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Spatial and temporal differences in the response of water conservation and soil conservation to ecosystem fragmentation: evidence from Qilian Mountain National Park of China

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Abstract

Using spatial autocorrelation methods, we explored the spatial and temporal differences in the response of soil conservation (SC) and water conservation (WC) to ecosystem fragmentation during 1990 to 2019 in Qilian Mountain National Park (QMNP) of China. We found that the degree of ecosystem fragmentation decreased over the past 30 years, improving the WC and SC capacity of the ecosystems. However, the relationship among them varied temporally and exhibited a variety of spatial patterns. The correlation between fragmentation and WC increases year by year, and the correlation with SC weakens. There is a mismatch between park-level and regional autocorrelation between fragmentation and WC and SC. The spatial relationships between fragmentation and WC and SC in the QMNP show “high-high” and “low-low” patterns in its eastern and western sections, respectively. This heterogeneity is related to the differences in ecosystem composition, especially in ecosystem WC and SC capacity, and the characteristics of ecosystem fragmentation in the east–west direction of the QMNP.

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The data used in the manuscript may be available upon reasonable request.

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Funding

This work was financially supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2019YFC0507402).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, China

    Xiang Gao, Ruiyang Wen, Shuhang Chang, Jie Li & An Yan

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  1. Xiang Gao
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  2. Ruiyang Wen
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  3. Shuhang Chang
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  4. Jie Li
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  5. An Yan
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Contributions

Conceptualization, X.G.; methodology, X.G., R.W. (Ruiyang Wen) and S.C. (Shuhang Chang); formal analysis, X.G., R.W., J.L., and A.Y.; writing—original draft preparation, X.G., R.W., J.L. and A.Y.; writing—review and editing, X.G., R.W., S.C., J.L., and A.Y.; supervision, X.G.; funding acquisition, X.G.

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Correspondence to Xiang Gao.

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Gao, X., Wen, R., Chang, S. et al. Spatial and temporal differences in the response of water conservation and soil conservation to ecosystem fragmentation: evidence from Qilian Mountain National Park of China. Environ Monit Assess 195, 904 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-023-11538-6

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