The Temporal and Spatial Characteristics of Ecological Security Pattern in the Loess Plateau, China

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The paper assessed the changes in ecological security pattern in the Loess Plateau combining "Function-Structure" indices and the minimum cumulative resistance model (MCR). The study period covers 2000, 2010 and 2020. They found the ecological security has been improving, notably in the east part of the region. Such an assessment is beneficial for practical conservation and policy making. There is very interesting and valuable study that merits publications after minor revisions. The paper has some grammatical errors; thorough proofreading is recommended to improve the readability. Proofread and edited the paper for scientific English, grammar, syntax, and typos. Issues can include not spelling words in full e.g., don't is do not, isn't, is not, etc. Avoid using spoken vernacular type English, e.g., plethora, on the other hand, scanty, massive, etc. Other comments that need to be addressed before the paper can be considered for publication are as follows:

* The novelty of this work must be addressed and discussed in the Introduction section.

* You must have a clear methodology, whether a review or an original research paper. Please address.

* Some equations are presented in the paper, and most look OK. However, please carefully check whether all equations are necessary and the parameters involved are properly explained.

* Please do not use scholars, researchers, research, or literature; instead, use studies, research, work, etc.

* Do not use 'we,' 'our,' or 'I' work; it is preferred to write 'This' research or 'The research in this study etc.

* Avoid long sentences and excessively long or too many short paragraphs.

* Avoid excessive, unnecessary use of bullet points and numbered lists.

* Discussion needs some improvements. The manuscript should provide practical and feasible policy recommendations based on the research results.

* Some future works should be added to your conclusion.

The paper has some grammatical errors; thorough proofreading is recommended to improve the readability. Proofread and edited the paper for scientific English, grammar, syntax, and typos. Issues can include not spelling words in full e.g., don't is do not, isn't, is not, etc. Avoid using spoken vernacular type English, e.g., plethora, on the other hand, scanty, massive, etc.

Author Response

Dear, Reviewer

Thanks for your comments concerning our manuscript entitled “The temporal and spatial characteristics of ecological security pattern in the Loess Plateau, China” (land-2919703). Those comments are all valuable and helpful for revising and improving our paper. We have studied all comments carefully and have made conscientious correction. We have replied your comments point-by-point. Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

A very nice article with a comprehensive approach; it will be interesting to test this approach in other areas.

I have three small methodological questions/comments. 

1. Shouldn't the quality of ecological corridors, which are so important especially in landscapes disturbed by several types of disturbances, be tested in real time and space; or were the data input to the model available at appropriate scales in terms of the representation of taxonomic groups of protected/endangered/invasive species?

2. The study area was quite large in terms of area; do the authors of the study foresee an effective use of the approach in smaller areas?

3. What is the vulnerability of this methodological approach with regard to its use in areas with very high disturbance or very low disturbance?

Author Response

Dear, Reviewer

Thanks for your comments concerning our manuscript entitled “The temporal and spatial characteristics of ecological security pattern in the Loess Plateau, China” (land-2919703). Those comments are all valuable and helpful for revising and improving our paper. We have studied all comments carefully and have made conscientious correction. We have replied your comments point-by-point. Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

This work has analyzed the temporal and spatial characteristics of ecological security pattern(ESP) in the Loess Plateau, China. Some corrections need to be made for publication:

Abstract

l The Abstract must be simplified and rewritten to magnify the contribution of this paper and to attract the interests of readers.

l The repetition rate of the abstract part and the conclusion part is quite high.

Introduction

The reseach gaps summarised in Line 79 have inadequate basis. For example, there is some refereces study the ESP in the whole Loess Plateau. The innovation of this paper and the contribution made by previous studies have not been clearly expressed.

Materials and methods

l What was the basis for the informmation of section Study area? Reference?

l There is a problem with the word “InVEST” shown in Figure 2, where the space in the middle should not appear.

l As for the common landscape indicators for structure and function (Table 2), each indicator should be supported by literature.

Results:

l The title of 3.1 should add the “temporal and spatial characteristics” ahead, in line with the title of the article.

l It is better to remove the borders of all the figures.

l The layout of Figure 6 should be consistent with Figure 3,4 and 5.

l Figure 8 is too small and its size is inconsistent with the other figures

Discussion

l Some counties’ names or cities’ names appear in 4.1 and 4.2, but these place names do not appear in Figure 1, which makes reader confused.

l The results of the ecological security pattern analysis need to be further validated, a comparative analysis with the government's main function zoning is recommended.

l The research limitations should be presented at the end of the discussion section.

Conclusions

l In the conclusion, please explain in two lines what direction the results of this study provide for future research.

Moderate English changes required.

Author Response

Dear, Reviewer

Thanks for your comments concerning our manuscript entitled “The temporal and spatial characteristics of ecological security pattern in the Loess Plateau, China” (land-2919703). Those comments are all valuable and helpful for revising and improving our paper. We have studied all comments carefully and have made conscientious correction. We have replied your comments point-by-point. Please see the attachment.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf