Coupling eco-environmental quality and ecosystem services to delineate priority ecological reserves-A case study in the Yellow River Basin

Priority ecological reserves (PER) aim to protect areas with significant ecological value and crucial ecological functions, optimizing resource allocation to maximize the benefits of ecological conservation. However, most previous studies have considered only ecosystem services (ESs) in delineating PER, neglecting eco-environmental quality (EEQ). This study used the Remote Sensing-based Ecological Index (RSEI) to represent EEQ and combined it with ESs to delineate PER at the county scale in the Yellow River Basin (YRB). Additionally, it employed Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression to identify the driving factors influencing the ESs and EEQ of PER. The results showed that: (1) From 2000 to 2020, both RSEI and the Comprehensive ESs (CES) in the YRB exhibited a fluctuating upward trend; (2) Three types of PER were extracted, with ESs reserve mainly distributed in the upstream region, EEQ reserve primarily in the middle and lower reaches, and integrated ecological reserve mainly in the midstream region, all dominated by vegetation land-use types; (3) Within the extracted PER, RSEI was mainly influenced by soil, aspect, population (pop), PM2.5, temperature (tmp), and potential evapotranspiration (pet), while CES was affected by soil, pop, PM2.5, slope, tmp, precipitation, and pet. To enhance the EEQ and ESs of the YRB, it was recommended to incorporate at least 105,379 km2 into the existing protected areas in the YRB. These areas should be subdivided based on their ecological status, with specific management measures for different types of PER. This study provides recommendations for environmental protection and land planning in the YRB, actively responding to current policies on high-quality development and ecological environmental protection in the YRB.