Ecological Security Zoning Considering Land Degradation Neutrality: A Case Study in Southern Jiangxi Province, China

ABSTRACT Ecological security serves as a critical metric for assessing regional sustainable development. Climate change and human activities have intensified the deterioration of global ecosystems, which cause deterioration of ecosystem health and land degradation, and threaten ecological security. Consequently, this study addresses land degradation and ecosystem health by employing the United Nations Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) assessment framework and the Vigor‐Organization‐Resilience‐Service (VORS) model. It visualizes the states of land degradation and ecosystem health from qualitative and quantitative perspectives. Based on the four‐quadrant model, the study investigates the ecological security zoning of the mountainous soil conservation area in southern Jiangxi Province from 2006 to 2022. The results of the study are as follows, (1) land productivity degradation was the dominant factor of land degradation in the study area, while soil organic carbon improvement was the dominant factor of land improvement; (2) The research area exhibited a net gain in land improvement compared with degradation, achieving the goal of LDN advocated by the United Nations, from 2006 to 2022; (3) the area of diseased, sub‐healthy and healthy ecosystems increased by 1.01%, 49.88%, and 1.56%, respectively, and the area of sickness and fragile healthy areas decreased by 2.44% and 49.92%, respectively, from 2006 to 2022; (4) the areas of insecure area and lowly secure area decreased by 6.54% and 42.93%; the areas of moderately secure and secure area increased by 2.25% and 31.15%, from 2006 to 2022. Based on the research results, it is recommended that each administrative region should formulate soil conservation plans according to local conditions, especially by focusing on curbing land degradation and ecosystem deterioration to enhance the regional ecological security. The findings can provide references for controlling soil erosion and improving ecosystem quality in the study area, as well as offer insights into ecological zoning management and restoration in the region.