Ecological Network Resilience of Shiyang River Basin: An Arid Inland Watershed of Northwest China

Due to the uncertainties posed by climate change, resilience has become an increasingly important variable for evaluating regional ecosystem stability. The assessment of Ecological Network Resilience (ENR) is crucial for establishing mitigation strategies and sustainable socioeconomic development in arid regions. Shiyang River Basin is an arid watershed in Northwest China with complex characteristics, its ENR and spatial differentiation characteristics in 2020 were investigated in this work based on the Complex Adaptive System (CAS) theory. The results indicated that the mean Ecological Network Resilience Index (ENRI) value for the Shiyang River Basin was 0.390 in 2020, and the mean values in the southern mountainous, middle oasis, and northern desert regions of the basin were 0.598, 0.461, and 0.237, respectively, demonstrating evident spatial differences. Additionally, the ENR of the basin exhibited distinct distribution characteristics across different dimension, whereas the trend of the integrated ENR of the basin was consistent with that of elemental, structural, and functional resilience, indicating the constructed three-region ENR model based on the logical relationship of element-structure-function was suitable for evaluation of the ENR in arid inland river watersheds. Furthermore, strategies for enhancing regional ENR were proposed from the perspective of adapting to climate change.