Journal of Ecology and Rural Environment ›› 2022, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (5): 599-608.doi: 10.19741/j.issn.1673-4831.2021.0461

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Fractional Vegetation Cover Change and Its Evaluation of Ecological Security in the Typical Vulnerable Ecological Region of Northwest China:Helan Mountains in Ningxia

LIN Yan-min1,2, NAN Xiong-xiong3, HU Zhi-rui4, LI Xin-qing5, WANG Fang1,2   

  1. 1. School of Geographical Science and Planning, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, China;
    2. China-Arab Joint International Research Laboratory for Featured Resources and Environmental Governance in Arid Region, Ministry of Education, Yinchuan 750021, China;
    3. The State Key Laboratory of Seedling Bioengineering, Yinchuan 750001, China;
    4. Ningxia Land Resources Surveying and Monitoring Institute, Yinchuan 750002, China;
    5. Key Laboratory for Meteorological Disaster Monitoring and Early Warning and Risk Management of Characteristics Agriculture in Arid Regions, China Meteorological Administration, Yinchuan 750002, China
  • Received:2021-07-24 Online:2022-05-25 Published:2022-05-25

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Abstract: The well-being of the human race is closely related to the ecological environment. In the past few decades, indicators retrieved from remote sensing data have been increasingly more widely applied to ecological environment evaluation for their advantages of spatial visualization, and remote sensing technology offers important reference to regional ecological environment governance, improvement, and development planning by quickly assessing regional ecological environment quality. Based on Landsat 5/8 images from 1987, 2000, 2007, 2017 and 2020, vegetation coverage (FVC) and remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) were selected to explore the spatial-temporal changes of ecological environment in Helan Mountains, Ningxia, and to analyze the vegetation status and ecological restoration effect before and after the implementation of ecological protection action in Helan Mountains in 2017. The results show that:(1) In general, the vegetation coverage and ecological environment of Helan Mountains in Ningxia had been continuously improved during 1987-2020. The annual average FVC had increased from 31.03% (1987) before the ecological battle to 43.35% (2020) recently, and the RSEI had increased from 32.71% to 50.45%, indicating a significant effect of ecological restoration. (2) The FVC and RSEI were still at low level, and the overall ecological quality in the research area was in ordinary status. The FVC and RSEI of the higher altitude areas in the west and the tourist-intensive areas in the central and southern regions had been obviously degraded, with degradation rates of 12.11% and 8.30%, respectively. (3) The spatial distribution and variation trend of FVC was highly consistent with those of RSEI, and the correlation coefficients are all greater than 0.80. Greenness index has the highest weight in principal component analysis, indicating that the increase of FVC has a positive impact on the ecological environment of Helan Mountains in Ningxia. The results in the present study have important reference significance for the restoration and management of the ecological environment in the area of ecologically fragile area such as Helan Mountains and other similar protected areas.

Key words: Helan Mountains, fractional vegetation cover (FVC), remote sensing ecological index (RSEI), ecological quality

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