Constructing a county-level landscape ecological restoration pattern of agricultural and forestry interlacing based on the "Source-Sink" theory: A case study of Oroqen Banner

This study focuses on Oroqen Banner as the research subject and utilizes the "source-sink" theory and the Minimum Cumulative Resistance model (MCR) to establish a landscape ecological restoration pattern in the region. By employing the third national land survey vector data and conducting analysis and calculations through ArcGIS software, the study constructs and discusses the ecological restoration pattern in Oroqen Banner. The identification of source and sink landscapes, along with the analysis of resistance surfaces for different types of source landscapes, allows for the delineation of a 5-level ecological functional zoning. Moreover, a spatial restoration sequence is proposed for the restoration areas. The results indicate that the forest source landscape covers an area of 28054.2 km² in the study area, while the grassland source landscape spans 2912.9 km², and the water source landscape occupies 141.4 km². These source landscapes account for 85.58% of the total area of the banner, demonstrating a generally favorable ecological function and quality. However, the southern part of the banner is primarily characterized by cultivated land, exhibiting significant disparities in landscape ecological security compared to the northern part. Based on the severity of ecological issues and the distribution range of various restoration areas, the restoration sequence is as follows: forest and grassland restoration important area > forest and grassland restoration important area > grassland and water restoration important area > forest and water restoration important area > grassland restoration important area > water restoration important area > forest restoration important area. In contrast to previous research, this study innovatively proposes the distribution range of ecological core areas and key ecological restoration areas within the study area. Additionally, it constructs a "point-line-surface three-in-one" three-dimensional spatial corridor and a "four-horizontal and two-vertical" ecological restoration pattern, serving as an exemplary instance for the ecological environment protection system in underdeveloped county-level areas dominated by forest and cultivated land. The findings have broad applicability to county-level areas with abundant ecological protection areas and a complex mixture of agricultural and forestry landscapes. Accordingly, it will provide valuable references for regional ecological protection and the establishment of ecological restoration patterns in spatial planning and control.