scholarly journals Natural and Political Determinants of Ecological Vulnerability in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau: A Case Study of Shannan, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 327
Author(s):  
Yunxiao Jiang ◽  
Rong Li ◽  
Yu Shi ◽  
Luo Guo
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Environmental Planning ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Sudden Increase ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Landsat Images ◽  
Ecological Vulnerability ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau

Changing land-use patterns in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) due to natural factors and human interference have led to higher ecological vulnerability and even more underlying issues related to time and space in this alpine area. Ecological vulnerability assessment provides not only a solution to surface-feature-related problems but also insight into sustainable eco-environmental planning and resource management as a response to potential climate changes if driving factors are known. In this study, the ecological vulnerability index (EVI) of Shannan City in the core area of the QTP was assessed using a selected set of ecological, social, and economic indicators and spatial principal component analysis (SPCA) to calculate their weights. The data included Landsat images and socio-economic data from 1990 to 2015, at five-year intervals. The results showed that the total EVI remains at a medium vulnerability level, with minor fluctuations over 25 years (peaks in 2000, when there was a sudden increase in slight vulnerability, which switched to extreme vulnerability), and gradually increases from east to west. In addition, spatial analysis showed a distinct positive correlation between the EVI and land-use degree, livestock husbandry output, desertification area, and grassland area. The artificial afforestation program (AAP) has a positive effect by preventing the environment from becoming more vulnerable. The results provide practical information and suggestions for planners to take measures to improve the land-use degree in urban and pastoral areas in the QTP based on spatial-temporal heterogeneity patterns of the EVI of Shannan City.

scholarly journals A Long-Term Ecological Vulnerability Analysis of the Tibetan Region of Natural Conditions and Ecological Protection Programs

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (19) ◽  
pp. 10598
Author(s):  
Yunxiao Jiang ◽  
Yu Shi ◽  
Rong Li ◽  
Luo Guo
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Vegetation Coverage ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Sudden Increase ◽  
Landsat Images ◽  
Environment Change ◽  
Ecological Vulnerability

The combined impacts of drastic natural environment change and increasing human interference are making the uncertainty of the Tibetan Plateau’s ecological vulnerability the world’s largest. In this study, an ecological vulnerability index (EVI) of Tibet in the core area of the Tibetan Plateau was assessed using a selected set of ecological, social, and economic indicators and using a spatial principal component analysis (SPCA) to calculate their weights. The data included Landsat images and socio-economic data from 1990 to 2015 in five-year intervals. The results showed that the total EVI remained at a high vulnerability level, with drastic fluctuation from 1990 to 2000 (a peak in 1995, when there was a sudden increase in light vulnerability, which moved to extreme vulnerability in the next period), and minor fluctuations after 2000, gradually increasing from southeast to northwest. In addition, the spatial analysis showed a distinct positive correlation between the EVI and grassland area (0.33), land use degree (0.15), NDVI (0.14), livestock husbandry output, and a negative correlation in terms of desertification area. The artificial afforestation program (AAP) had a positive significant correlation with NDVI (R2 = 0.88), preventing the environment from becoming more vulnerable. The results provide practical information and suggestions for planners to improve the land use degree in urban areas and the vegetation coverage in pastoral regions of the Tibetan Plateau based on the spatial–temporal heterogeneity patterns of the EVI of Tibet.

scholarly journals Quantifying the Variability of Forest Ecosystem Vulnerability in the Largest Water Tower Region Globally

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 7529
Author(s):  
Siqi Sun ◽  
Yihe Lü ◽  
Da Lü ◽  
Cong Wang
Keyword(s):  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Regional Scale ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Slope Aspect ◽  
Environmental Disturbances ◽  
Restoration Planning ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau

Forests are critical ecosystems for environmental regulation and ecological security maintenance, especially at high altitudes that exhibit sensitivity to climate change and human activities. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau—the world’s largest water tower region—has been breeding many large rivers in Asia where forests play important roles in water regulation and water quality improvement. However, the vulnerability of these forest ecosystems at the regional scale is still largely unknown. Therefore, the aim of this research is to quantitatively assess the temporal–spatial variability of forest vulnerability on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to illustrate the capacity of forests to withstand disturbances. Geographic information system (GIS) and the spatial principal component analysis (SPCA) were used to develop a forest vulnerable index (FVI) to assess the vulnerability of forest ecosystems. This research incorporates 15 factors covering the natural context, environmental disturbances, and socioeconomic impact. Results indicate that the measure of vulnerability was unevenly distributed spatially across the study area, and the whole trend has intensified since 2000. The three factors that contribute the most to the vulnerability of natural contexts, environmental disturbances, and human impacts are slope aspect, landslides, and the distance to the farmland, respectively. The vulnerability is higher in forest areas with lower altitudes, steeper slopes, and southerly directions. These evaluation results can be helpful for forest management in high altitude water tower regions in the forms of forest conservation or restoration planning and implementation towards sustainable development goals.

