Landscape ecological risk assessment in Qinling Mountain

Abstract

In this paper, landscape ecological risk in Qinling Mountain was studied. Using the remote sensing images of Landsat TM and DEM data in 1984, 2000, 2005, and 2014, an ecological risk assessment model was constructed, and landscape ecological risk indexes were calculated for four time periods 1984, 2004, 2005 and 2014. The spatial distribution of ecological risk was obtained with ArcGIS and geostatistics, and changes in the landscape patterns and spatiotemporal characteristics of ecological risk were analysed. As shown in the results; (a) from 1984 to 2014, the landscape pattern index of Qinling forest area was relatively stable; fragmentation and segregation decreased, and dominance and area increased. The fragmentation and separation of cultivated land increased over time, and the geographical distribution of cultivated land diversified, while its dominance decreased. (b) The areas of extremely low and extremely high ecological risk level in the study area is gradually reduced. But the area of high ecological risk level increased obviously. The extremely high ecological risk area was mainly distributed in the middle and south‐eastern regions. The extremely low and low risk areas were mainly distributed in the low hilly areas of northern Qinling.

Spatiotemporal Variations of Land Use and Landscape Ecological Risk in a Resource-Based City, from Rapid Development to Recession

“…The landscape disturbance index was calculated by landscape metrics. The landscape fragility index was usually obtained by artificial assignment or the normalization method, while some studies calculated it by using the index, which could quantitatively describe the ecological characteristics of the risk receptor, such as vegetation index, wetness index and topographic index [18]. Either way, both the selection of the assessment method and the construction of ecological risk index should be in accordance with the research purpose and the ecological characteristics of the research object.…”

Central China Orogen along the Silk Road (Part 2): Mineral deposits, hydrocarbons, geohazards, and environments

“…A study by Yin, Yang, Wang, Liu, and Meng () evaluated the potential land for biofuel plant development in Shaanxi Province, China. In the paper by Cui et al (), landscape ecological risk assessment was undertaken in Qinling Mountain using Landsat remote sensing data. Han, Zhao, Wu, Zhang, et al () used SPOT 6 imagery to extract lithological information in a heavily Quaternary‐covered region of North China.…”

Elevated Risk of Ecological Land and Underlying Factors Associated with Rapid Urbanization and Overprotected Agriculture in Northeast China

“…To summarize, agricultural occupation and urban expansion were verified as the two main causes of ecological land loss, as well as elevated risks. In light of the current situation, measures such as policy adjustment and ecological restoration should be taken to avoid risk and optimize land use.Previous studies have measured regional ecological security and detected its influencing factors in view of multi-scale and multi-source data [13][14][15]. Jackson et al evaluated the ecological vulnerability caused by land use changes and economic development in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region by overlaying the maps of land-use change projections and sensitive ecological resources [16].…”

“…With the increasing complexity of external environmental factors and the multiple scales of evaluation, more environmental stresses were taken into account, such as urbanization, climate change, and land use change [35]. Studies have demonstrated that a decrease in landscape integrity and stability can lead to a high ecological risk in regional landscapes [14]. Calculating landscape ecological risk and putting forward reasonable risk avoidance measures has been a useful way to improve landscape quality [36].…”

“…Previous studies have measured regional ecological security and detected its influencing factors in view of multi-scale and multi-source data [13][14][15]. Jackson et al evaluated the ecological vulnerability caused by land use changes and economic development in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region by overlaying the maps of land-use change projections and sensitive ecological resources [16].…”