications for the use and comparability of some metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Recent studies highlight the importance of linking landscape ecology and macroecology for a better understanding of broad‐scale biodiversity patterns. The "landscape context effect" denotes that species responses and biodiversity in a focal area are shaped by neighbouring landscape composition and structure outside the focal area. Here, we test whether the landscape context effect could be pronounced at macroecological scales. Location: Sub‐Saharan Africa and continental China. Time period: Late 20th to early 21st centuries. Taxa studied: Terrestrial mammals (≥2 kg). Methods: We calculated species richness on the basis of grid cells of 50 km × 50 km and 100 km × 100 km. We used ordinary least square and random forest models to examine the relationships between species richness within grid cells and landscape context (defined as composition and structure of the neighbouring landscape outside the grid cells, with distances of 10–400 km to the boundary of a given grid cell). We used variation partitioning to quantify the independent and shared explanatory power of the landscape context variables, grouping species by body size and diet. Results: Landscape context alone explained ≤20% of the variation in species richness, even when controlling for correlations with macroenvironmental variables (climate, productivity and topography) and correlations with landscape attributes within the grid cells. Importantly, the explanatory power of landscape context at the scales of 100–400 km ofen outweighed grid‐cell landscape attributes or macro‐environmental variables. The independent explanatory power of landscape context was lowest for small‐sized omnivores. Furthermore, we found higher independent explanatory power for large herbivores in sub‐Saharan Africa than in continental China. Main conclusions: Landscape context plays a substantial role in shaping local biodiversity patterns at regional and continental scales, with its strength varying with organism diet and movement needs and possibilities. These findings support that conservation efforts should include effective management of landscape structure, with attention to differing space requirements among organism groups. Our work also illustrates the scope for testing landscape ecological hypotheses at macroecological scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China launched its pilot national park system in 2015, and Shennongjia National Park has attracted much attention as one of the first batch of pilot national parks. The primary goal of national park construction in China is to effectively protect the integrity and authenticity of nationally important natural ecosystems. Based on the theory of landscape ecology, this study interpreted data from high-resolution remote sensing images and used landscape pattern analysis, spatial correlation analysis, and geographic weighted regression analysis to quantitatively evaluate the integrity of natural ecosystems at the landscape scale. A more accurate and operable calculation method was proposed to analyze the spatial variation in natural ecosystem integrity and to explore the scope and intensity of the impact of different anthropogenic activities on natural ecosystem integrity. The results showed that: (1) from the perspective of the spatial distribution patterns of natural ecosystem integrity, the degree of natural ecosystem integrity of Shennongjia National Park was generally high, with an integrity index value of 96.06, and the proportion of high-integrity areas accounted for 72.38%. The integrity index value of the strict protection zone was 98.83, and the proportion of the low-integrity index area only accounted for 0.01% of the strict protection zone, which was mainly distributed in the main urban areas of the nearby townships and along the highways in the national park, as well as in other areas with intensive anthropogenic activities. (2) From the perspective of the degree of impact of anthropogenic activities on natural ecosystem integrity, population density (0.3344), traffic accessibility (0.2389), traditional utilization activities (0.1101), and industrial and mining activities (0.0095) were, in descending order, the most impactful, and there was no significant correlation between ecotourism activities and natural ecosystem integrity. (3) From the perspective of the impact range of anthropogenic activities on natural ecosystem integrity, traditional utilization activities had the largest impact, accounting for 19.71% of the total area of the national park. The area affected by population density accounted for 1.52%. Industrial and mining activities had an influence of 4.75%, and the area affected by traffic accessibility accounted for 9.28%. Through conducting quantitative research into the integrity of natural ecosystems in Shennongjia National Park, this study provides a new research paradigm for the conservation of natural ecosystems and for the sustainable development of resources in protected areas, which is of great significance for the sensible development of national park conservation and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal wetlands are natural complexes situated between terrestrial and marine ecosystems and are one of the most productive ecosystems in terms of global biomass production. However, under the influence of intensive human activity, global coastal wetlands have undergone rapid degradation. In this study, RS technology, landscape ecology, and object-oriented methods were used to interpret remote sensing images from different periods and analyze the dynamic changes in landscape patterns and their driving mechanisms in coastal wetlands in the Luoyangjiang River estuary from 1983 to 2021 by considering changes in the landscape pattern index. The results show that the patch areas of all the types of wetland landscapes in the Luoyangjiang River estuary changed, and the patch areas of mangroves and Spartina alterniflora increased. The patch density of the coastal wetlands increased significantly, the index of mangrove aggregation increased, and the index of separation decreased. From the perspective of the overall characteristic value of the landscape pattern, the landscape diversity index and the evenness index of the study area gradually increased, and the difference in the proportion of different types of landscape was reduced. Additionally, the patch number and patch diversity significantly increased, the maximum patch index and the spread index decreased, and the landscape separation index significantly increased. Rapid urbanization and the implementation of many ecological restoration projects were shown to be the main factors driving changes in the landscape indices of coastal wetlands in the Luoyangjiang River estuary. In the study period, rapid urbanization significantly reduced the area of coastal wetlands, and the implementation of ecological restoration projects increased the fragmentation, heterogeneity, and dispersion of wetland landscapes in the study area and decreased the aggregation of wetland landscapes. Moreover, the distribution of all the types of landscapes gradually became more uniform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The watershed habitat, especially floodplains, is often impacted by the interaction between the natural environment and human activities, and the fragile ecological balance is easily disturbed. Therefore, the study of the changes in habitat quality in floodplains is significant for the reconstruction of damaged habitats. In this study, the landscape patterns and habitat quality in the Yongding River floodplain from 1967 to 2018 were evaluated. We employed spatial analysis to explore the characteristics and correlation of its spatio-temporal pattern change. Our results show that, first, the overall landscape pattern of the Yongding River floodplain was dominated by arable land and forestland while the construction land expanded. Second, the landscape pattern tended toward fragmentation, and the degree of landscape complexity increased. Third, the habitat quality was generally above the medium level. However, the low-quality area continued to increase. Furthermore, there was a strong correlation between habitat quality and the Aggregation Index, Diversity Index, and the area of water and forestland. In this context, the protection of the integrity and diversity of the landscape, reducing or even prohibiting the loss of water and forestland habitats, and restoring the ecological river, should be strengthened. The contribution of this paper provides a scientific reference to the comprehensive management and ecological restoration of river ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban green space is an essential form of infrastructure for cities, providing a significant spatial guarantee for sustainable urban development, an essential ecological, social, and cultural function, and an important symbol of urban modernisation and civilisation. However, with the development of cities, urban problems are becoming more serious, such as the increase in impervious surfaces and urban heat islands and the decrease in urban green space and liveability. Therefore, this study integrates the theories and methods of landscape ecology and spatial syntax with GIS technology to construct a comprehensive model for examining the spatial accessibility of green spaces based on remote images and landscape pattern indices, using Fuzhou City as the study area. The study then incorporates demographic variables to explore the characteristics of an equitable distribution of urban green space at the street scale. The results show that the accessibility of green space in the urban areas of Fuzhou decreases from the centre to the periphery. From north to south, there is a trend of 'low-high-low', with the northern region exhibiting the lowest accessibility, followed by the southeastern region, and then the western region. In terms of spatial equity in green space, Fuzhou has a more significant share of surplus green space provision, both in terms of the number of streets and area. This shows that the surplus of green space in Fuzhou is greater than the deficit and that the distribution of space is fair. We hope this study will not only help people gain a deeper understanding of green space but also provide a reference for their rational planning and management, thereby improving the accessibility and equity of urban green space as well as their quality and configuration. We also expect it to provide valuable theoretical and technical support for the planning of ecological functions and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the rapid development of urbanization, land-use types have changed greatly, which has led to many ecological problems. Therefore, the current research objective is to solve the problems in existence in Jinan, so as to determine the existing landscape ecological risks and optimize the landscape structure. Using 2 m high-resolution remote sensing images and related natural economic data, this study evaluated the landscape ecological risk and constructed a full-factor ecological network in Jinan with a landscape ecological risk assessment method (ERI) and a minimum cumulative resistance model (MCR) based on landscape ecology theory. The results showed that: (1) The ERI in Jinan presented a spatial concentration of high value areas in the central and central–eastern regions, while other levels in ERI areas presented a spatial distribution around the ecological regions with high risk. (2) The important corridors were mainly distributed in the south of Jinan, which were stable and not easily destroyed. The corridors in other areas were secondary, mainly passing through cultivated land and urban greenways, which were unstable and susceptible to interference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the widespread population growth in cities, anthropogenic influences inevitably lead to natural disturbances. The metropolitan area of Istanbul, with its rapid urbanization rate, has faced intense pressure regarding the sustainability of urban habitats. In this context, landscapes comprising patches affected by various disturbances and undergoing temporal changes must be analyzed, in order to assess city-related disturbances. In this study, the main objective was to understand how urbanization