{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,5]],"date-time":"2026-06-05T03:49:28Z","timestamp":1780631368162,"version":"3.54.1"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,22]],"date-time":"2022-01-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1642809600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["41961004"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["41961004"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The scientific identification of key areas for regional ecological protection represents an important basis for maintaining regional ecological stability and enhancing regional development. It is also a developing methodology of landscape ecology (LE) research. The strategic ecological protection and integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region is of critical significance for promoting the construction of ecological civilization in the watershed and improving societal health. Here, we analyze Anhui Province and select important ecosystem service functions (biodiversity, carbon fixation, soil conservation function, and water retention) in the study area. We construct a spatial pattern of ecosystem services for multiple scenarios based on the multi-criteria decision-making method ordered weighted averaging (OWA), calculate the trade-off degree and conservation efficiency of each scenario, identify ecological priority conservation areas, use circuit theory to explore ecological corridors and key areas and to construct regional ecological corridors, and identify regional pinch points and barrier points which may impede the construction of regional ecological security patterns. The study area is divided into an ecological protection zone, ecological buffer zone, ecological transition zone, ecological optimization zone, and ecological governance zone. Our results show that: (1) the four types of ecosystems in the study area have similar spatial distribution patterns, with an overall spatial characteristic of \u201chigh in the southwest and low in the northeast\u201d; (2) the four types of ecosystem services in the study area show synergistic relationships at the provincial scale, but in areas with different natural and geographical characteristics, there are both synergistic and trade-off relationships between different ecosystem services; (3) a total of 121 ecological source sites were identified in the study area based on multi-criteria decision making which cover an area of 43,222.26 km2, accounting for 30.87% of the total area of the study area; and (4) a total of 250 ecological corridors, 54 pinch points, and 24 barrier points were identified in the study area based on circuit theory. Our results may provide decision support for ecological restoration and land use structure optimization in Anhui Province and other regions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/rs14030527","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,23]],"date-time":"2022-01-23T20:34:40Z","timestamp":1642970080000},"page":"527","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":62,"title":["Construction of Regional Ecological Security Patterns Based on Multi-Criteria Decision Making and Circuit Theory"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"14","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2912-9273","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Haoran","family":"Yu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Wetland and Watershed Research, School of Geography and Environment, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China"},{"name":"School of Landscape Architecture, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, China"},{"name":"School of Architecture and Planning, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei 230022, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0563-2395","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Xinchen","family":"Gu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Wetland and Watershed Research, School of Geography and Environment, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China"},{"name":"State Key Laboratory of Hydraulic Engineering Simulation and Safety, School of Civil Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Guihua","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Wetland and Watershed Research, School of Geography and Environment, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xin","family":"Fan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Public Administration, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan 430074, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qi","family":"Zhao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hydrology Bureau of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Urumqi 830099, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qiang","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Architecture and Planning, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei 230022, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1305","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0808772106","article-title":"Science for managing ecosystem services: Beyond the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment","volume":"106","author":"Carpenter","year":"2009","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Program, M.E.A. (2005). Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Wetlands and Water Synthesis: A Report of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, World Resources Institute."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"269","DOI":"10.1007\/s12665-012-2125-x","article-title":"Cellular automata-based model for developing land use ecological security patterns in semi-arid areas: A case study of Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China","volume":"70","author":"Mao","year":"2013","journal-title":"Environ. Earth Sci."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.1007\/BF02275261","article-title":"Creating landscape patterns by forest cutting: Ecological consequences and principles","volume":"1","author":"Franklin","year":"1987","journal-title":"Landsc. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"35","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ufug.2016.06.013","article-title":"Modeling the optimal ecological security pattern for guiding the urban constructed land expansions","volume":"19","author":"Su","year":"2016","journal-title":"Urban For. Urban Green."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1016\/S0169-2046(96)00331-3","article-title":"Security patterns and surface model in landscape ecological planning","volume":"36","author":"Yu","year":"1996","journal-title":"Landsc. Urban Plan."