Yu Zhoulu, Zhao Xin, Wang Ke, Qiu Lefeng
College of Environmental and Resource Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310058, China.
Marine Academy of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310012, China.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 18;15(1):30156. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-16182-3.
Ecological restoration has become a critical tool for mitigating ecosystem degradation and enhancing ecological health. Effective restoration efforts require regionalisation through identifying of social-ecological system (SES) that integrate socioeconomic and ecological characteristics. However, methodological gaps in clarifying interdimensional interplay often hinder coastal restoration planning. This study develops a spatial characterisation framework to identify coastal SESs for targeted ecological restoration in Zhejiang Province, China. Integrating socioeconomic data and land-marine ecological variables across 28 coastal counties, we employed principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering to delineate nine distinct SESs exhibiting significant heterogeneity: northern clusters (SES1/7/9) show high socioeconomic performance but suboptimal environmental indicators; southern systems (SES2/8) feature lower development but superior environmental conditions; central zones (SES5/6) demonstrate moderate socioeconomic-environmental profiles; while island systems (SES3/4) display low population density, high aging rates, and unique biogeophysical traits. Precise SES categorization enabled identification of primary degradation pressures and formulation tailored restoration strategies within each SES in Zhejiang. Critically, transcending administrative boundaries is essential to accommodate intra-city diversity and cross-city unity, given prevalent transboundary SESs and intra-city variations. We propose four management implications: ecosystem service conservation, pressure-specific interventions, cross-sector governance mechanisms, and participatory restoration incentivization. This framework establishes a transferable approach for sustainable coastal SES restoration management.
生态恢复已成为缓解生态系统退化和促进生态健康的关键工具。有效的恢复工作需要通过识别整合社会经济和生态特征的社会生态系统（SES）来进行区域划分。然而，在阐明维度间相互作用方面的方法学差距常常阻碍沿海恢复规划。本研究开发了一个空间特征框架，以识别中国浙江省用于针对性生态恢复的沿海社会生态系统。整合28个沿海县的社会经济数据和陆海生态变量，我们采用主成分分析和层次聚类来划分出九个具有显著异质性的不同社会生态系统：北部集群（SES1/7/9）表现出较高的社会经济绩效，但环境指标欠佳；南部系统（SES2/8）的特点是发展水平较低，但环境条件优越；中部地区（SES5/6）呈现出中等的社会经济-环境概况；而岛屿系统（SES3/4）则显示出人口密度低、老龄化率高以及独特的生物地球物理特征。精确的社会生态系统分类能够识别主要的退化压力，并在浙江的每个社会生态系统内制定量身定制的恢复策略。至关重要的是，鉴于普遍存在的跨界社会生态系统和城市内部差异，超越行政边界对于适应城市内部多样性和跨城市统一性至关重要。我们提出了四点管理启示：生态系统服务保护、针对压力的干预措施、跨部门治理机制以及参与式恢复激励措施。该框架建立了一种可转移的方法，用于可持续的沿海社会生态系统恢复管理。
