[Ecological Restoration Zoning and Strategy in the Huaihe River Basin Based on SDG15.3.1 and Ecosystem Service Supply...

The Huaihe River Basin is a critical ecological functional area and a key region for economic development in China， serving as an important base for the country's grain， energy， and other resources. However， the region's ecosystems are under immense pressure due to the combined impacts of climate change and urbanization on land use. Ecological restoration plays a crucial role in the construction of an ecological civilization and is significant for addressing environmental issues and alleviating ecosystem pressures. This study focuses on the Huaihe River Basin， utilizing ecosystem service supply-demand ratios and supply-demand matching at the county scale to delineate ecological restoration zones. The SDG 15.3.1 land degradation neutrality target is incorporated， along with land degradation assessment results， to provide precise， differentiated， and diversified ecological restoration strategies for the basin. The results indicate that from 1990 to 2020， both ecosystem service supply and demand in the Huaihe River Basin have shown increasing trends. The total supply of ecosystem services exceeded total demand， with surplus types accounting for 83.30% to 88.70% of all matching types. The four supply-demand matching types included high supply-high demand， high supply-low demand， low supply-high demand， and low supply-low demand， with high supply-low demand and low supply-low demand being dominant. The land degradation assessment based on the SDG 15.3.1 index revealed a 32.62% degradation rate， with a recovery area accounting for 20.87%， indicating that the basin had not achieved land degradation neutrality. Based on the calculated supply-demand relationships of ecosystem services， the Huaihe River Basin was divided into three primary categories （conservation， restoration， and construction） and five secondary ecological restoration zones （priority protection， general protection， priority restoration， general restoration， and priority construction）. Finally， tailored ecological restoration strategies are proposed according to the SDG 15.3.1 land degradation results. The findings provide scientific guidance for ecological protection and restoration decision-making in the Huaihe River Basin.