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Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology ›› 2024, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (6): 1653-1660.doi: 10.13287/j.1001-9332.202406.025

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Impact of road infrastructure on ecological networks in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, China

YANG Wenyue1, XU Zihao1, YE Hongyu1, LI Tao2*   

  1. 1College of Forestry and Landscape Architecture, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou 510642, China;
    2Northwest Land and Resource Research Center, Shannxi Normal University, Xi’an 710119, China
  • Received:2023-12-12 Accepted:2024-04-30 Online:2024-06-18 Published:2024-12-18

Abstract: The construction of road infrastructure has resulted in the degradation of wildlife habitat and the decrease of ecological network connectivity and stability. Studying the impacts of road infrastructure on wildlife life and migration is significant for regional wildlife conservation and ecological network optimization. We assessed the impacts of road infrastructure on habitat suitability using the MaxEnt model based on wildlife occurrence point data in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. We constructed the ecological networks and identified ecological breakpoints using the minimum cumulative resistance model, and compared the ecological network connectivity of different scenarios with the landscape connectivity index and graph theory index. The results showed that railway and motorway significantly affected habitat suitability, causing a decrease in wildlife habitat suitability. Affected by road infrastructure, the fragmentation of ecological sources intensified, the resistance of ecological corridors increased, and the ecological network connectivity and stability significantly decreased. A total of 536 ecological breakpoints were identified, which were concentrated in the area adjacent to ecological sources. The results would provide important scientific references for wildlife habitat conservation and ecological restoration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Key words: road infrastructure, ecological network, connectivity, wildlife habitat, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area