Pattern evolution and spatial structure of ecological and construction security network of the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China

This study employs remote sensing data on natural resources, environmental conditions, as well as socio-economic statistics to establish a landscape source-sink model for both ecology-oriented development axes and infrastructure-oriented development axes within China's Yangtze River Economic Belt region. Our findings reveal that: (1) Ecological sources exhibit a significantly larger scale compared to their counterparts in infrastructure development; they demonstrate stable spatial distributions for resistance zones while also displaying robust reconstruction capabilities for these zones; (2) An extensive presence of an ecologically oriented security framework characterizes central-western regions within this economic belt—marked by lush forests alongside intricate river systems—and contrasts sharply against an infrastructure-focused security framework prevalent across its eastern counterpart—defined by concentrated agricultural land use juxtaposed against densely populated urban centers; (3) A notable alignment exists between our identified ecologically secure zones vis-à-vis high-value domains associated with carbon sequestration potentiality alongside superior habitat preservation qualities coupled with effective soil–water conservation measures—a stark contrast emerges when examining corresponding features within our identified infrastructural secure zones which tend to be situated amidst lower carbon sequestration capacities combined with inferior habitat preservation attributes alongside suboptimal soil–water retention abilities resulting in diminished water yields; (4) Our delineated ecologically secure axis closely mirrors fluvial patterns along this economic belt whereas our infrastructural secure axis distinctly corresponds to agricultural landscapes intertwined seamlessly amongst key transportation arteries.