Ecological networks in response to climate change and the human footprint in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Ecological networks in response to climate change and the human footprint in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, China Jie Su . Haiwei Yin
. Fanhua Kong
Received: 11 June 2020 / Accepted: 21 September 2020 Ó Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Context A continuous increase in human activity and drastic changes in the global climate have aggravated the loss and degree of fragmentation of natural habitats, thereby forcing various species to change their habitats to acquire suitable survival spaces. Objectives To investigate the potential impacts of climate change and human activity on ecological networks. Methods By using the human footprint, and current and future temperature, we analyzed and compared the distribution of ecological sources, corridor patency and climate connectivity within the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration area under scenarios with and without corridors and various levels of warming. Results The human footprint significantly influenced the distribution of ecological sources and corridor
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-020-01129-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. J. Su H. Yin (&) School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Nanjing University, No. 22, Hankou Road, Nanjing 210093, China e-mail: [email protected]
patency in the study area. A high human footprint index was associated with a high degree of fragmentation and weak corridor patency. In general, the current distribution of ecological sources and climate corridors exhibited a significant north–south disparity. Under all climate change scenarios assessed, the number and areas of ecological sources that achieved climate connectivity by linkage migration were higher than those achieved by adjacent migration, with the numbers for the former being 1.3–2.5 times greater than those for the latter. In addition, the level of warming that can be tolerated with linkage migration is higher than that with adjacent migration (2.8 °C vs. 0.8 °C). Conclusion Climate connectivity can be better enhanced by constructing corridors than controlling warming, thereby effectively increasing the climatewise biodiversity conservation potential. Therefore, the determination of priority conservation areas from the aspects of climate change and ecological corridor conservation is recommended. Keywords Climate change Human footprint Climate connectivity Corridor patency Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration
F. Kong International Institute for Earth System Science (ESSI), Nanjing University, No. 163, Xianlin Ave., Nanjing 210023, China
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Landscape Ecol
Introduction Global warming is an indisputable fact (IPCC 2014). Climate change induced by human activities since the industrial revolution is characterized by rising temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns; these changes have altered plant phenology, vegetation, and community structures and exerted a
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