Mapping and Evaluating Human Pressure Changes in the Qilian Mountains
Human activities have dramatically changed ecosystems. As an irreplaceable ecological barrier in western China, the Qilian Mountains (QLM) provide various ecosystem services for humans. To evaluate the changes in the intensity of human activities in the QLM and their impact on the ecosystem, the hum...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/12/2400 |
| _version_ | 1797529534618140672 |
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| author | Quntao Duan Lihui Luo Wenzhi Zhao Yanli Zhuang Fang Liu |
| author_facet | Quntao Duan Lihui Luo Wenzhi Zhao Yanli Zhuang Fang Liu |
| author_sort | Quntao Duan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Human activities have dramatically changed ecosystems. As an irreplaceable ecological barrier in western China, the Qilian Mountains (QLM) provide various ecosystem services for humans. To evaluate the changes in the intensity of human activities in the QLM and their impact on the ecosystem, the human footprint (HF) method was used to conduct a spatial dataset of human activity intensity. In our study, the NDVI was used to characterize the growth of vegetation, and six categories of human pressures were employed to create the HF map in the QLM for 2000–2015 at a 1-km scale. The results showed that the mean NDVI during the growing season showed a significant increasing trend over the entire QLM in the period 2000–2015, while the NDVI showed a significant declining trend of more than 70% concentrated in Qinghai. Human pressure throughout the QLM occurred at a low level during 2000–2015, being greater in the eastern region than the western region, while the Qinghai area had greater human pressure than the Gansu area. Due to the improvement in traffic facilities, tourism, overgrazing, and other illegal activities, grasslands, shrublands, forests, wetlands, and bare land were the vegetation types most affected by human activities (in decreasing order). As the core area of the QLM, the Qilian Mountains National Nature Reserve (NR) has effectively reduced the impact of human activities. However, due to the existence of many ecological historical debts caused by unreasonable management in the past, the national park established in 2017 is facing great challenges to achieve its goals. These data and results will provide reference and guidance for future protection and restoration of the QLM ecosystem. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:15:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-05ba89f7012a46f7978ce01d29b6b949 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:15:12Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-05ba89f7012a46f7978ce01d29b6b9492023-11-22T00:50:47ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922021-06-011312240010.3390/rs13122400Mapping and Evaluating Human Pressure Changes in the Qilian MountainsQuntao Duan0Lihui Luo1Wenzhi Zhao2Yanli Zhuang3Fang Liu4Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaNorthwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaNorthwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaNorthwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaNorthwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaHuman activities have dramatically changed ecosystems. As an irreplaceable ecological barrier in western China, the Qilian Mountains (QLM) provide various ecosystem services for humans. To evaluate the changes in the intensity of human activities in the QLM and their impact on the ecosystem, the human footprint (HF) method was used to conduct a spatial dataset of human activity intensity. In our study, the NDVI was used to characterize the growth of vegetation, and six categories of human pressures were employed to create the HF map in the QLM for 2000–2015 at a 1-km scale. The results showed that the mean NDVI during the growing season showed a significant increasing trend over the entire QLM in the period 2000–2015, while the NDVI showed a significant declining trend of more than 70% concentrated in Qinghai. Human pressure throughout the QLM occurred at a low level during 2000–2015, being greater in the eastern region than the western region, while the Qinghai area had greater human pressure than the Gansu area. Due to the improvement in traffic facilities, tourism, overgrazing, and other illegal activities, grasslands, shrublands, forests, wetlands, and bare land were the vegetation types most affected by human activities (in decreasing order). As the core area of the QLM, the Qilian Mountains National Nature Reserve (NR) has effectively reduced the impact of human activities. However, due to the existence of many ecological historical debts caused by unreasonable management in the past, the national park established in 2017 is facing great challenges to achieve its goals. These data and results will provide reference and guidance for future protection and restoration of the QLM ecosystem.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/12/2400human footprintQilian Mountainsvegetation greennesshuman impactnature reserve |
| spellingShingle | Quntao Duan Lihui Luo Wenzhi Zhao Yanli Zhuang Fang Liu Mapping and Evaluating Human Pressure Changes in the Qilian Mountains Remote Sensing human footprint Qilian Mountains vegetation greenness human impact nature reserve |
| title | Mapping and Evaluating Human Pressure Changes in the Qilian Mountains |
| title_full | Mapping and Evaluating Human Pressure Changes in the Qilian Mountains |
| title_fullStr | Mapping and Evaluating Human Pressure Changes in the Qilian Mountains |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mapping and Evaluating Human Pressure Changes in the Qilian Mountains |
| title_short | Mapping and Evaluating Human Pressure Changes in the Qilian Mountains |
| title_sort | mapping and evaluating human pressure changes in the qilian mountains |
| topic | human footprint Qilian Mountains vegetation greenness human impact nature reserve |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/12/2400 |
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