Spatial Heterogeneity of Watershed Ecosystem Health and Identification of Its Influencing Factors in a Mountain–Hill–Plain Region, Henan Province, China
A watershed ecosystem is a compound ecosystem composed of land and rivers, and its health is closely related to the sustainable development of the region it is located in. The Yihe River Basin (YRB) in central China’s Henan province, which is located in the north–south transition zone and has a moun...
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/15/3751 |
| _version_ | 1797586111538659328 |
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| author | Hejie Wei Qing Han Yi Yang Ling Li Mengxue Liu |
| author_facet | Hejie Wei Qing Han Yi Yang Ling Li Mengxue Liu |
| author_sort | Hejie Wei |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A watershed ecosystem is a compound ecosystem composed of land and rivers, and its health is closely related to the sustainable development of the region it is located in. The Yihe River Basin (YRB) in central China’s Henan province, which is located in the north–south transition zone and has a mountain–hill–plain landscape from the upstream to the downstream, is adopted as the research area in this study. A watershed ecosystem health assessment system is constructed based on an ecosystem vigor–organization–resilience–service supply and demand harmony (EVORSH) framework and utilized to assess the ecosystem health in the YRB by taking a 3 km × 3 km grid as the evaluation unit. Thirteen factors are selected from natural and human social factors, and from them, the factors that influence watershed ecosystem health through the generation of spatial heterogeneity are identified using the geographical detector model. The following findings are obtained. (1) The mean value of ecosystem health levels in the YRB is 0.65 and at the good level. The ecosystem health has considerable spatial heterogeneity. The areas with high–high concentration are distributed in the mountains in the upper reaches of the YRB, and the areas with low–low concentration are mainly distributed in the plain areas in the middle reaches of the YRB. (2) The geographical detector result shows that 9 of 13 factors have a considerable impact on the spatial distribution of the YRB’s ecosystem health. The interaction between two factors is enhanced synergically. The decisive power of population density, rainfall, and potential evapotranspiration are more than 0.5, so these three are the main factors that influence the distribution of ecosystem health in the YRB. (3) The EVORSH framework is suitable for the measurement of ecosystem health in the YRB. The evaluation result is consistent with the actual situation in the YRB. A 3 km × 3 km grid is used as the basic research unit, and it can more accurately and scientifically express the spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem health in the YRB compared with the macro evaluation unit. This study can provide a scientific basis for ecological protection and high-quality development planning in the YRB. By integrating multi-dimensional data and methods, the EVORSH framework proposed in this study can quickly and scientifically assess the status of ecosystem health, identify the influencing factors of spatial heterogeneity, and could be applied in other similar watersheds. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:17:39Z |
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| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:17:39Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-a4379b139b5b4882a2dc8fe80dfc47292023-11-18T23:30:19ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922023-07-011515375110.3390/rs15153751Spatial Heterogeneity of Watershed Ecosystem Health and Identification of Its Influencing Factors in a Mountain–Hill–Plain Region, Henan Province, ChinaHejie Wei0Qing Han1Yi Yang2Ling Li3Mengxue Liu4College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaCollege of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450046, ChinaFaculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, ChinaA watershed ecosystem is a compound ecosystem composed of land and rivers, and its health is closely related to the sustainable development of the region it is located in. The Yihe River Basin (YRB) in central China’s Henan province, which is located in the north–south transition zone and has a mountain–hill–plain landscape from the upstream to the downstream, is adopted as the research area in this study. A watershed ecosystem health assessment system is constructed based on an ecosystem vigor–organization–resilience–service supply and demand harmony (EVORSH) framework and utilized to assess the ecosystem health in the YRB by taking a 3 km × 3 km grid as the evaluation unit. Thirteen factors are selected from natural and human social factors, and from them, the factors that influence watershed ecosystem health through the generation of spatial heterogeneity are identified using the geographical detector model. The following findings are obtained. (1) The mean value of ecosystem health levels in the YRB is 0.65 and at the good level. The ecosystem health has considerable spatial heterogeneity. The areas with high–high concentration are distributed in the mountains in the upper reaches of the YRB, and the areas with low–low concentration are mainly distributed in the plain areas in the middle reaches of the YRB. (2) The geographical detector result shows that 9 of 13 factors have a considerable impact on the spatial distribution of the YRB’s ecosystem health. The interaction between two factors is enhanced synergically. The decisive power of population density, rainfall, and potential evapotranspiration are more than 0.5, so these three are the main factors that influence the distribution of ecosystem health in the YRB. (3) The EVORSH framework is suitable for the measurement of ecosystem health in the YRB. The evaluation result is consistent with the actual situation in the YRB. A 3 km × 3 km grid is used as the basic research unit, and it can more accurately and scientifically express the spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem health in the YRB compared with the macro evaluation unit. This study can provide a scientific basis for ecological protection and high-quality development planning in the YRB. By integrating multi-dimensional data and methods, the EVORSH framework proposed in this study can quickly and scientifically assess the status of ecosystem health, identify the influencing factors of spatial heterogeneity, and could be applied in other similar watersheds.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/15/3751ecosystem healthecosystem service supply and demandgeographical detectorYihe River Basin |
| spellingShingle | Hejie Wei Qing Han Yi Yang Ling Li Mengxue Liu Spatial Heterogeneity of Watershed Ecosystem Health and Identification of Its Influencing Factors in a Mountain–Hill–Plain Region, Henan Province, China Remote Sensing ecosystem health ecosystem service supply and demand geographical detector Yihe River Basin |
| title | Spatial Heterogeneity of Watershed Ecosystem Health and Identification of Its Influencing Factors in a Mountain–Hill–Plain Region, Henan Province, China |
| title_full | Spatial Heterogeneity of Watershed Ecosystem Health and Identification of Its Influencing Factors in a Mountain–Hill–Plain Region, Henan Province, China |
| title_fullStr | Spatial Heterogeneity of Watershed Ecosystem Health and Identification of Its Influencing Factors in a Mountain–Hill–Plain Region, Henan Province, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spatial Heterogeneity of Watershed Ecosystem Health and Identification of Its Influencing Factors in a Mountain–Hill–Plain Region, Henan Province, China |
| title_short | Spatial Heterogeneity of Watershed Ecosystem Health and Identification of Its Influencing Factors in a Mountain–Hill–Plain Region, Henan Province, China |
| title_sort | spatial heterogeneity of watershed ecosystem health and identification of its influencing factors in a mountain hill plain region henan province china |
| topic | ecosystem health ecosystem service supply and demand geographical detector Yihe River Basin |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/15/3751 |
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