An integrated approach to constructing ecological security patterns and identifying ecological restoration and protection areas: A case study of Jingmen, China

As urbanization continues, ecosystem stability faces serious challenges. Ecological security patterns have become a main tool with which the contradictions between economic development and ecological security can be alleviated and even solved. In this study, ecological patches were identified based on ecosystem services, and ecological corridors were derived using a minimum cumulative resistance model. We analyzed the importance and connectivity of ecological corridors using a gravity model and the probability of connectivity index and identified key restoration and protection areas. The results show that (1) 72 ecological patches were identified in Jingmen, and important patches were distributed in the western mountainous areas of Jingmen. (2) The corridor connectivity in Jingmen needs to be improved. The 71 ecological corridors with the lowest cumulative resistance were identified; these corridors were mainly concentrated in mountainous areas, forest parks, and wetland parks. We suggested 100–200 m as the ecological corridor width in Jingmen, as this width could balance the economic development, ecological conservation, and food security priorities. We identified 15 priority protection areas and 11 priority restoration areas that urgently require reasonable ecological restoration in Jingmen. This construction of an ecological security pattern in Jingmen provides a scientific reference for urban ecological planning and urban spatial layout planning and achieves a win–win situation in which both smart urban growth and ecological protection can be realized.