changed the function of the spatial distribution of the urban mosaic and, more specifically, its relationship with the size, shape, and connection among land-use classes. For this purpose, we took Besiktas, a district of Istanbul, as the study area. We evaluated the landscape pattern of the urban environment in two stages. First, we used medium-resolution satellite imagery to reveal the general interactions in the urbanization process. Landscape- and class-level landscape metrics were selected to quantify the landscape connectivity, and the distances between classes (green areas and artificial surfaces), patterns, and processes, using five satellite images representing a time span of 51 years (1963, 1984, 1997, 2005, and 2014). The general landscape structure was examined by looking at the temporal–spatial processes of artificial surface and green areas obtained from these medium-resolution satellite images. The trends in selected landscape-level metrics were specified and discussed through the use of a moving window analysis. We then used Pleiades high-resolution satellite imagery (2015) to analyze the landscape structure in more detail. This high-resolution base image allows us to recognize the possibility of classifying basic cultural landscape classes. The findings regarding the spatial arrangement of each class in the areas allocated to 14 cultural landscape classes were interpreted by associating them with the landscape functions. Finally, particulate matter (PM10) concentration data were collected and evaluated as an ecological indicator, in order to reveal the relationships between landscape structure and landscape function. In short, we first evaluated the whole landscape structure using medium-resolution data, followed by the classification of cultural landscapes using high-resolution satellite imagery, providing a time-effective—and, therefore, essential—auxiliary method for landscape evaluation. This two-stage evaluation method enables inferences to be made that can shed light on the landscape functions in an urban environment based on the landscape structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of landscape pattern changes on thermal environment of Nanchang is examined from 1989 to 2017. The impact of landscape pattern on surface temperature is obvious during urban development. Based on Landsat images from Nanchang,land surface temperature inversion and surface coverage information extraction were performed. Uniform tiles and single-factor regression analysis method were used to analyze the spatial evolution characteristic of urban thermal environment and its influencing factors. It is found that the impervious area increased 195. 57 km2 ,and the urban heat island area expanded 217. 74 km² from 1989 to 2017. In 2017,the urban heat island area reached 432. 76 km² . The landscape type in the thermal environment area is mainly the impervious surface,with the temperature increase 0. 62 ℃ for every 10% in the proportion. If the proportion of green space and water landscape increased 10%,the temperature will decrease 0. 79 ℃ . The more concentrated the pattern distribution of the impervious surface is,the more compact the patch is and the greater the density is, resulting in the land surface temperature rise and further heat island effect. Green space of water landscape is opposite. Landscape pattern is the decisive factor affecting urban heat effect. In the process of urbanization,rational planning of urban landscape pattern will effectively reduce urban thermal environment phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past two decades, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China (MARA) has issued a series of strict cultivated land protection policies to prevent the spread of farmland abandonment and maintain a dynamic balance between the quantity and quality of arable land. However, high-speed economic development, strict arable land protection policies, and ecological security and sustainable development strategies interacting with human activities have brought challenges to quantifying the effectiveness of arable land protection policies. In this study, we proposed a method to quantify the impacts of the arable land protection policies and evaluate the quantitative impacts on farmland abandonment in Guangdong Province after 2014 from the perspective of landscape ecology. The results illustrated that the landscape fragmentation of farmland abandonment in Guangdong Province decreased after the new arable land policies were issued. More annual farmland abandonment (AFA) shifted to seasonal farmland abandonment (SFA), revealing the considerable pronounced effects of farmland abandonment management. The new policies effectively restrained the area increase for AFA in the regions with lower rural population (RPOP) and lower gross domestic product (GDP), and reduced the fragmentation of AFA in the regions with the highest RPOP and lower GDP. Additionally, the new policies effectively restrained the fragmentation increase for SFA in the regions with lower RPOP and lower GDP, and reduced the area increase for SFA in the regions with the highest RPOP and lower GDP. The management effect was not that significant in the regions with higher RPOP and higher GDP. These findings will provide important data references for arable land decision making in southern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The watershed habitat, especially floodplains, is often impacted by the interaction between the natural environment and human activities, and the fragile ecological balance is easily disturbed. Therefore, the study of the changes in habitat quality in floodplains is significant for the reconstruction of damaged habitats. In this study, the landscape patterns and habitat quality in the Yongding River floodplain from 1967 to 2018 were evaluated. We employed spatial analysis to explore the characteristics and correlation of its spatio-temporal pattern change. Our results show that, first, the overall landscape pattern of the Yongding River floodplain was dominated by arable land and forestland while the construction land expanded. Second, the landscape pattern tended toward fragmentation, and the degree of landscape complexity increased. Third, the habitat quality was generally above the medium level. However, the low-quality area continued to increase. Furthermore, there was a strong correlation between habitat quality and the Aggregation Index, Diversity Index, and the area of water and forestland. In this context, the protection of the integrity and diversity of the landscape, reducing or even prohibiting the loss of water and forestland habitats, and restoring the ecological river, should be strengthened. The contribution of this paper provides a scientific reference to the comprehensive management and ecological restoration of river ecosystems.

