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Identifying and protecting key sites of ecological assets and improving spatial connectivity and accessibility are important measures taken to protect ecological diversity. This study takes Guangxi as the research area. Based on the gross ecosystem product (GEP), the ecological source is identified, and the initial ecological network (EN) is constructed by identifying the ecological corridor with the minimum cumulative resistance model. The internal defects of the initial ecological network are extracted using the circuit theory, the priority areas for restoration and protection with clear spatial positions are determined according to the complex network analysis, and the network's performance before and after optimization is comprehensively evaluated. The results show that 456 initial ecological sources and 1219 ecological corridors have been identified, forming the initial ecological network of Guangxi. Based on the circuit theory, 168 ecological barriers, 83 ecological pinch points, and 71 ecological stepping stones were extracted for network optimization. After optimizing the ecological network, there are 778 ecological sources with a total area of 73,950.56 km2 and 2078 ecological corridors with a total length of 23,922.07 km. The GEP of the optimized structure is 13.33% higher than that of the non-optimized structure. The priority areas for protection are distributed in a large area, and the attached GEP reaches USD 118 billion, accounting for 72% of the total GEP attached to the optimized ecological source area. The priority areas for restoration are scattered in small patches, with a GEP of USD 19.27 billion. The robustness and connectivity of the optimized ecological network have been improved obviously. This study attempts to identify key sites of ecological assets and the priority regions for restoration and conservation using genuine geographical location and reference materials for regional ecological network optimization and implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying and protecting key sites of ecological assets and improving spatial connectivity and accessibility are important measures taken to protect ecological diversity. This study takes Guangxi as the research area. Based on the gross ecosystem product (GEP), the ecological source is identified, and the initial ecological network (EN) is constructed by identifying the ecological corridor with the minimum cumulative resistance model. The internal defects of the initial ecological network are extracted using the circuit theory, the priority areas for restoration and protection with clear spatial positions are determined according to the complex network analysis, and the network’s performance before and after optimization is comprehensively evaluated. The results show that 456 initial ecological sources and 1219 ecological corridors have been identified, forming the initial ecological network of Guangxi. Based on the circuit theory, 168 ecological barriers, 83 ecological pinch points, and 71 ecological stepping stones were extracted for network optimization. After optimizing the ecological network, there are 778 ecological sources with a total area of 73,950.56 km2 and 2078 ecological corridors with a total length of 23,922.07 km. The GEP of the optimized structure is 13.33% higher than that of the non-optimized structure. The priority areas for protection are distributed in a large area, and the attached GEP reaches USD 118 billion, accounting for 72% of the total GEP attached to the optimized ecological source area. The priority areas for restoration are scattered in small patches, with a GEP of USD 19.27 billion. The robustness and connectivity of the optimized ecological network have been improved obviously. This study attempts to identify key sites of ecological assets and the priority regions for restoration and conservation using genuine geographical location and reference materials for regional ecological network optimization and implementation.

We used the national protected wild plants as indicator species and combined with the statistical survey information of the national protected wild plants in the county (city, district) to analyze the geographical distribution feature of species richness based on the GIS technology in Guizhou Province. We applied Dobson algorithm to identify the protection priority area of national protected plant. Then we used the information of existing nature reserves to assess the protection status of the national protected wild plants priority conservation areas in Guizhou. The results were as follows; (1) In terms of the species richness distribution of the national key protected wild plants in Guizhou, the southern region was generally higher than the northern region, and the species richness of the area extending inland from the provincial boundary was obviously decreasing. (2) In terms of the 75% and 100% national protected wild plants conservation levels, four and seventeen counties (cities, districts) like libo County, were identified priority conservation areas. Among them, one and nine national priority zones of key protection of wild plants covered less than 5% of the nature reserves, and 68.26% of the areas involved were at city/county level. (3) The areas with abundant wild plant species under state key protection and the biodiversity hotspots in the whole province had good spatial correspondence with the selected priority areas in Guizhou. (4) Local protection of wild plants under state key protection should be carried out in priority areas with rich geographical distribution of wild plants under state key protection combined with priority areas selected in this study in Guizhou. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]