Does ecological restoration really improve ecosystem stability? ——An empirical test based on the Minjiang River Basin of China

IF 4.1 2区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ECOLOGY

Ecological Engineering Pub Date : 2025-08-04 DOI:10.1016/j.ecoleng.2025.107757

Hanchu Du , Jinman Wang , Jun Wang , Biao Liu , Jiayin Mu , Xiao Zhang

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Stability can characterize the overall state of an ecosystem. Assessing the ecosystem stability (ES) before and after the implementation of ecological restoration projects (ERPs) can provide scientific advice for future ecological restoration work. However, few scholars have evaluated the effectiveness of ERPs from the perspective of ES. In this study, we constructed an evaluation index system from four dimensions—water and soil conditions (WS), socio-economic conditions (SE), climate environment (CE), and biodiversity (BD)—and applied the TOPSIS model to measure the ES of 26 counties in the Minjiang River Basin from 2016 to 2021. We used Moran's I and the Gini coefficient to analyze the spatiotemporal evolution of ES and regional development disparities, employed propensity score matching (PSM) and random forest (RF) to estimate the contribution of ERPs implementation, and applied Spearman correlation analysis and visualization to observe changes in the internal structural relationships among ecosystem components over six years. Our findings reveal that: (1) ES in the study area generally showed an upward trend year by year; (2) ES exhibited spatial correlation, and the issue of unbalanced ecological development across the region has diminished over time; (3) The number, type, and timing of ERPs implementation had varying degrees of influence on ES and played a role in reshaping the coordination among ecosystem components. The results show that ERPs have a significant effect on improving the status of regional ecosystems, but it is still necessary to avoid the negative effects of the implementation of a certain type of sub-project on other ecological factors. ERPs require timely discovery of ecological problems, correction of work content, and maintenance of restoration results, thereby enhancing ecosystem stability and fostering regionally coordinated, sustainable development.

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生态恢复真的能提高生态系统的稳定性吗？——基于中国闽江流域的实证检验

稳定性可以表征一个生态系统的整体状态。对生态修复工程实施前后的生态系统稳定性进行评价，可以为今后的生态修复工作提供科学的建议。然而，很少有学者从企业效益的角度来评估erp的有效性。本文从水土条件（WS）、社会经济条件（SE）、气候环境（CE）和生物多样性（BD）四个维度构建了评价指标体系，并应用TOPSIS模型对2016 - 2021年闽江流域26个县域的生态环境进行了测度。利用Moran’s I和基尼系数分析了生态系统的时空演变和区域发展差异，利用倾向得分匹配（PSM）和随机森林（RF）估计了erp实施的贡献，并利用Spearman相关分析和可视化技术观察了6年来生态系统各组成部分内部结构关系的变化。结果表明：(1)研究区ES总体呈逐年上升趋势；②生态系统具有空间相关性，区域内生态发展不平衡问题随时间的推移逐渐减弱；(3)实施erp的数量、类型和时间对ES有不同程度的影响，并对生态系统各组成部分之间的协调有重塑作用。结果表明，erp对改善区域生态系统状况有显著作用，但仍需避免某一类子项目实施对其他生态因子的负面影响。erp要求及时发现生态问题，纠正工作内容，维护修复成果，从而增强生态系统稳定性，促进区域协调可持续发展。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Ecological Engineering 环境科学-工程：环境

CiteScore

8.00

自引率

5.30%

发文量

293

审稿时长

57 days

期刊介绍： Ecological engineering has been defined as the design of ecosystems for the mutual benefit of humans and nature. The journal is meant for ecologists who, because of their research interests or occupation, are involved in designing, monitoring, or restoring ecosystems, and can serve as a bridge between ecologists and engineers. Specific topics covered in the journal include: habitat reconstruction; ecotechnology; synthetic ecology; bioengineering; restoration ecology; ecology conservation; ecosystem rehabilitation; stream and river restoration; reclamation ecology; non-renewable resource conservation. Descriptions of specific applications of ecological engineering are acceptable only when situated within context of adding novelty to current research and emphasizing ecosystem restoration. We do not accept purely descriptive reports on ecosystem structures (such as vegetation surveys), purely physical assessment of materials that can be used for ecological restoration, small-model studies carried out in the laboratory or greenhouse with artificial (waste)water or crop studies, or case studies on conventional wastewater treatment and eutrophication that do not offer an ecosystem restoration approach within the paper.