During past decades, much progress has been made to elucidate the relationship between the quantity of urban green space and crimes, but less is known about how their spatial distribution is associated with crimes. Therefore, this study aims to understand how the composition and configuration of urban green space are related to crimes in metropolitan cities in the United States. Our study performed landscape analysis using 756 census tracts for violent crimes and non-violent crimes in Chicago from 2017 to 2021 while controlling socioeconomic status. Spatial lag models showed that tree canopies were negatively associated with crime rates, while grass areas were positively associated with crime rates. In terms of the spatial distribution, there were more crime incidents in irregularly shaped green spaces compared to reguraraly shaped green spaces. On the contrary, disconnected tree canopies were more likely to have lower crime rates. Aggregated (i.e., a single large) also tended to have less crime rates. The results of our study provide some evidence of the role of the spatial distribution of urban green space on crimes and shed light on the ways to reduce crimes through effective urban green space planning [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While landscape ecological risk assessment (LERA) has the potential to positively impact environmental concerns by informing land use policies, a holistic perspective has yet to be adopted in previous investigations of LERA in relation to land use change. To address this gap, our study introduces a novel research framework that applies landscape ecology principles and methodologies, utilizing the concept of 'landscape' as a bridge connecting ecological risk and land use change. Building on relevant literature, we propose three hypotheses regarding the systemic nature of ecological risks. We then elucidate the principles, logic, and methods of LERA and employ high-precision land-use data and landscape pattern metrics to evaluate ecological risks resulting from land-use changes in Xiapu County between 2009 and 2013. Our ecological risk and land use overlay analysis validates three assumptions regarding the systematic character of ecological risks: (1) ecological risks in a local area are influenced by more than just land use changes within its spatial boundaries, (2) similar land use shifts can have varying impacts on ecological risk over time, and (3) ecological risk change cannot be solely attributed to the change in land use type. Finally, based on our enhanced understanding of ecological risks, we propose policy recommendations for land use planning and development at both global and local spatial scales. Our study provides a comprehensive understanding of ecological risks and their relationships with land use change, offering valuable insights for policymakers and researchers. • Investigations of ecological risk in relation to land use change from a systemic perspective. • Three hypotheses regarding the systemic nature of ecological risks are validated. • Ecological risks in a local area are influenced by more than just land use changes within its spatial boundaries. • Similar land use shifts can have varying impacts on ecological risk over time. • Ecological risk change cannot be solely attributed to the change in land use type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: A recent article in Landscape Ecology presented a method to true Moran's I to its conceptual ideals and existing intuition regarding correlations. It's scope included multiple methods, exploration of designed and empirical datasets, sensitivity analyses, and extensive mathematical treatment. The editor, reviewers, and lead author feared that the article due to complexity would not be accessible to empirical landscape ecologists. Objectives: This perspective aims to highlight critical problems with the traditional autocorrelation metric and make standout material from the larger analysis accessible by paring to essentials and presenting a simple recipe to calculate an improved metric that also serves as a statistic. Methods: Desirable traits for an autocorrelation metric were reviewed followed by distillation of best practices discerned in the larger project to attain those traits. A minimal method to obtain the superior metric was formulated. Results: Moran's I met only 2 of 14 desirable qualities for indexing autocorrelation. An improved metric was found to be achievable in 7 steps. The new metric, now a statistic, realized 14 of 14 desirable traits. The new statistic fit existing intuition for regular correlation and facilitated comparisons across disparate contexts. Conclusions: Spatial autocorrelation is a common focus in landscape ecology. The new statistic enabled intuitive interpretation and meaningful comparison within and among studies. It provided for meta-analysis and meta-research, such as co-use with other spatial pattern statistics. These improvements should foster sustained use and impact of the new autocorrelation statistic Ir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Heilongjiang University of Science & Technology is the property of Journal of Heilongjiang University of Science & Technology Editorial Department and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Context: A landscape is defined as a "system of ecosystems" and this is a model in which karst areas can easily be integrated. In karst areas, much of the connectivity between the units of the landscape is underground, with aquifers and caves forming a continuous layered tissue. However, underground