Distribution and Ecological Network Construction of National Natural Protected Areas in the Upper Reaches of Yangtze River

Abstract

The upper reaches are an important part of the Yangtze River Basin. The basin area is large and the terrain is complex, covering nearly all types of terrestrial ecosystems. This study sorts out the information of 313 protected areas in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and uses morphological spatial pattern analysis, a minimum cumulative resistance model, and geospatial indicators to quantitatively analyze the relationship between population density, per capita gross domestic product, and the pattern of protected areas in combination with regional economic and social conditions. Results show that the number of national forest parks is the largest, accounting for 31.31% of the study area. In the study area, all types of protected areas are concentrated distribution, protected areas in sparsely populated areas that are larger, more densely populated, and more economically developed, and the corresponding number of protected areas is greater. The study area is divided into five regions through the analysis of the corridors of the protected areas: the source area of the Yangtze River National Park, the Hengduan Mountain Ecological Strict Protection Area, the Qinling-Daba Mountain Ecological Protection Area, the Northern Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau Ecological Protection Area, and the Three Gorges Ecological Control Area, forming an ecological network pattern of “one park, four districts, and three rings” in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.