Multiscale spatiotemporal evolution and patterns of riverine ecological security in Nanjing Yangtze river basin

Riverine zones possess significant land-use potential; however, rapid socioeconomic development has caused severe ecological security challenges. Focusing on the Nanjing section of the Yangtze River, a thirty-indicator, multi-scale ecological security assessment framework was constructed. The set pair analysis model, spatial distance index model, trapezoidal cloud model, Moran's index, and cold hotspot analysis method Getis-Ord Gi∗ were used to evaluate the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of riverine ecological security at micro-, meso-, and macro-scales from 2000 to 2023. Based on the results of the cold-hotspot analysis of ecological security at each scale in 2023, the important areas of riverine ecological security at each scale were extracted to construct a comprehensive pattern.