environments are among the least studied landscapes on Earth because of limited accessibility and the difficulty of performing surveys. Objectives: The aim of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework for applying principles of landscape ecology to research on karst environments. Methods: By adapting the standard patch-corridor-matrix model to a 3d model, the main issues that need to be addressed were identified. These include identifying the main morphological (surface and underground) karst features; determining the landscape structure through its features, composition, and configuration; and developing adequate indices. Results: The landscape spatial structure of different karst areas influences fundamental ecological functions and biodiversity patterns. Determining how structure, biodiversity, and functions relate reveals important insights into the functioning of karst systems. Emphasizing the provisioning of ecosystem services is essential in supporting the concept that karst regions are vital for human well-being because they host valuable resources and fundamental ecosystem processes. The paper discusses how this framework helps address anthropogenic impacts and conservation issues on karst. Conclusions: The potential of applying a landscape approach to karst systems lies in developing models that provide ecological information relevant to understanding karst systems and understanding their implications for natural resources management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of the wetland ecosystem on arid and semi-arid areas is much higher than that in humid areas. It plays a more significant role in regulating climate, conserving water sources, purifying water bodies, and protecting biodiversity. The West Liao River Basin is located in a moderately temperate, semi-arid, and continental monsoon climatesensitive area, with a fragile ecological environment. Climate warming and drought have gradually caused dry-flow of some river sections in the basin, reduction in the water area, shrinking of wetlands, degradation of vegetation ecological function, and decline of biodiversity. Ultimately, the effect of ecological barriers is significantly weakened. The research of the temporal and spatial evolution of landscape patterns and their relationship with human activities in arid and semi-arid regions is of great significance for the protection and restoration of wetland resources. Based on Landsat remote sensing images in 1985 and 2015, the temporal and spatial evolution of landscape patterns in four key wetland areas in the West Liao River Basin was studied by 3S technology and landscape ecology indexes. Results show that during the 30a years, the wetland resources area in the West Liao River Basin is drastically reduced. Wetland resources of the four study areas, the Dalinor, the Saihanwula, the Hongshan Reservoir, and the West Liao River Estuary, were decreased by 13.80%, 31.06%, 61.10%, and 66.03%, respectively. The reduced wetland resources in the Dalinor and the Saihanwula were mainly converted into grassland, while those of the Hongshan Reservoir and the West Liao River Estuary were mostly converted into farmland. The diversity and evenness indexes of landscape in the Hongshan Reservoir and the West Liao River Estuary are gradually decreasing. The diversity and evenness indexes of the Dalinor and the Saihanwula are not significantly changed but are slightly disturbed by human activities. Changes in the landscape pattern index highlight the decrease in the water area, the increase in the area of dry and paddy fields, and the improvement of sandy land. All these further reflect that insufficient water resources supplementation and increasing human disturbance have a profound impact on the landscape pattern, which has also become the main driving force for the evolution of the landscape pattern in the West Liao River Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of landscape ecology and hydrology, the research in relationship between landscape pattern changes and hydrological process is pushed into a further level, and also to proposed a higher request to the development of related models. The SWAT-VRR model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool with Vegetation Runoff Regulation) is a distributed hydrological model to better show the effect of land use landscape change on hydrological processes. The Qihe watershed in Danjiangkou reservoir area was selected in a case study, and the applicability of SWAT-VRR was verified firstly, then set up two typical water-soil conservation scenario simulations to analyze the response to landscape pattern changes under SWAT-VRR. The results indicate that, the SWAT-VRR model achieved a notable improvement in monthly and daily hydrological simulation comparing to the SWAT model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) simulation during 2003 to 2006. Compared with the two land use scenarios, the 300 m forest riparian along the Qihe River can adjust the runoff more effectively than the area greater than 15° is forest, and show a strong stability in water-soil conservation effect during different rainfall. The SWAT-VRR provides a more accurate scientific basis to estimate landscape pattern change on stream flow.

Influenced by human activities, the largest freshwater lake in China, Poyang Lake is suffering from landscape degradation and increased ecological risks. However, the specific landscape ecological risk in Poyang Lake region remains unknown. The impact of land use change on landscape pattern and ecological risk around Poyang Lake has not been revealed. In order to analyze the spatio‐temporal distribution characteristics of landscape ecological risk in Poyang Lake region, this study constructed a landscape ecological risk index model based on GIS, geostatistics, and landscape ecology theory. The results show that: (a) all land use types in Poyang Lake region had been changed during the period 2010–2018. While large tracts of farmland and woodland were converted into construction land, farmland and woodland have seen the largest decrease and construction land has increased greatly. (b) On the whole, the low and medium‐low landscape ecological risk area accounted for about 60% of the total area, while high and medium‐high risk area increased during 2010–2018. The landscape ecological risk has seen a downward trend with increased low and medium‐low ecological risk areas during 2010–2018. Spatially, ecological risk in the core waters of Poyang Lake was higher, while in the surrounding waters was lower. (c) The landscape ecological risk in Poyang Lake Region in each period shown positive spatial correlation and tended to be spatially agglomerative. The high‐high risk clusters were mainly located in the core waters of the Lake area, while the low‐low risk clusters were mainly located far away from the core waters, including county and city areas. (d) In 2018, farmland, woodland, grassland, and unutilized land were dominated by medium and medium low risk, the landscape ecological risk in the water area was the highest, and that of construction land was the lowest. The decrease rate of ERI in water areas was the largest, indicating that the change of water area contributed the most to the reduction of landscape ecological risk. During the process of ecological risk management in Poyang Lake Region, attention should be paid to the changes of the water area's structure and quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of landscape ecology and hydrology, the research in relationship between landscape pattern changes and hydrological process is pushed into a further level, and also to proposed a higher request to the development of related models. The SWAT-VRR model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool with Vegetation Runoff Regulation) is a distributed hydrological model to better show the effect of land use landscape change on hydrological processes. The Qihe watershed in Danjiangkou reservoir area was selected in a case study, and the applicability of SWAT-VRR was verified firstly, then set up two typical water-soil conservation scenario simulations to analyze the response to landscape pattern changes under SWAT-VRR. The results indicate that, the SWAT-VRR model achieved a notable improvement in monthly and daily hydrological simulation comparing to the SWAT model (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) simulation during 2003 to 2006. Compared with the two land use scenarios, the 300 m forest riparian along the Qihe River can adjust the runoff more effectively than the area greater than 15° is forest, and show a strong stability in water-soil conservation effect during different rainfall. The SWAT-VRR provides a more accurate scientific basis to estimate landscape pattern change on stream flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in the landscape pattern can disturb legacy nitrogen (N) release by influencing hydrological and biogeochemical processes; thus, understanding the effects of landscape patterns on riverine N exports from legacy sources is critical for preparing water quality improvement strategies. In this study, an empirical statistical model that incorporates the net anthropogenic nitrogen input (NANI), runoff coefficient, and residential land area percentage was used to quantify the contribution of legacy sources to annual riverine ammonium nitrogen (NH4+–N), nitrate nitrogen (NO3−–N), and total nitrogen (TN) exports in eight adjacent agricultural catchments in subtropical southern China. The results indicated that annual riverine NH4+–N, NO3−–N, and TN exports from legacy sources ranged from 0.36–1.03, 3.09–4.89, and 3.94–6.79 kg ha−1 year−1, respectively, during the 2012–2017 period. Redundancy analysis (RDA) was used to analyze the interactions between legacy N release and landscape metrics at both the landscape and class levels. The RDA results suggested that higher dispersion, lower shape complexity, and greater heterogeneity in landscape patches can enhance the release of legacy N at the landscape level. In agricultural and residential areas, higher release of legacy N was associated with patches that are unfragmented and have a low shape complexity, whereas in woodland areas, the opposite was true. These analyses provide scientific support for preparing legacy N control strategies from the perspective of landscape ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on urban physical space and theory of landscape ecology, a triune assessment framework —'size-density-morphology'—was constructed in order to analyze the spatial pattern and the scale effect of urban resilience in Shenyang of China in 2015, and to explore the main impact factors of landscape under different spatial scale backgrounds. The results show that: 1) Urban resilience is an optimal combination of the resilience of size, density, and morphology. The urban resilience of Shenyang displays scale effect; the overall resilience level increases with the increase in scale, while the spatial difference and spatial similarity tend to decrease resilience. 2) As 2 km, 1 km and 2 km are scale inflection points of average value curves for size resilience, density resilience and morphology resilience, respectively in an urban setting; the optimal scale unit of comprehensive resilience is 1 km. Choosing 1 km–2 km as the basic spatial scale better depicts overall pattern and detailed characteristics of resilience in Shenyang. The spatial amplitudes of 0.5 km and 1 km are sensitive points for spatial autocorrelation of morphology and density resilience, size, and comprehensive resilience to scale effect. 3) The major landscape factors of urban size and morphology resilience transform with scale expansion. Aggregation index (AI) has a significant impact on urban resilience at different scales; its influence increases significantly with the increase in scale. 