Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Ecological security pattern and spatial variation in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (Chongqing Section), China

  • Published:
Environment, Development and Sustainability Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Scientists have paid attention to the evaluation of the ecological security for maintaining sustainable ecological development, yet the performance of the existing frameworks could be improved for tackling the challenges in the evaluation. In this study, the grid cells were used as evaluation units to overcome the boundaries of previous administrative units. The classic pressure–state–response framework was employed to devise the ecological security index. The framework was applied to evaluate the ecological security of the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (Chongqing Section). Results show that spatial differences in overall ecological security were significant, and they gradually decrease from east to west. The state factors have the greatest effect on ecological security in the study area, followed by pressure factors. The areas of various grades in descending order were marginally secure, relatively secure, relatively insecure, secure, and insecure, accounting for 49.82%, 33.17%, 9.45%, 6.14%, and 1.42%, respectively. The various ecological security grades showed significant spatial variation characteristics in land use, elevation, slope, and population density. The global Moran’s I index for regional ecological security was 0.80. The regional ecological security shows a strong spatial correlation and exhibits continuity and an agglomeration effect. Ultimately, the outcome of the study provides a better understanding of ecological security in Three Gorges Reservoir Area that is helpful for policymakers in developing measures for eco-environmental management.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The data can be obtained by contacting the corresponding author.

References

  • Anselin, L. (1995). Local indicators of spatial association-LISA. Geographical Analysis, 27, 93–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cai, F. F., Pu, L. J., Zhang, J., Zhao, Y., & Zhu, M. (2012). Identification of spatial economic structure in Jiangsu province by applying exploratory spatial data statistics. Economic Geography, 32(3), 22–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, D., Lan, Z., & Li, W. (2019). Construction of land ecological security in Guangdong Province from the perspective of ecological demand. Journal of Ecology and Rural Environment, 35(7), 826–835.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Y. G. (2009). Reconstructing the mathematical process of spatial autocorrelation based on Moran’s statistics. Geographical Research, 28(6), 1449–1463.

    Google Scholar 

  • Das, M., & Das, A. (2019a). Dynamics of urbanization and its impact on urban ecosystem services (UESs): A study of a medium size town of West Bengal, Eastern India. Journal of Urban Management, 8(3), 420–434.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Das, M., & Das, A. (2019). Estimation of ecosystem services (EESs) loss due to transformation of Local climatic zones (LCZs) in Sriniketan-santiniketan planning area (SSPA)West Bengal, India. Sustainable Cities and Society, 47, 101474.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Das, M., Das, A., & Mandal, A. (2020). Research note: Ecosystem health (EH) assessment of a rapidly urbanizing metropolitan city region of eastern India–A study on Kolkata Metropolitan Area. Landscape and Urban Planning, 204, 103938.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esrey, S. A. (2001). Towards a recycling society: Ecological sanitation–closing the loop to food security. Water Science and Technology, 43(4), 177–187.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fang, C., Cui, X., Li, G., Bao, C., Wang, Z., & Ma, H. (2019). Modeling regional sustainable development scenarios using the urbanization and eco-environment coupler: Case study of Beijing Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration, China. Science of the Total Environment, 689, 820–830.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gan, C. H., Li, Y. B., & Chen, M. M. (2015). Man-land relationship of Fengjie county in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area based on coupling comparison of sloping cultivated lands and settlements. Geographical Research, 34(7), 1259–1269.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hammond, A., Adriaanse, A., Rodenburg, E., Bryant, D., & Woodward, R. (1995). Environmental indicators: A systematic approach to measuring and reporting on environmental policy performance in the context of sustainable development. World Resources Institute.

  • Jin, X. D., & Chen, Y. (2018). The evaluation of land ecological safety of Chengchao iron mine based on PSR and MEM. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 111, 012006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jin, X.X., Wei, L.Y., Wang, Y., & Lu, Y.Q. (2020). Construction of ecological security pattern based on the importance of ecosystem service functions and ecological sensitivity assessment: A case study in Fengxian County of Jiangsu Province, China. Environment, Development and Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-020-00596-2.

  • Kang, P., Chen, W. P., Hou, Y., & Li, Y. Z. (2018). Linking ecosystem services and ecosystem health to ecological risk assessment: A case study of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration. Science of the Total Environment, 636, 1442–1454.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li, C., Zhang, X., Xu, Y., Wang, X., Hao, F. H., & Yu, J.S. (2021). Study on ecological security under the influence of human activities in the ecological barrier zone in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. China Environmental Science, https://doi.org/10.19674/j.cnki.issn1000-6923.20210331.007.

  • Li, J. C., & Yuan, W. H. (2017). Assessment of urban land ecological security in Yinchuan city based on the grid method. Journal of Natural Resources, 32(6), 988–1001.