},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Li, J., Xu, J., and Chu, J. (2019). The Construction of a Regional Ecological Security Pattern Based on Circuit Theory. Sustainability, 11.","DOI":"10.3390\/su11226343"},{"key":"ref_8","first-page":"116","article-title":"Hydrological process simulation of Manas River Basin based on CMADS and SWAT model","volume":"32","author":"Gu","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Water Resour. Water Eng."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.1016\/j.chnaes.2016.12.002","article-title":"Urban ecological corridors construction: A review","volume":"37","author":"Peng","year":"2017","journal-title":"Acta Ecol. Sin."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"140051","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2020.140051","article-title":"Can the establishment of ecological security patterns improve ecological protection? An example of Nanchang, China","volume":"740","author":"Wang","year":"2020","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_11","first-page":"4019","article-title":"Development of ecological control boundaries in Nanjing metropolis district based on ecological security patterns","volume":"37","author":"Xu","year":"2017","journal-title":"Acta Ecol. Sin."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2003","DOI":"10.1080\/01431160500127450","article-title":"Land cover pattern optimization for local ecological security using remotely sensed data","volume":"27","author":"Chen","year":"2006","journal-title":"Int. J. Remote Sens."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Su, X., Zhou, Y., and Li, Q. (2021). Designing Ecological Security Patterns Based on the Framework of Ecological Quality and Ecological Sensitivity: A Case Study of Jianghan Plain, China. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 18.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18168383"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Guo, R., Wu, T., Liu, M., Huang, M., Stendardo, L., and Zhang, Y. (2019). The Construction and Optimization of Ecological Security Pattern in the Harbin-Changchun Urban Agglomeration, China. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 16.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph16071190"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"305","DOI":"10.1016\/S0169-2046(03)00163-4","article-title":"European ecological networks and greenways","volume":"68","author":"Jongman","year":"2004","journal-title":"Landsc. Urban Plan."},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"259","DOI":"10.1038\/nature04927","article-title":"Ecological networks and their fragility","volume":"442","author":"Montoya","year":"2006","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2039","DOI":"10.1098\/rspb.2001.1767","article-title":"Complexity and fragility in ecological networks","volume":"268","author":"Sole","year":"2001","journal-title":"Proc. R. Soc. B-Biol. Sci."},{"key":"ref_18","first-page":"1111","article-title":"Landscape Ecological Security Pattern in Central Guizhou Urban Agglomeration","volume":"35","author":"Wang","year":"2019","journal-title":"J. Ecol. Rural Environ."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Han, Y., Yu, C., Feng, Z., Du, H., Huang, C., and Wu, K. (2021). Construction and Optimization of Ecological Security Pattern Based on Spatial Syntax Classification-Taking Ningbo, China, as an Example. Land, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/land10040380"},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"946","DOI":"10.1515\/geo-2020-0127","article-title":"Hydrological process simulation in Manas River Basin using CMADS","volume":"12","author":"Gu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Open Geosci."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"110","DOI":"10.1016\/j.habitatint.2017.11.010","article-title":"Linking ecological degradation risk to identify ecological security patterns in a rapidly urbanizing landscape","volume":"71","author":"Peng","year":"2018","journal-title":"Habitat Int."},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Miao, Z., Pan, L., Wang, Q., Chen, P., Yan, C., and Liu, L. (2019). Research on Urban Ecological Network Under the Threat of Road Networks\u2014A Case Study of Wuhan. ISPRS Int. J. Geo-Inf., 8.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijgi8080342"},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"132","DOI":"10.1080\/20964129.2018.1474721","article-title":"Ecosystem service of green infrastructure for adaptation to urban growth: Function and configuration","volume":"4","author":"Wang","year":"2018","journal-title":"Ecosyst. Health Sustain."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"781","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2018.06.292","article-title":"Linking ecosystem services and circuit theory to identify ecological security patterns","volume":"644","author":"Peng","year":"2018","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2007","DOI":"10.1007\/s10980-021-01200-2","article-title":"Understanding the importance of landscape configuration on ecosystem service bundles at a high resolution in urban landscapes in the UK","volume":"36","author":"Karimi","year":"2021","journal-title":"Landsc. Ecol."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"100939","DOI":"10.1016\/j.ecoser.2019.100939","article-title":"Ecosystem service synergies\/trade-offs informing the supply-demand match of ecosystem services: Framework and application","volume":"37","author":"Wang","year":"2019","journal-title":"Ecosyst. Serv."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"263","DOI":"10.1016\/j.gloenvcha.2014.07.005","article-title":"Creating win-wins from trade-offs? Ecosystem services for human well-being: A meta-analysis of ecosystem service trade-offs and synergies in the real world","volume":"28","author":"Howe","year":"2014","journal-title":"Glob. Environ. Chang."},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2949","DOI":"10.1007\/s10531-009-9715-2","article-title":"Provision of ecosystem services by large scale corridors and ecological networks","volume":"19","author":"Samways","year":"2010","journal-title":"Biodivers. Conserv."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Gu, X., Long, A., Liu, G., Yu, J., Wang, H., Yang, Y., and Zhang, P. (2021). Changes in Ecosystem Service Value in the 1 km Lakeshore Zone of Poyang Lake from 1980 to 2020. Land, 10.","DOI":"10.3390\/land10090951"},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"135","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jnc.2006.05.005","article-title":"Ecological restoration: A new frontier for nature conservation and economics","volume":"14","author":"Aronson","year":"2006","journal-title":"J. Nat. Conserv."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"19885","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0706568104","article-title":"Circuit theory predicts gene flow in plant and animal populations","volume":"104","author":"McRae","year":"2007","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref_32","first-page":"2980","article-title":"Optimization of ecological red line in the hilly region of Southern China based on In VEST and MCR model","volume":"36","author":"Li","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Nat. Resour."},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"279","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envsci.2021.06.023","article-title":"Achieving national scale targets for carbon sequestration through afforestation: Geospatial assessment of feasibility and policy implications","volume":"124","author":"Burke","year":"2021","journal-title":"Environ. Sci. Policy"},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"148458","DOI":"10.1016\/j.scitotenv.2021.148458","article-title":"Effects of human-induced land degradation on water and carbon fluxes in two different Brazilian dryland soil covers","volume":"792","author":"Santos","year":"2021","journal-title":"Sci. Total Environ."},{"key":"ref_35","first-page":"402","article-title":"Analysis of net primary productivity of terrestrial vegetation on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, based on MODIS remote sensing data","volume":"42","author":"Chen","year":"2012","journal-title":"Sci. Sin. Terrae"},{"key":"ref_36","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"49","DOI":"10.1002\/(SICI)1098-111X(199601)11:1<49::AID-INT3>3.0.CO;2-Z","article-title":"Quantifier guided aggregation using OWA operators","volume":"11","author":"Yager","year":"1998","journal-title":"Int. J. Intell. Syst."},{"key":"ref_37","first-page":"3188","article-title":"Suitability assessment for building land consolidation on gentle hillside based on OWA operator: A case in Dali Bai Nationality Borough in Yunnan, China","volume":"34","author":"Liu","year":"2014","journal-title":"Acta Ecol. Sin."},{"key":"ref_38","first-page":"546","article-title":"Ecological security pattern construction based on multi-scenario trade-off of ecosystem services: A case study of Wafangdian, Dalian","volume":"35","author":"Zhao","year":"2020","journal-title":"J. Nat. Resour."},{"key":"ref_39","first-page":"4363","article-title":"Structure optimization of circuit theory-based green infrastructure in Nanjing, China","volume":"38","author":"Liu","year":"2018","journal-title":"Acta Ecol. Sin."},{"key":"ref_40","first-page":"1","article-title":"Progress in Research on Regional Ecological Security Pattern Optimization","volume":"48","author":"Yue","year":"2017","journal-title":"Trans. Chin. Soc. Agric. Mach."},{"key":"ref_41","first-page":"5465","article-title":"Multi-scale representation of trade-offs and synergistic relationship among ecosystem services in Qinling-Daba Mountains","volume":"40","author":"Yu","year":"2020","journal-title":"Acta Ecol. Sin."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhang, W. (2021). Dilemma of Multisubject Co-Governance of Global Marine Ecological Environment and Implementation Path. Sustainability, 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/su132011145"},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"217","DOI":"10.1017\/amp.2021.18","article-title":"Toward a Global Pact for the Environment","volume":"114","author":"Aguila","year":"2020","journal-title":"Proc. ASIL Annu. Meet."},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1080\/20964129.2020.1743206","article-title":"A conceptual framework for ex ante valuation of ecosystem services of brownfield greening from a systematic perspective","volume":"6","author":"Zhong","year":"2020","journal-title":"Ecosyst. Health Sustain."},{"key":"ref_45","first-page":"8","article-title":"Environmental Pollution and Intergovernmental Tax Competition in China: Based on Spatial Panel Data Model","volume":"23","author":"Liu","year":"2013","journal-title":"China Popui Ation Resour. Environ."},{"key":"ref_46","unstructured":"Zhang, Z., Lu, R., Wu, S., Jia, Z., and Wang, N. (2022). Heavy Metal Pollution and Health Risk Assessment of Mine Soil in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Environ. Sci., 1\u201315."},{"key":"ref_47","unstructured":"Tan, S., Liu, Y., Zhu, X., Liu, H., Shao, J., and Deng, H. (2022). Output characteristics and driving mechanism of agricultural non-point source (AGNPS) pollutant in plain and valley region of upper Yangtze River, China. Environ. Sci., 1\u201317."},{"key":"ref_48","first-page":"9","article-title":"The Impact of Urban Issues on Loss of Urban Economic Efficiency","volume":"36","author":"Sun","year":"2015","journal-title":"Res. Econ. Manag."},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"105964","DOI":"10.1016\/j.landusepol.2021.105964","article-title":"Urbanization and ecosystem services: The multi-scale spatial spillover effects and spatial variations","volume":"114","author":"Chen","year":"2022","journal-title":"Land Use Policy"},{"key":"ref_50","first-page":"191","article-title":"Spatial Structure and Space Governance of Ecological Network in Wuhan City","volume":"38","author":"Zheng","year":"2018","journal-title":"Econ. Geogr."},{"key":"ref_51","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chen, W. (2022). A multi-scale assessment of ecosystem health based on the Pressure-State-Response framework: A case in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River Urban Agglomerations, China. Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res.","DOI":"10.1007\/s11356-021-17768-w"}],"container-title":["Remote Sensing"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/14\/3\/527\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T22:06:05Z","timestamp":1760133965000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/2072-4292\/14\/3\/527"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,22]]},"references-count":51,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,2]]}},"alternative-id":["rs14030527"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/rs14030527","relation":{},"ISSN":["2072-4292"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2072-4292","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2022,1,22]]}}}