Ecological restorations enhance ecosystem stability by improving ecological resilience in a typical basin of the Yangtze River, China

Abstract

Ecological restorations (ERs) have been widely implemented in recent decades to enhance ecosystem stability. However, the extent of their impacts on ecosystem stability and the underlying mechanism remain poorly understood. This study developed a comprehensive framework for ecosystem stability assessment by integrating the temporal stability of ecosystem service (ES) provision, ecological resistance, and ecological resilience. Additionally, ER intensity was quantified using vegetation index trends, while the pathways and magnitudes of key factors driving ecosystem stability were identified by partial least squares structural equation modeling. Using the Jialing River Basin as a case study, our results revealed that forests exhibited the highest ecosystem stability due to their enhanced capacity to maintain temporal stability of ES provision and ecological resilience. However, farmlands demonstrated the strongest ecological resistance, followed by forests and grasslands. ER projects were primarily implemented in northern and southern farmland regions characterized by low ecological resilience. Pathway analysis identified that favorable climates significantly enhanced the temporal stability of ES provision, and rugged topography improved the ecological resistance. However, fragmented landscape patches disrupted stable ES provision by reducing ecological connectivity, and socioeconomic development diminished both resistance and resilience through land-use intensification. Notably, ERs improved ecological resilience, which in turn elevated overall ecosystem stability. Our results indicated that the proposed framework provides a systematic approach for comprehensive ecosystem stability evaluation and offers critical insights for developing region-specific ER strategies.