Identification and classification of ecological restoration areas in the territorial land space of the Qaidam Basin, China

doi:10.1007/s40333-025-0089-4

Journal of Arid Land

2025, Vol. 17

Issue (10): 1402-1424 DOI: 10.1007/s40333-025-0089-4 CSTR: 32276.14.JAL.02500894

Research article

Identification and classification of ecological restoration areas in the territorial land space of the Qaidam Basin, China

CHENG Lanhua¹, YANG Xianming¹^,²^,³^,^*(

), PAN Xumei⁴, AN Jingfeng¹

¹College of Geographical Sciences, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810016, China
²Key Laboratory of Tibetan Plateau Land Surface Processes and Ecological Conservation (Ministry of Education), Xining 810016, China
³Academy of Plateau Science and Sustainability, People's Government of Qinghai Province & Beijing Normal University, Xining 810016, China
⁴School of Geographical Science, Shanxi Normal University, Taiyuan 030000, China

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Abstract

Territorial spatial ecological restoration is a crucial prerequisite for optimizing the territorial spatial patterns, enhancing the ecosystem functions, and achieving sustainable development at the regional scale. The Qaidam Basin, located in the alpine arid region of the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, China, is experiencing desertification, biodiversity loss, soil erosion, and environmental pollution. Selecting the Qaidam Basin as the study area, we identified 9 ecological sources in the region using the Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA) method and the landscape connectivity assessment, and extracted 10 significant corridors and 26 general corridors using the Minimum Cumulative Resistance (MCR) and Gravity models. Then, we determined 114 ecological "pinch points" and 42 ecological barrier points by employing the Circuit Theory, thereby constructing the ecological security pattern of the area. Further, we evaluated the ecosystem health of the Qaidam Basin during 2003-2023 using the Vitality-Organization-Resilience-Service (VORS) model. Finally, we integrated ecosystem health assessment and ecological security pattern to comprehensively identify the key areas for ecological restoration in the Qaidam Basin. The results revealed that the ecosystem in the basin fluctuated toward a healthier state from 2003 to 2023. The average ecosystem health index (EHI) for the basin decreased from 0.34 in 2003 to 0.28 in 2013, followed by a substantial recovery to 0.36 in 2023. Higher EHI values were found in the northeastern, southeastern, and southwestern fringes and lower values were located in the basin interior and northwestern region. During 2003-2023, the areas that exhibited a decrease in EHI were primarily located in the interior and northwestern regions of the basin, while those that exhibited an increase in EHI were located in the northeastern, southeastern, and southwestern fringes, demonstrating expanded spatial differences. This may be attributed to the fact that once an eco-environment is damaged, the ecological recovery of the vulnerable areas within the eco-environment will be slow and difficult. This study identified four types of ecological restoration areas, including corridor connectivity, artificial restoration, ecological recovery, and ecological enhancement zones, covering a total area of 6034.7 km², and proposed targeted ecological restoration strategies according to these different categories. Our findings can serve as a valuable reference for optimizing the territorial spatial patterns, enhancing the ecosystem functions, and promoting sustainable development in the Qaidam Basin.

Key words： ecological security pattern ecosystem health ecological restoration Morphological Spatial Pattern Analysis (MSPA) Minimum Cumulative Resistance (MCR) Vitality-Organization-Resilience-Service (VORS) model Qaidam Basin

Received: 14 March 2025 Published: 31 October 2025

Corresponding Authors: *YANG Xianming (E-mail: 21cnyjs@163.com)

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	CHENG Lanhua
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Cite this article:

CHENG Lanhua, YANG Xianming, PAN Xumei, AN Jingfeng. Identification and classification of ecological restoration areas in the territorial land space of the Qaidam Basin, China. Journal of Arid Land, 2025, 17(10): 1402-1424.

URL:

http://jal.xjegi.com/10.1007/s40333-025-0089-4 OR http://jal.xjegi.com/Y2025/V17/I10/1402

Fig. 1 Overview of the Qaidam Basin based on the digital elevation model (DEM). Note that the figure is based on the standard map (GS(2024)0650) of the Map Service System (https://bzdt.ch.mnr.gov.cn/), and the boundary of the standard map has not been modified.

Table 1 Comprehensive ecological resistance evaluation index system developed in this study

Fig. 2 Ecosystem health assessment framework of the Qaidam Basin. NPP, net primary productivity; SHDI, Shannon's diversity index; AWMPFD, area-weighted mean patch fractal dimension; FI, fragmentation index; CONT, the overall landscape contagion index; CI, cohesion index.

Table 2 Ecosystem service values of each land use type per unit area in the Qaidam Basin

Table 3 Classification of various ecosystem indices in this study

Fig. 3 Ecological resistance surface based on the composite ecological resistance values in the Qaidam Basin

Fig. 4 Interaction matrix of ecological sources in the Qaidam Basin based on the Minimum Cumulative Resistance (MCR) and Gravity models. Numbers 1-9 denote the ultimately identified ecological sources.

Fig. 5 Ecological security pattern constructed for the Qaidam Basin

Fig. 6 Statistics on areas of ecosystem health index (EHI) categories (a) and area percentages of EHI, ecosystem vitality (EV), ecosystem organization (EO), ecosystem resilience (ER), and composite ecosystem services index (CESI) categories (b) in the Qaidam Basin from 2003 to 2023

Fig. 7 Spatial distributions of EHI categories in 2003, 2013, and 2023 (a, c, and e) and variations in EHI during periods of 2003-2013, 2013-2023, and 2003-2023 (b, d, and f) across the Qaidam Basin

Fig. 8 Variations in EV (a-c), EO (e-g), ER (h-j), and CESI (k-m) in the Qaidam Basin during periods of 2003-2013, 2013-2023, and 2003-2023

Fig. 9 Classification of the ecological restoration areas in the Qaidam Basin

Table 4 Areas of the ecological restoration zones in the Qaidam Basin


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