Ecosystem Quality Assessment and Ecological Restoration in Fragile Zone of Loess Plateau: A Case Study of Suide County, China

Abstract

The Loess Plateau is the world’s largest loess landform region, characterized by a fragile ecosystem and frequent natural disasters that render it highly susceptible to ecological damage, highlighting urgent ecological restoration. We constructed a “Pattern-Service-Stress Ecosystem Quality Assessment Model” based on the connotation of ecosystem quality and the ArcGIS platform, then applied it to Suide County, a representative area of the Loess Plateau, as the research object. Next, using the dispersal ecology theory and the MCR model, we constructed an ideal ecological network. According to the quality assessment and ecological network analysis, we selected areas with low ecosystem quality within the scope of an ecological corridor as key areas for restoration. Finally, we proposed restoration strategies using regional ecological techniques. This study yielded the following results: The spatial pattern of ecosystem quality in Suide County exhibited a “high in the south and low in the north” pattern, with a high-value area of 823.87 km2, and a low-value area of 509.31 km2, accounting for 44.45% and 27.48% of the total area, respectively. In Suide County’s ecological network, the spatial distribution of ecological sources and corridors is dense in the south and sparse in the north, with a significant amount of path overlap within ecological corridors. Located on the southern ecological corridor of Suide County, forty-five key areas for restoration were classified into seven types. Eight problems were identified in the key areas, and twenty-three targeted restoration measures were proposed. These measures can result in 6.44 km2 of forest land and 5.26 km2 of grassland, improving the ecosystem quality of the key areas and even the entirety of Suide County. This study guides Suide County’s ecological restoration work and provides a paradigm for ecosystem quality assessment and ecological restoration on the Loess Plateau, pointing out directions. It has a certain radiation-driven effect and an important reference significance for ecological restoration in ecologically fragile areas.