Response of phosphorus fractions to land-use change followed by long-term fertilization in a sub-alpine humid soil of Qinghai–Tibet plateau

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 1109-1119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaolei Sun ◽  
Meng Li ◽  
Guoxi Wang ◽  
Marios Drosos ◽  
Fulai Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Change ◽  
Phosphorus Fractions ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau

scholarly journals Complex Principal Component Analysis of Mass Balance Change on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingang Zhan ◽  
Hongling Shi ◽  
Yong Wang ◽  
Yixin Yao
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
El Niño ◽  
Indian Monsoon ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Mass Gain ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau

Abstract. Abstract. This paper analyzes the spatial characteristics of mass balance change on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and surrounding areas, using 153 monthly solutions of temporal gravity data from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment(in this case GRACE) satellite. Spatial mode characteristics and phase information of mass balance change are analyzed using complex principal component analysis (in this case CPCA). Information on time-frequency change of major components is analyzed using the wavelet amplitude-period spectrum. The results show that the mass balance change on the plateau is influenced by various atmospheric circulations and there are obvious systemic differences, namely, glacial fluctuation of the Himalayas area was mainly influenced by the weakening Indian monsoon, El Niño and East Asian monsoon. There were drastic changes of glacier mass gain and loss balance. Apart from the Indian monsoon and El Niño affected on mass balance in inland areas of the plateau, the northern parts of the plateau was also affected by the westerlies and there was a positive mass balance, with mass gain exceeding loss. The Pamirs and the Karakoram Range areas are influenced not only by the Indian monsoon and westerlies but also by the climate change of El Niño and La Niña, and mass change shows a weak mass balanced. The major influence on the change of mass balance on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was the weakening Indian monsoon, which was responsible for 54.0 % of that change. Because El Niño is strengthening, it has recently become the second major factor affecting the change of mass balance, responsible for 16.3 % of that change. The third major influence was the westerlies and of La Niña-related climate change, accounting for 5.6 % of the mass balance change.

A Research on the Planning Strategy of Eco-Demonstration Zones in High Altitude Areas — a Case Study of Tanggula Town

2011 ◽  
Vol 368-373 ◽  
pp. 1632-1637
Author(s):  
Jin Wang ◽  
De Gang Duan ◽  
Jie Shen
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
High Altitude ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Planning Strategy ◽  
Development Direction ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau

The unruled development of construction land, along with the disordered planning and deteriorating living environment, etc. has long been prevalent in those small towns in the Qinghai- Tibet Plateau. This paper, thus, conducts some on-the-spot investigations and analyses of Tanggula town. The paper departs from the disparities between the current conditions of Tanggula town and the standards of eco- demonstration zone, proposing some strategies in the aspects of development direction, land use layout, facility layout, architecture and the town's features, aiming to exert positive influence upon the planning of small towns in plateaux.

scholarly journals Identification of Ecological Risk Zoning on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from the Perspective of Ecosystem Service Supply and Demand

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5366
Author(s):  
Wei Shi ◽  
Fuwei Qiao ◽  
Liang Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Ecological Risk ◽  
Temporal Pattern ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
Risk Areas ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
Qinghai Tibet Plateau

With the interaction of global change and human activities, the contradistinction between supply and demand of ecosystem services in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is becoming increasingly tense, which will have a profound impact on the ecological security of China and even Asia. Based on land cover data on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in 1990, 2005, and 2015, this paper estimated the supply capacity of ecosystem services using the value equivalent method, calculated the demand for ecosystem services using population density and economic density, established an ecosystem risk index based on the idea of an ecosystem service matrix to reveal the spatio-temporal pattern of the supply and demand of ecosystem services in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and identified the potential ecological risk areas arising from the imbalance between supply and demand. The results showed that: (1) In terms of the spatio-temporal pattern of land use change, the desert area of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau decreased the most with 26,238.9 km2, and other types of land use increased, of which construction land increased by 131.7%; (2) In terms of the supply and demand of ecosystem services, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was mainly dominated by low-level surplus areas, accounting for 64.0%, and the deficit in some areas has worsened significantly; and (3) In terms of division pattern of ecological risk areas, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau presented characteristics of high risk in the east and low risk in the west. The high-risk area accounted for 1.1%, mainly distributed in the Huangshui Valley and the “One River and Two Tributaries” (Yarlung Zangbo River, Lhasa River, Nianchu River). The research results can provide reference for ecosystem management and policy formulation of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and have important significance for realizing the coupling and coordinated development of human–land relationship in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

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