Impact of Typical Land Use Expansion Induced by Ecological Restoration and Protection Projects on Landscape Patterns

• Published in: Land (Basel) 2024-09, Vol.13 (9), p.1513
• Main Authors: Kou, Xuyang, Zhao, Jinqi, Sang, Weiguo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Agricultural land; altitude; Analysis; China; Climate change; Conversion; Ecological restoration; ecological restoration and protection projects; Economic development; Ecosystems; Environmental economics; Environmental restoration; forests; Geographical locations; geographically weighted regression; Geomorphology; Geospatial data; Habitat fragmentation; Heterogeneity; High altitude; Influence; issues and policy; Land cover; Land use; land use and land cover maps; land use expansion; Land use management; Land use planning; Landscape; landscape pattern; landscapes; Mountain regions; Mountainous areas; Mountains; Natural resources; Pattern analysis; Planning; Policy and planning; Protection and preservation; Regional planning; Regions; Restoration; Spatial heterogeneity; spatial variation; Trends
• ISSN: 2073-445X; 2073-445X
• DOI: 10.3390/land13091513

Land use and land cover (LULC) changes driven by ecological restoration and protection projects play a pivotal role in reshaping landscape patterns. However, the specific impacts of these projects on landscape structure remain understudied. In this research, we applied geographically weighted regression (GWR) to analyze the spatial relationships between typical land use expansion and landscape pattern characteristics in the Lesser Khingan Mountains–Sanjiang Plain region between 2017 and 2022. Our results indicate three key findings: (1) Significant spatial heterogeneity exists in the relationship between landscape patterns and land use expansion, which varies across geographic locations; (2) Ecological restoration projects generally reduce fragmentation, dominance, and heterogeneity while enhancing connectivity, particularly in forest and farmland regions. However, excessive land use expansion in certain areas may reverse these positive effects; (3) Landscape complexity increases in high-altitude mountainous regions due to land use expansion but decreases in plains, particularly in forest-to-farmland conversions. These findings provide new insights into how landscape patterns respond to ecological restoration efforts and offer actionable guidance for improving future land use planning and policy decisions. Our study highlights the need to consider local geomorphological factors when designing ecological projects, ensuring that restoration efforts align with regional landscape dynamics to maintain landscape integrity.