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, Y. C., Liu, C. X., Zhao, C. Y., & Huang, J. H. (2008). Spatiotemporal features of soil and water loss in the Three Gorges Reservoir area of Chongqing. Acta Geographica Sinica, 63(5), 502–513.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liao, L. W., & Qin, J. X. (2016). Ecological security of wetland in Chang-Zhu-Tan urban agglomeration. Journal of Geo-Information Science, 18(9), 1217–1226.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, H., Wang, H., & Zhang, X. W. (2006). Research review on ecological security assessment. Chinese Journal of Ecology, 25(1), 74–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ma, S. W., Xie, D. T., Zhang, X. C., Peng, Z. T., Hong, H. K., Luo, Z., et al. (2017). Measures of land ecological security early warning and its spatial-temporal evolution in the ecologically sensitive area of the Three Gorges reservoir area: A case study of Wanzhou District, Chongqing City. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 37(24), 8227–8240.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peng, J., Liu, Y. X., Wu, J. S., Lv, H. L., & Hu, X. X. (2015). Linking ecosystem services and landscape patterns to assess urban ecosystem health: A case study in Shenzhen City, China. Landscape and Urban Planning, 143, 56–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peng, J., Wu, J. S., Pan, Y. Q., & Han, Y. N. (2012). Evaluation for regional ecological sustainability based on PSR model: Conceptual framework. Progress in Geography, 31(7), 933–940.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peng, W. J., & Shu, Y. G. (2018). Analysis of landscape ecological security and cultivated land evolution in the Karst mountain area. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 38(3), 852–865.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peng, J., Zhao, H. J., Liu, Y. X., & Wu, J. S. (2017). Research progress and prospect on regional ecological security pattern construction. Geographical Research, 36(3), 5–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Plieninger, T., Kizos, T., Bieling, C., Dû-Blayo, L. L., Budniok, M. A., Bürgi, M., et al. (2015). Exploring ecosystem change and society through a landscape lens: Recent progress in European landscape research. Ecology and Society, 20(2), 60–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smeets, E., & Weterings, R. (1999). Environmental indicators: typology and overview. Europe: European Environment Agency.

  • United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs. (2007). Indicators of Sustainable Development : Guidelines and Methodologies Indicators of Sustainable Development. New York Third Edit, 1–99.

  • Wang, D., Chen, J., Zhang, L., Sun, Z., Wang, X., Zhang, X., & Zhang, W. (2019). Establishing an ecological security pattern for urban agglomeration, taking ecosystem services and human interference factors into consideration. PeerJ, 7, e7306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wei, X. P. (2010). Ecological safety evaluation of Three Gorges Reservoir Area in Chongqing with pressure-state-response model. Progress in Geography, 29(9), 1095–1099.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xie, H. L. (2008). Regional eco-risk analysis of based on landscape structure and spatial statistics. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 28(10), 5020–5026.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xie, Y. C., Gong, J., & Zhang, L. L. (2015). Dynamics of landscape ecological security based on PSR model in the Bailongjiang River Watershed. Scientia Geographica Sinica, 35(6), 790–797.

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu, Y., Yang, F., & Yan, C. Z. (2020). Ecological health assessment of urban wetland in Xiong’an based on landscape pattern. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 40(20), 7132–7142.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yan, E. P., Lin, H., & Wang, G. X. (2014). Analysis of evolution and driving force of ecosystem service values in the Three Gorges Reservoir region during 1990–2011. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 34(20), 5962–5973.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang, Z. Q., Lu, Z. H., Liu, D., Yuan, M. Y., Wang, F., Rong, Z. Y., & Huang, Y. K. (2021). Ecological security evaluation on the coal resource-based city: a case study of Xilinhot City. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 41(1).

  • Ye, X., Zou, C. X., Liu, G. H., Lin, N. F., & Xu, M. J. (2018). Main research contents and advances in the ecological security pattern. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 38(10), 3382–3392.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeng, X. G., Lai, G. Y., & Yi, F. Z. (2013). A study on population data spatialization of small river basin based on GIS: Take Meijiang river basin as the example. Geography and Geo-Information Science, 29(6), 40–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zha, X., Huang, S. Y., & Chen, S. F. (2010). Relationship between erosion of degenerated red soil and terrain slope and aspect: a GIS-based research. Journal of Natural Disasters, 19(2), 32–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, J. Y., Su, W. C., & Zhang, F. T. (2011). Regional land ecological security evaluation in the case of Chongqing Three Gorges Reservoir ecological economy area ba-sed on the PSR model. Chinese Environmental Science, 31(6), 1039–1044.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu, W. H., Miao, C. Y., Zheng, X. J., Cao, G. L., & Wang, F. F. (2014). Study on ecological safety evaluation and warning of wetlands in Tumen River watershed based on 3S technology. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 34(6), 1379–1390.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zuo, W., Wang, Q., Wang, W. J., Liu, J. J., & Yang, Y. P. (2002). Study on regional ecological security assessment index and standard. Geography and Territorial Research, 18(1), 67–71.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing (Grant No. cstc2019jcyj-msxmX0290), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central University (Grant No. SWU021003) and the National Social Science Fund of China (Grant No. 19XGL027). The authors wish to thank anonymous reviewers and members of the editorial team for their constructive comments and suggestions.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography and Tourism, Chongqing Key Laboratory of GIS Application, Chongqing Normal University, 37 Daxuechengzhong Road, Shapingba District, Chongqing, 401331, China

    Chunxia Liu

  2. Key Laboratory of Monitoring, Evaluation and Early Warning of Territorial Spatial Planning Implementation, Ministry of Natural Resources, Chongqing, 401147, China

    Chunxia Liu & Yuechen Li

  3. Chongqing Jinfo Mountain Karst Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, Chongqing Engineering Research Center for Remote Sensing Big Data Application, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China

    Yuechen Li

  4. Chongqing Planning & Design Institute, Chongqing, 401147, China

    Chaoxia Wang

Authors
  1. Chunxia Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chaoxia Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yuechen Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yuechen Li.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Liu, C., Wang, C. & Li, Y. Ecological security pattern and spatial variation in the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (Chongqing Section), China. Environ Dev Sustain 25, 2368–2386 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02147-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-022-02147-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation