Towards an integrated approach for land spatial ecological restoration zoning based on ecosystem health assessment

Mitigating ecosystem degradation has been a worldwide strategy, and China has been implementing land spatial ecological restoration for an all-around ecological preservation in recent years. A comprehensive diagnosis of the ecosystem health status and an effective division of spatial zoning are essential to formulating and implementing ecological restoration strategies at the regional scale. Here, the ecosystem health index (EHI) was computed for the years 2010 and 2020 using the vigor-organization-resilience model. Then, a three-step statistic-based, spatial continuity-based, and practice-based (SSP) zoning framework was developed to classify land spatial ecological restoration zones with the consideration of ecosystem health status, spatial relation, and local practices. We applied the integrated zoning approach using the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of Yangtze River (UAMRYR) in China as the study area. The results showed that: (1) the EHI had a slight decreasing trend from 2010 to 2020, with a spatial distribution pattern of healthy, unhealthy, and to healthy from the center to the periphery in the UAMRYR. (2) Eight land spatial ecological restoration zones were designated and adjusted through the SSP zoning framwork to be space-full and practical. Zone VIII accounted for the largest proportion (41.12%), followed by the Zone Ⅰ (21.57%). (3) Finally, corresponding land spatial ecological restoration strategies were proposed for each zone. This study contributes to land spatial ecological restoration zoning and differentiated restoration strategies in the UAMRYR, shedding light on restoration regulation and Sustainable Development Goals achievement in China and global regions with complicated environmental problems.