[Defining the Priority Sequence of Ecological Restoration Areas in the Hexi Corridor Region from a "Drought-Human...

In the context of ecological restoration within national territories， the precise identification of restoration areas and the judicious prioritization of restoration efforts are essential prerequisites for the systematic and effective advancement of ecological restoration initiatives. This study focuses on the Hexi Corridor as the research area and quantitatively assesses the risk of ecological degradation by developing a "drought-human activities" framework. It establishes an ecological security pattern utilizing morphological spatial pattern analysis （MSPA） and circuit theory modeling. Furthermore， the study identifies ecological source areas， corridors， pinch points， obstacles， and other ecological elements designated as ecological restoration zones. By overlaying the degradation risk levels， the study delineates the restoration sequence of these zones. The findings indicate that： ① Under natural drought conditions， human activities have resulted in over 65% of the Hexi Corridor being classified as medium or higher degradation risk level. ② We have identified 23 ecological sources， most of which are located in the Qilian Mountain Nature Reserve and the core of oases， with a total area of 21 638.99 km²； extracted 39 ecological corridors with a total length of 1 903.77 km， mainly situated at the connection between the Jiuquan oasis area and the Qilian Mountain Nature Reserve； and identified 53 ecological pinch points and 18 ecological barrier points， with areas of 244.16 km² and 206.24 km²， respectively， most of which are located in Jiuquan. ③ The plan prioritizes the restoration of 1 261.67 km² of source areas， 646.57 km of corridors， 25 ecological nodes， and 5 key obstacles. In the future， the Hexi Corridor Region should focus on restoring and protecting key ecological elements， with a priority on restoring source areas， followed by the critical ecological corridors at the edges of deserts and oases， while also addressing ecological bottlenecks. This approach aims to gradually restore foundational and critical ecological elements， ultimately promoting the healthy development of the regional ecosystem.