A Study on Ecological Redline Delineation of Land Areas in Shenzhen

Abstract In the context of reform in the mechanism of ecological civilization in China, delineation and management of ecological redlines is of great significance to maintaining the ecological security of the cities. The geographical focus of this study is Shenzhen – a city with obvious disparity between the state of development and level of ecological protection as well as a strong demand for ecological products. Considering having an accurate boundary of ecological redline, building an operability management system, and shaping measures for implementation and operation, this study uses ArcGIS, a tool of spatial analysis, to study the indicators, methods, and technical processes of ecological redline delineation on the city and county levels. It adopts an integrated assessment approach encompassing multiple ecological indicators and key technologies to explore the scope of ecological redline delineation. The results of this study are as follows: (1) Land delineated within the scope of ecological redline management is spread over a total of 557.47km2, accounting for 28.53% of the city area, which mainly features low mountains and hills covered with vegetation in southeastern and central Shenzhen. It effectively connects with the ecological control line. (2) Some important ecological areas are not covered within this ecological redline delineation due to relatively scattered distribution. However, these areas are a part of the system comprising a pattern of urban ecological security, ecological redline, ecological land outside the delineated redline, and greenbelts within the construction lands. (3) Within the delineated ecological redline, a total area of 9.25km2 is still allocated as construction land, mainly for linear engineering and civic facilities. Therefore, planning is required for re-greening and ecologically transforming these areas for the sake of maintaining the ecosystem.