Construction of Dynamic Ecological Networks in Large-Scale Open-Pit Mining Areas on the Loess Plateau

The Loess Plateau is a typical ecologically fragile area, where long-term intensive open-pit mining triggers severe vegetation loss, habitat fragmentation, and biodiversity decline. Although ecological network analysis integrating circuit theory and complex-network topology has become a mainstream connectivity assessment tool, existing studies mainly focus on urban agglomerations, nature reserves, and mountainous regions. Long-term dynamic networks considering mining and reclamation remain insufficiently understood in large coalfields. Taking the Pingshuo mining area as a case, this study combined MSPA, the MCR model, circuit theory, and complex-network approaches using remote-sensing images (1985, 1995, 2005, 2015, 2025), DEM, and road data to analyze 41-year spatiotemporal changes and propose a 2025 optimization plan. Ecological source proportion dropped from 6.17% (1985) to 3.56% (2015), then recovered to 9.79% (2025), dominated by forests and grasslands. Corridor length declined from 150.90 km to 99.32 km, and the 2025 network showed an average degree of 1.82 and an average path length of 1.45, indicating fragility. Under the proposed optimization scenario, node connectivity and network stability were projected to improve substantially. This study reveals how mining and restoration jointly shape ecological networks, offering a model-based theoretical framework for ecological security planning in similar fragile mining regions.