Journal of Ecology and Rural Environment ›› 2019, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (3): 290-299.doi: 10.19741/j.issn.1673-4831.2018.0350

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Landscape Ecological Risk Assessment Under the Influence of Typical Human Activities in Loess Plateau, Northern Shaanxi

FU Wei1, LÜ Yi-he2, FU Bo-jie2, HU Wei-yin3   

  1. 1. School of Architecture and Urban Planning, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Beijing 100044, China;
    2. Research Center for Eco-Environment Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China;
    3. Soil and Water Conservation Work Station in Hebei Province, Shijiazhuang 050011, China
  • Received:2018-06-21 Online:2019-03-25 Published:2019-04-25

Abstract:

Vegetation recovery promotes changes to landscape patterns and ecological processes. Ecological risk assessments of landscape can help reveal the landscape-scale, potentially harmful ecological effects produced by ecosystem structure and function under human intervention. Due to the weak ecosystem and sensitive interaction between humans and the ecological environment, the Loess Plateau in Northern Shaanxi, China, is targeted as the study object. According to night remote sensing photomaps, vegetation net primary productivity (NPP), and land use data for 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015, risk indexes of landscape ecology are established to quantitatively assess the status and variations of comprehensive risk to the Loess Plateau in Northern Shaanxi and to analyze the correlations of landscape ecological risk with vegetation change and urbanization. As a result, the change of the landscape pattern produces potential effects on ecological stability. The fastest landscape ecological risk area expansion was increased by 186.0% during 2005-2010. The areas of middle and extremely high risk levels had been increased over 2.7 times. The percentage of expansion was slowed down to 12.9% during 2010-2015. The eco-risk levels during 2000-2005 was shrunken by 26.0%. The area with low risk is reduced, whereas the areas with other levels of risks were increased. After 2005, the levels of landscape ecological risks extended in the shape of a flake and were mainly located in the sandy area of northwest of Northern Shaanxi. Vegetation change and urbanization are positively correlated with landscape ecological risk variation in the sandy area in the northwest. In the area with increased risk, the vegetation displayed a trend of degradation. In the area with low risk, that is, in the extended area of the Grain-to-Green Project (GTGP), vegetation recovery promotes the reduction of ecological risk. Compared with urbanization, vegetation recovery has larger effects on landscape ecological risk. The results have certain reference value for the comprehensive regulation of regional development and ecological recovery.

Key words: Loess Plateau, vegetation restoration, landscape pattern, landscape ecological risk, correlation

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