Integrating the ordered weighted averaging method to establish an ecological security pattern for the Jianghuai ecological economic zone in China: Synergistic intraregional development

A well-constructed ecological security pattern (ESP) can promote linkages between ecological sources, mitigate the degradation of ecosystems, and facilitate sustainable urban development. However, when determining the ecological sources for ESPs, previous studies have less frequently or insufficiently considered the ecosystem service trade-offs. Our research aims to fill this research gap to improve the assessment of ESPs. Through a case study in a rapidly urbanizing region-the Jianghuai Ecological Economic Zone in China-we demonstrate the application possibilities of the proposed framework. Ecosystem services in the study area were evaluated using the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs model, ecological sources were screened using the ordered weighted averaging method; then, an ESP was constructed using the minimum cumulative resistance model and circuit theory. The results indicated that crop production and water purification were higher in the east and lower in the west, while the water yield showed the opposite trend. Habitat quality and carbon storage were higher in the south and lower in the north. Eleven scenarios were set to determine ecological sources based on ecosystem service trade-offs. By comparing service efficiency, scenario 5 was selected as our optimal scenario, and the service efficiencies of ecological sources for crop production, water yield, habitat quality, carbon storage and water purification were 1.35, 1.15, 1.21, 1.06 and 0.92, respectively. There were no significant ecological sources in the developed eastern and central regions due to rapid urbanization and drastic land use changes in the area. There were 31 major ecological sources located in the western and northwestern parts of the study area, where water bodies and wetlands were well developed. There was a total of 70 ecological corridors in the study area, with 53 key ecological corridors. Based on these results, we proposed three measures to improve the sustainability of ecosystems to cope with the rapid urbanization while providing ecological quality. This study can provide implications for ecosystem security in other fast-growing cities.