Objective Panzhihua city is an important ecological security barrier in Southwest China. Affected by factors such as long-term high-intensity land development and extensive utilization of mineral resources, the city faces severe ecological problems such as intensified soil erosion and frequent geological disasters. Constructing its ecological security pattern is of great significance for maintaining the stability of the ecosystem in Southwest China and strengthening the ecological barrier in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

Methods Taking Panzhihua city as the research object, the ecological sources were first identified based on the analytical framework of ecosystem services importance—ecological sensitivity—morphological spatial pattern—landscape connectivity. Then, the ecological resistance surface was constructed in combination with multiple resistance factors. Furthermore, the ecological elements were identified using the circuit theory model, thereby constructing the ecological security pattern of the city in the past 20 years (2002−2022). Finally, the ecological elements of the entire region were coordinated, and the strategies for ecological restoration and optimization were refined.

Results 1) Ecological sources in Panzhihua city were relatively concentrated, mainly in Yanbian county and Miyi county in the north. Over the past nearly 20 years, the number of sources decreased, and their area first increased and then decreased. 2) The city’s overall ecological resistance value changed little, generally showing a distribution pattern of being higher in the south than in the north and higher in the central area than in the surrounding areas. The low-value areas were mainly concentrated in the northwest, while the high-value areas were clustered in the central and northeastern areas. 3) Over the past 20 years, the city’s ecological corridors decreased in number, from 38 to 27, and in length, from 216.79 to 171.10 km. The area of ecological pinch points rose initially and then declined, but showed an overall increase, from 26.03 km² to 51.08 km². The area of ecological barriers dropped first and then rose, but presented an overall decrease, from 116.09 to 104.66 km². 4) Based on the construction and assessment of the ecological security pattern, the ecological restoration and optimization strategy of "one screen (the northern mountain barrier), two belts (river and corridor belts), and four zones (ecological conservation, restoration, management and control, and enhancement zones)" was proposed.

Conclusions The findings can effectively optimize the ecological network of Panzhihua city, enhance the ecosystem service functions of the region, and provide scientific references for formulating differentiated and targeted protection and restoration strategies to promote ecosystem restoration and continuous improvement.