[Ecological restoration path of territorial space in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, China].

Abstract

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is one of China's largest urban agglomera-tions in terms of economic aggregate. However, accelerated urbanization have led to a series of ecological problems, including ecosystem fragmentation and imbalances in ecosystem functions. The precise identification and optimization of key ecological restoration areas are critical pathways for conducting territorial spatial ecological restoration, holding significant value for safeguarding the ecological security of the GBA. We integrated the MSPA-InVEST model with circuit theory to assess habitat quality of GBA and construct an ecological network, with which we identified key regions for ecological restoration. Based on the findings, we proposed optimization strategies for territorial spatial ecological restoration in the GBA. The results showed that the average habitat quality value across the GBA was 0.69 in 2023, indicating an overall favorable level of habitat quality. Extremely high-quality habitat areas covered 26431.8 km², while extremely low-quality habitat areas spanned 8662.9 km². By integrating ecological network construction and habitat quality assessment, we identified 41 ecological source optimization zones (total area: 742.8 km²), 151 ecological pinch point improvement zones (total area: 12.4 km²), and 499 ecological barrier restoration zones (total area: 158.5 km²). We proposed targeted measures for territorial spatial ecological restoration in the GBA, including structural optimization of ecological source, functional enhancement of ecological pinch point, and systematic restoration of ecological barrier areas at the regional-plot level. Our results would provide a scientific basis and practical guidance for territorial spatial ecological restoration in the GBA.