Data_Sheet_1_Identifying Ecological Security Patterns Based on Ecosystem Services Is a Significative Practice for Sustainable Development in Southwest China.docx

Southwest China, which is rich in biodiversity and a wide range of ecosystem services (ESs), is a strong support for local human wellbeing. This area is also one of the key components of the ecological security shelter (ESS) for national ecological security and biodiversity conservation. Due to the combination of man-made and natural factors, Southwest China has suffered serious ecological degradation that directly threatens ecological security which refers to the health status of ecosystems and ESs functions. Mapping ESs-based ecological security patterns (ESPs) is essential for designing conservation strategies that suitably combine regional environment conservation with sustainable utilization. We used the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs Tool) model to identify ecological conservation priority areas which integrated ecological sensitivity (soil erosion sensitivity, rock desertification sensitivity, landslide sensitivity, debris flow sensitivity, and freezing-thawing erosion sensitivity), ecological risk (drought risk, natural disaster risk, and socio-economic risk), and ecological conservation importance (soil conservation, water conservation, and biodiversity conservation importance). In this research, we summarized a new designing framework of ESs-based ESPs. We divided the study area into two zones and four belts including: (A) the alpine steppe and wetland zone, (B) Hengduan Mountain zone, (C) northern shelter belt (Daba-Micang Mountain), (D) central shelter belt (Wumeng-Wuling Mountain), (E) southern shelter belt (southern border of China), and (F) southwestern shelter belt (eastern Himalayas Mountain). Identifying distributions of the ESs-based ESPs has practical significance to improve local human wellbeing and to maintain sustainable development of natural-social ecosystems in Southwest China. Furthermore, ESs-based ESPs are necessary for local administrations to create rationalizing plans on balancing conservation and utilization of natural resources, so that policy-makers can put into place targeted prevention and control measures to limit the development of excessive consumption of natural resources and ecological damages, which is worth promoting.

西南地区，拥有丰富的生物多样性和广泛的生态系统服务（ESs），对于当地人类福祉构成强有力的支撑。该区域亦是构成国家生态安全屏障（ESS）和生物多样性保护的关键组成部分。由于人为因素与自然因素的交织，西南地区遭受了严重的生态退化，这直接威胁到生态安全，即生态系统及其ESs功能的健康状况。基于ESs的生态安全模式（ESPs）的映射对于制定适合区域环境保护与可持续利用相结合的 conservation strategies 至关重要。本研究采用InVEST（集成生态系统服务与权衡工具）模型，识别了生态保护优先区域，该模型综合考虑了生态敏感性（土壤侵蚀敏感性、岩石荒漠化敏感性、滑坡敏感性、泥石流敏感性和冻融侵蚀敏感性）、生态风险（干旱风险、自然灾害风险和社会经济风险）以及生态保护重要性（土壤保持、水资源保持和生物多样性保护重要性）。在本研究中，我们总结了一种基于ESs的ESPs新设计框架。将研究区域划分为两个区域和四个地带，包括：（A）高山草原和湿地区域，（B）横断山脉区域，（C）北部防护带（大巴山-米仓山），（D）中部防护带（武陵山-巫山），（E）南部防护带（中国南部边境），以及（F）西南部防护带（喜马拉雅山脉东部）。识别基于ESs的ESPs分布对于提升当地人类福祉和维持西南地区自然-社会生态系统的可持续发展具有重要意义。此外，基于ESs的ESPs对于地方政府制定平衡自然资源保护与利用的合理规划亦至关重要，以便政策制定者能够实施针对性的预防与控制措施，限制自然资源过度消费和生态损害的发展，此举措值得推广。