Construction of ecological security pattern of water conservation in the upper reaches of the Yellow River basin (Sichuan section) based on ecological network approach

The main ecological function water conservation in the upper reaches of the Yellow River in Sichuan is faced with severe challenges due to the influence of climate change and human activities. Building a reasonable ecological security pattern based on ecological network is an effective measure to improve the water conservation function in this region. Based on the assessment of the water conservation function and restoration potential of the upper Yellow River in Sichuan, this study used the morphological spatial pattern analysis (MSPA) to identify the ecological source area of the upper Yellow River in Sichuan, and used the minimum cumulative resistance model to identify the ecological corridor. The results showed that the water conservation capacity of the entire study area gradually decreased from south to north, and the areas with high potential for water conservation restoration were mainly distributed in the northern part of the study area. The core area identified by MSPA is mainly located in Ruoergai County and Shiqu County, accounting for 44.04% of the total area. The ecological security pattern of the upper Yellow River in Sichuan consisted of three levels of ecological source area and three levels of ecological corridor. The entire ecological network is concentrated in the north central part of the study area, while the ecological networks in the east, west and south are less distributed. The construction of ecological security pattern based on ecological network can provide an important basis for the ecological restoration layout of water conservation in Sichuan section of the upper Yellow River.