127 / 2023-06-29 22:41:29

Proposing ecological restoration modes based on the coordinative enhancement of ecology–economy–humanity in the coal related industry gathering areas

ecological restorations,ecological restorations modes,restoration priority,coal related industry gathering areas

Abstract: Ecological restoration is widely embraced worldwide as a holistic solution to enhance social–ecological benefits and counteract land degradation resulting from intensive human activities. Nevertheless, there is a scant literature that addresses the constraints based on the economic-ecological-social foundation to achieve the synergistic multiobjective improvement of regional ecological restoration benefits, especially in coal related industry gathering area with diverse regional attributes, including industrial production, residential living, ecological protection, and etc. Therefore, we proposed a conceptual framework to prioritize representative landscapes for ecological restoration, while integrating suitability directions to encapsulate the specific ecological restoration modes. Results demonstrated that multiobjective ecological restoration could provide comprehensive ecology–economic–humanity benefits compared with a single–objective restoration. The restoration priority map showed that only 13% of the landscape needed to be restored to forest, among the top of 33% of degraded areas that need to be restored ecological land. Taking into account the regional multi-objective restoration sequence and suitability directions, three distinct ecological restoration modes are put forth: the industrial site restoration mode, the ecological landscape restoration mode, and the agricultural tourism restoration mode. This study offers important insights regarding the proposition of ecological restoration modes, which can provide restoration planning concepts for industrial gathering areas.