Study on Land Use in Towns from the Perspective of Ecological Security: a case study of Zhongtai Town, China

Context Maintaining regional ecological security is necessary to ensure sustainable human survival and development. Starting with the goal of ecological security, optimal strategies for land use zoning can be developed. Previous studies have mainly focused on identifying ecological sources and ecological corridors, but the importance of ecological security in optimizing urban land use is seldom explored. In this study, a novel strategy for optimizing ecological security patterns (ESP) was proposed. Objectives: To examine how to realize the zoning control of land use based on ESP . Methods: We used an ESP model based on an ecological sensitivity evaluation, rain and flood models, MCR (Minimal Cumulative Resistance) model, and gravity model. Using these tools. And we assessed the ecological restoration, development, and construction of Zhongtai and proposed an optimized land use zoning management strategy. Results: The establishment of the ESP of Zhongtai allowed for the characterization of the circulation of ecological sources in the region. This revealed 10 ecological sources, 9 important corridors, and 12 ordinary corridors. Recently, the study area has undergone a significant population increase and a rapid increase in urban land. But these built-up lands are concentrated in flood prone areas. Therefore, the construction of disaster prevention infrastructure should be prioritized during urban planning. Notably, the ecological corridors were mainly composed of tea plantations, farm land, mining land, and forest land, accounting for 80.45% of the total area. Ecological recovery can be carried out by mixed planting, returning farmland to forest, and prohibiting mining. In total, 71 ecological patches for restoration were identified, these were mostly mine lands flagged for restoration, but some were tea plantation optimization and illegal construction demolition areas. 61 controlled construction blocks were identified where strategies for ecological protection and food security should be applied, with priority use given to wastelands. Conclusions: The ultimate goal of the study was to propose an optimized plan for controlled zoning of land use. Based on the ecological security and ecological sensitivity of the study area, four control zones were established: core protection area, ecological control area, restricted construction area, and suitable construction area. This controlled zoning strategy puts forward a clear management plan that ensures ecological protection and ecological restoration with optimal configurations and controlled construction designed to improve human health and livelihoods.