Construction of Ecological Security Pattern and Identification of Ecological Restoration Zones in the City of Changchun, China

Identification of crucial regions in need of ecological conservation and restoration based on ecological security patterns is of utmost importance for ecological restoration across national land space with regard to China’s promotion of ecological civilization. Using Changchun, the capital of northeast China, as an illustration, the study chooses ecological sources based on the importance of ecosystem services, builds an ecological security pattern using circuit theory, and organizes critical regions for ecological conservation and restoration. The findings reveal that the 20 ecological sources chosen based on ecosystem services are more concentrated on the eastern side of the city, whereas the western side of the city has a smaller overall area; 41 ecological corridors show a network distribution, among which the southeast is relatively densely distributed; 31 ecological pinch points and 15 ecological barrier points are also identified. Prioritized restoration zones, prioritized protection zones, key conservation zones, and general conservation zones were the four different types of ecological restoration regions identified by the study. Each district’s prioritized restoration zones in the main metropolitan area are larger than the others; Gongzhuling’s priority protection zones are the largest, and Yushu’s natural substrate is the best. According to the grading, targeted solutions are suggested, offering helpful advice for the improvement of ecological patterns and ecological restoration of the aforementioned national areas.