4) The high-level area of comprehensive resilience in Shenyang is the eastern ecological corridor area, while the low value area is the peripheral extension area of the city. To promote the overall level of resilience in Shenyang, this paper argues that the construction of ecological infrastructure should be strengthened in the peripheral extension area in a balanced manner. In the city center, population and building density should be controlled; the intensity of human activities should be reduced; impetus should be placed on landscape heterogeneity; and the homogeneous expansion of the area of construction should be prevented. In the eastern ecological corridors, the exploitation of ecosystem lands should be strictly controlled, and the integrity of the green landscape patches should be maintained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite there is a rich literature base that strives to characterize and understand the influencing factors of landscape ecology, the fact that we still know very little about the ecological impact in the road overlap areas. Taking the upstream area of the Minjiang River of Fujian Province in China, as a case, quantitative landscape metrics were employed to analyze the forest landscape fragmentation and degradation associated with road networks in five zones, including the whole landscape (WL), non-road effect zone (NREZ), road effect zone (REZ), mono-road effect zone (MONREZ) and multi-road effect zone (MULREZ). Our findings showed that 5.4% of the forest landscape within the REZ experienced changes from 2007 to 2015, while only 4.1% in the NREZ. Landscape metrics also identified more scattered habitats in the REZ than in the NREZ. As a result, these leaded to more severe forest landscape degradation in the REZ. Notably, the outcomes showed that the landscape pattern in the MULREZ has been more affected by road networks than the REZ and the MONREZ. Furthermore, the growing rate of landscape degradation from 2007 to 2015 in the REZ was about 1.2 times higher of the NREZ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Globalization and urbanization promote rapid development of countries and regions and rapid growth in the area of buildings, diversify ecological functional needs, and expand paucity in the utilization of land resources. It is greatly important to deal with problems and risks including unbalanced regional development, exhaustion of resources, decline in environmental quality, and frequent occurrence of natural disasters in the current territory optimization. The analysis of regional ecological characteristics and advancing and refining development needs based on construction standards of ecological civilization are proposed to enhance the comprehensive benefits of regional ecological services and socio- economic development. Landscape ecology involving analysis of the texture characteristics of surface space from the ecosystem perspective has a long- term effect on the scale, pattern, function, process, and linkage among them and is advantageous in systematically dealing with current problems of territory optimization at different spatial and temporal scales. The study integrates land and resources management under the background of global change from the perspective of landscape ecology and based on an understanding of ecological civilization construction. It raises the demands of the territory optimization in terms of the specific orientation of ecosystem services, efficient building area structures, suitable and diversified industrial development supports, and multi-level ecosystem services and safeguards. Based on studies on different spatial and temporal scales and landscape ecology in land space governance, the current territory optimization should focus on the following topics: (1) Identifying and unifying governance units at different spatial scales; (2) Defining and evaluating spatial variation of landscape functions; (3) Constructing landscape patterns based on ecological risk prevention; (4) Proposing an intensive and efficient plan for the coordinated development of urban and rural areas; (5) Investigating the framework of green development with multi- scale linkage; (6) Exploring multi-level and diverse ecological compensations. Additionally, the marine area included in the territory is less involved in current landscape ecological research. It should be supplemented in a follow- up study to maintain ecosystem services, improve landscape functions, and prevent ecological risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This study deepens the theory of landscape ecology based on topographic gradients. • Rising landscape shape indices are the most crucial cause of ecosystem degradation. • The impact is more significant in geographically disadvantaged areas. • The ecosystem health has recovered rapidly in Miaoling Mountains since 2010. Ecosystem health is an essential characterization of landscape pattern ecological effects, and refined analysis of the variability of landscape pattern changes on ecosystem health in mountainous areas is of great significance for the synergistic development of the mountainous Man-Earth systems. This study constructed a research framework for the ecological effects of landscape patterns based on the theory of landscape ecology and topographic gradient. Taking the Miaoling Mountains in China as an example, used spatial analysis techniques to analyze the process of landscape pattern changes from 2000 to 2020 and detected the response of ecosystem health to the changes in the landscape pattern by using rank correlation analysis. The study showed that: (1) The landscape pattern of the study area changed significantly during the study period, especially in the geographically disadvantaged areas, mainly showing an expansion of the landscape scale of the forestland and a shift of the landscape dominance of the farmland to the gently sloping lowland areas. (2) The ecosystem was at an average health level (mean ecosystem health index (EHI) = 0.58), and the EHI showed a "V" shape dynamic since 2000. (3) The changes in landscape patterns significantly impacted ecosystem health, and the effect varies considerably across topographic gradients, with the landscape shape index (LSI) and Shannon diversity index (SHDI) being the main factors influencing ecosystem health. This study emphasizes the importance of implementing regional and systemic landscape management strategies in the Miaoling Mountains according to local conditions and suggests four rational strategies, including zoning controls around the forestland and farmland. The study's results provide a valuable reference for defining key conservation areas and control indicators for regional ecological restoration in the