To explore the effectiveness of various ecological security pattern construction methods in many growth situations in the future: A case study of the West Liaohe River Basin in Inner Mongolia

The Ecological Security Pattern (ESP) has emerged as a prominent area of focus in global ecosystem research, offering valuable scientific insights for reconciling ecological preservation with economic progress. Understanding the differences among different approaches to constructing ESP serves as a fundamental step in ensuring its efficacy. However, there has been a scarcity of studies that quantitatively assess the disparities in the effectiveness of various ESP construction methods. This study focuses on the West Liaohe River Basin as its research subject. Leveraging remote sensing data alongside county-level statistical information, the study employs three distinct ecological source identification methodologies to establish ESP frameworks. Subsequently, it analyzes the discrepancies in ecological protection outcomes across different ESP construction methods under varying future development scenarios. The findings reveal that the ESP centered around ecosystem services emerges as particularly suited for diverse development scenarios, consistently yielding optimal ecological protection outcomes. Our research not only furnishes a theoretical foundation and practical guidance for ESP development in the West Liaohe River Basin but also offers methodological insights transferrable to other regions.