Work

Connectivity, aggregation and structure: Exploring the effects of landscape fragmentation on ecosystem health in national parks — A case study of Huangshan National Park

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Assessing the impact of human activities on ecosystem health is essential for balancing conservation and development within national parks. Current research often examines human-induced landscape fragmentation through a single perspective, overlooking its non-linear relationship with ecosystem health. Taking Huangshan National Park as a study area, this study adapts the Vigor-Service-Resilience (VSR) assessment model and a three-dimensional (connectivity, aggregation, and structure) landscape fragmentation index to the national park context. On this basis, Boosted Regression Trees (BRT) were employed to identify the heterogeneous and non-linear effects of tourism-driven fragmentation on ecosystem health. The results indicated that: (1) During the study period, ecosystem health in Huangshan National Park showed a steady upward trend, while landscape fragmentation exhibited relatively small fluctuations overall. Spatially, ecosystem health displayed a “high in the core, low in the periphery” pattern, whereas landscape fragmentation showed the opposite “low in the core, high in the periphery” distribution. (2) Ecosystem health was significantly negatively correlated with all three fragmentation dimensions in both space and time, positively correlated with indicators of patch integrity and aggregation, and negatively correlated with indicators of patch isolation and fragmentation. (3) Different fragmentation dimensions exerted significant non-linear threshold effects on ecosystem health, with the connectivity dimension exhibiting stepwise threshold effects and increasing marginal returns, the aggregation dimension displaying bidirectional responses with post-threshold stabilization, and the structural dimension showing sensitive thresholds with response lags. Despite the 30 m resolution constraint, this study elucidates the multi-dimensional, non-linear mechanisms through which tourism-driven fragmentation affects ecosystem health, providing a scientific basis for optimizing landscape patterns and adaptive management in national parks.

Source: Ecological Indicators

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2026.115509

Authors: Xiaobin Ma, Tian Wang, Ruikuan Liu, Jinhe Zhang, Peijia Wang

Institutions: Nanjing Forestry University, Hefei University, Yangzhou Polytechnic Institute, Nanjing University

Language: English

Topic: Land Use and Ecosystem Services

Subfield: Global and Planetary Change

Field: Environmental Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Life on land

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,650