Miaoling Mountains and for landscape management in mountainous regions worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landscape ecology is a new interdisciplinary subject which has developed rapidly in recent years, and it is a hot spot in the research of resources, environment and ecology. Based on the theoretical framework of ecology, landscape ecology is a comprehensive discipline that absorbs the essence of modern geography and system science, and studies ecological processes, spatial structure, pattern evolution and ecological and environmental effects of landscape units. The development course of landscape ecology in China is briefly introduced. By sorting out and summarizing the current situation and characteristics of landscape ecology research in China, the paper points out the existing problems and deficiencies of landscape ecology research in China, and looks forward to the key direction and development trend of future landscape ecology research in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The effects of urbanization on plant diversity have been increasingly investigated around the world, but our knowledge of the performances of urbanized landscape is still inadequate for suitable urban landscape planning and management. We asked: 1) what are the effects of urbanized landscape pattern on indigenous plant diversity, and 2) do these effects exhibit scale dependence? A total of 105 plots, distributed throughout the study area were chosen. Each plot was 10 m × 10 m. Alpha-diversity, and beta-diversity of species taxonomic composition across plots was calculated. Four groups of landscape metrics (complexity, fragmentation, diversity, and urbanization intensity) were measured for each plot. Ten scales, ranging from 100 m to 1000 m and with increasing steps of 100 m, were used as spatial scales. Pearson's correlation analyses were used to detect relationships between the indigenous plant diversity along the urbanization gradient and the ten landscape metrics. Shannon's Diversity Index (SDI), Shannon's Evenness Index (SEI), Edge Density (ED), and Landscape Shape Index (LSI) were highly and positively correlated with alpha and beta plant diversity, whereas Largest Patch Index (LPI) were negatively correlated with plant diversity. Such correlations became stronger at higher spatial scales, and the highest at 600–700 m. The intensity of urbanization increased the values of ED and LPI in urbanized landscape and negatively influenced plant diversity. The correlations were influenced by the spatial extent. The study offers some guidelines on landscape pattern, including patch size, shape, and its configuration, in managing urban areas optimally to support plant diversity and wildlife. Landscape unit with diverse land uses with a radius of 600–700 m for Beijing, and other specific radius for other cities in the world are proposed as the most suitable landscape pattern for preserving indigenous plant diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landscape pattern analysis is a popular topic in global change research, and appropriate grain size is the basis for accurate landscape pattern analyses. In this study, methods based on landscape metrics and spatial autocorrelation are used to determine the optimal grain size of the study area. Based on a grain size of 20 m, the landscape pattern of the core of the Zhengzhou and Kaifeng integration area was analyzed at class and landscape levels from 2005-15. The results show that over the study period, the landscape fragmentation of the study area increased by approximately 32.38%, the distribution of landscape types was homogenized gradually, and human impact was the main reason for the changes in landscape pattern. Additionally, cultivated land was the predominant landscape type, and the area percentage of cultivated land decreased from 79.01% to 60.01%. The patch number and total area of forests increased, the percentage of construction land increased by approximately 1.5 times, and the area and patch number of unused land gradually decreased. This research provides useful information for land use policy-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An archipelago is a unique geographic complex with distinct vulnerability to disturbances in coastal areas. The natural features, increasing human activities and their spatial heterogeneities in the archipelago result in complex landscape patterns and ecological effects, which makes the archipelago natural laboratory for landscape ecology study in multiple scales. The particular spatial scales of landscape, island and grid were followed to reveal the comprehensive status, influencing factors and ecological effects of archipelagic landscape patterns, and the Miaodao Archipelago in North China was selected as the study area. Landscape pattern indices (LPIs) in different scales were analysed based on field investigation and geographic information system. Ecological response indicators (ERIs) responding to archipelagic landscape patterns were identified and the relationships between LPIs and ERIs, including land surface temperature (LST), net primary productivity (NPP), plant diversity and soil property, were discussed. Results indicated that plantation, grassland and building land occupied the largest areas in the landscape scale and ERIs significantly differed among different landscape types. In the island scale, some of LPIs regularly changed with the changes in island area, distance to the mainland, population and GDP, yet ERIs were generally insensitive to landscape pattern. In the grid scale, LPIs showed distinct spatial heterogeneities and were affected by altitude and slope; LST, NPP and soil fertility were affected by landscape types, fragmentation, edge effect and shape complexity, whereas plant diversity and soil moisture were mainly influenced by landscape types. The landscape patterns exhibited specific characteristics in different scales, and their ecological effects were closely related to the scales. Island area, distance to the mainland, terrain and human activity were fundamental, the most relevant, limiting and main driving factors of archipelagic landscape patterns, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]