Regional Eco-corridor Construction Under The Context Of Human Activity

Biodiversity is the basis for ecosystem, providing the necessary materials for human. In recent years, the global climate change poses challenges to the protection of biological diversity. Habitat loss, degradation and fragmentation against the ecological connectivity dominate the mechanisms for the reduction and lose of biodiversity. Construction of eco-corridors is an effective way to maintain regional ecological connectivity and protect the biodiversity. Thus is of great importance.In this study, a research on regional eco-corridor construction under the context of human activity was carried out with support of "least-cost", centrality and circuit theories to maintain the regional ecological connectivity. Liaoning Province was selected as the study area. A dynamic population density distribution model was built and used as factors for eco-corridor construction and centrality analysis. The main research results are as follows:(1) Based on the Vegetation-Adjusted Night-time Light Urban Index (VANUI) and the support of Monte Carlo simulation, the Vegetation Adjusted Night-time Light Urban Index supported by Monte Carlo Simulation was achieved, with better accuracy results on both county and township levels than Human Settlement Index, Elevation-Adjusted Human Settlement Index and VANUI. This dynamic population density distribution model can provide basic data for the construction of eco-corridor under the context of human disturbance.(2) There were obvious differences among the spatial distribution maps originated from the 11 resistant surfaces. And there was also uncertainty in the centrality analysis results of natural reserves and eco-corridors. The uncertainty of natural reserves mainly concentrated in between 5%-20% intervals, the uncertainty of eco-corridors mainly concentrated in the range of 10%-20%.(3) The importance of nature reserves and eco-corridors all diminished in accordance with the order of national-, provincial-, municipal-and county-level. Among all the natural reserves in the study area, Chaoyang fossil natural reserve ranked the first in the centrality assessment. In the practical constructing process, natural reserves and eco-corridors related to reserves with high centrality should be given the priority protection. Regional eco-corridors construction simulation and centrality assessment under uncertainty condition were conducted in this research, and could be taken as a support in the actual construction process of eco-corridor construction for both theory and technology.