Identifying ecological corridors for the Chinese ecological conservation redline

PLoS One. 2022 Jul 8;17(7):e0271076. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0271076. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Due to the fragmentation of protected areas (PA), it is important to build ecological corridors in order to connect scattered PA and form protection networks for biodiversity conservation. We take the Chinese ecological conservation redline (ECR) as an example to study the construction of ecological corridors. China has defined ECR to improve the system of PA in key ecological functional zones, nature reserves, and areas of sensitive and fragile ecological environment. In this study, 187 core areas of ECR were identified using ArcGIS masking and dissolving technology to build corridors, covering 95% of the total ECR areas. Using the Linkage Mapper tool and the Pinchpoint Mapper, we identified 454 ecological corridors 68,794 km long. The results of the line density analysis showed that there are 9 key regional biological corridors connected to the ECR at the national scale, which must focus on protecting and strengthening ecological construction during the implementation of ecological conservation redline policy. Our study will provide references for developing a regional pattern of ecological security, territorial spatial planning, and will promote the implementation of biodiversity conservation policies.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Biodiversity
  • China
  • Conservation of Natural Resources*
  • Ecology*
  • Ecosystem

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program Projects (Grant No. 2021YFB3901104). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.