Ecological Risk Identification and Ecological Security Pattern Construction of Productive Wetland Landscape

Wetland ecological risk assessment is critical for ecological safety, as wetland ecosystems are among the most threatened due to land use changes. Therefore, risk assessment, problem identification, and security pattern construction are three essential processes for wetland protection. This study focuses on productive wetlands in Foshan, China, considering the characteristics of frequent human and agricultural activities. For productive wetlands, we conducted landscape ecological risk assessment (ERA), habitat quality assessment, and the establishment of an ecological security pattern. At a landscape scale with a 2-km grid, the results indicate that high ecological risk areas are primarily associated with water bodies and built-up areas. The high fragmentation and isolation of wetland types such as dike-ponds and paddy fields are primarily the results of human and landscape disturbances. Using dike-ponds and paddy fields as key wetland sources and ecological land types such as rivers, croplands, and forests as matrix habitats, 18 significant wetland patches and 43 primary corridors with a width of 1000 m, 120 pinchpoints and 132 barrier points were identified based on these findings. It provides a construction framework applicable to the ecological security pattern.