Assessment of Wetland Ecosystem Health Using the Pressure–State–Response (PSR) Model: A Case Study of Mursidabad District of West Bengal (India)

Abstract

Wetlands are essential for protein production, water sanctification, groundwater recharge, climate purification, nutrient cycling, decreasing floods and biodiversity preservation. The Mursidabad district in West Bengal (India) is situated in the floodplain of the Ganga–Padma and Bhagirathi rivers. The region is characterized by diverse types of wetlands; however, the wetlands are getting depredated day-by-day due to hydro-ecological changes, uncontrolled human activities and rapid urbanization. This study attempted to explore the health status of the wetland ecosystem in 2013 and 2020 at the block level in the Mursidabad district, using the pressure–state–response model. Based on wetland ecosystem health values, we categorized the health conditions and identified the blocks where the health conditions are poor. A total of seven Landsat ETM+ spaceborne satellite images in 2001, 2013 and 2020 were selected as the data sources. The statistical data included the population density and urbanization increase rate, for all administrative units, and were collected from the census data of India for 2001 and 2011. We picked nine ecosystem indicators for the incorporated assessment of wetland ecosystem health. The indicators were selected considering every block in the Mursidabad district and for the computation of the wetland ecosystem health index by using the analytical hierarchy processes method. This study determined that 26.92% of the blocks fell under the sick category in 2013, but increased to 30.77% in 2020, while the percentage of blocks in the very healthy category has decreased markedly from 11.54% to 3.85%. These blocks were affected by higher human pressure, such as population density, urbanization growth rate and road density, which resulted in the degradation of wetland health. The scientific protection and restoration techniques of these wetlands should be emphasized in these areas.

Green Development Assessment of a Stainless-steel Industrial Park Based on Material Flow Analysis (MFA)

“…The model of Pressure-State-Response (PSR) uses the logical thinking of "Pressure-State-Response" so as to reflect the interaction between human beings and the environment [6][7] . See Figure 1 for the PSR model framework of green development of industrial park.…”

Assessing the Ecosystem Health of Coastal Wetland Vegetation (Suaeda salsa) Using the Pressure State Response Model, a Case of the Liao River Estuary in China

“…Researchers often develop models or frameworks to assess the ecosystem health of landscapes such as rivers, lakes and wetlands to provide a scientific reference. At present, the commonly used ecosystem evaluation models or frameworks include the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) model [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ], the comprehensive evaluation model based on entropy weight [ 13 , 14 , 15 ] and the pressure state response (PSR) frameworks [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]. The AHP method and entropy weighting method are mainly used to determine indicator weights [bai18].…”

“…The AHP method and entropy weighting method are mainly used to determine indicator weights [bai18]. Many studies have used the AHP method to determine the weights of individual indicators before constructing PSR models to assess ecosystem health, including many wetland types, such as plains [ 19 ], river basins [ 16 ], bays [ 12 ], mangroves [ 17 ] and so on. The health of wetlands can be easily assessed by PSR models, and the causes of wetland degradation can be identified as agricultural expansion or otherwise [ 20 ].…”

Ecological Health Assessment of Chinese National Parks Based on Landscape Pattern: A Case Study in Shennongjia National Park

“…The VOR assessment model emphasizes the integrity of ecosystem structure and function, including vitality, resilience and landscape pattern within the ecosystem, emphasizing the properties of the ecosystem itself [ 25 ]. The PSR assessment model mainly researched causal relationships between ecosystems and human activities, largely considering ecosystem pressure, state, and response [ 26 ].…”