Integrating ecosystem service importance and ecological sensitivity to identify priority areas for ecological conservation and restoration in Miyun Reservoir Basin

Abstract

Ecological protection and restoration helps reverse the ecological degradation caused by climate change and human activities. Accurately identifying the priority areas for ecological protection and restoration is key to achieving effective differentiated ecosystem management. Taking the Miyun Reservoir Basin as a case study, this study evaluated the spatial patterns of ecosystem service importance, ecosystem stability, and ecosystem quality degradation. Then, this study identified priority areas for ecological protection and restoration and proposed differentiated ecosystem management strategies for different restoration units. The results showed that: (1) the proportions of important and extremely important areas for water conservation, soil conservation, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity conservation increased by 7.55%, 2.51%, 19.54%, and 16.78%, respectively, from 2000–2015, but there were obvious spatial differences among different ecosystem services; (2) the proportion of areas with low ecosystem stability reached 9.06% in 2015, and these sites were concentrated in the northwester and eastern mountainous areas; (3) this study further identified priority areas of 1961.51 km2 for ecological conservation, and these areas was mainly concentrated in the western mountainous areas and the Miyun Reservoir and its periphery. Additionally, the identified key ecological restoration areas covered an area of 1138.27 km2. These regions were mainly concentrated in the northeastern mountains and southwestern plain of the study area. This study provides a new perspective for the systematic identification of the priority areas for ecological protection and restoration, and also offer important guidance for implementing differentiated ecosystem management strategies and effectively protecting water resources.