Spatiotemporal change and drivers of ecosystem quality in the Loess Plateau based on RSEI: A case study of Shanxi, China
The fragile ecological environment and intensive human activities in the Loess Plateau region of China have led to serious soil erosion and adverse weather disasters. To address these issues, the Chinese government has implemented a series of large-scale ecological restoration projects with signific...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2023-11-01
|
| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X23012025 |
| _version_ | 1797655128214339584 |
|---|---|
| author | Cheng Gong Feinan Lyu Yilei Wang |
| author_facet | Cheng Gong Feinan Lyu Yilei Wang |
| author_sort | Cheng Gong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The fragile ecological environment and intensive human activities in the Loess Plateau region of China have led to serious soil erosion and adverse weather disasters. To address these issues, the Chinese government has implemented a series of large-scale ecological restoration projects with significant investments and broad public participation. Throughout this process, the ecosystems have undergone substantial artificial intervention. This study utilizes MODIS data to establish a remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) for evaluating the ecosystem quality of Shanxi Province, located in the eastern Loess Plateau, over the past 20 years (2000–2020). Furthermore, the study analyzed the natural and socio-economic factors that influence the local ecosystem quality using Geodetector analysis. The research findings revealed the following: 1) Over the 20-year period of large-scale ecological restoration projects, the ecosystem quality in Shanxi has significantly improved, as indicated by the average RSEI index increasing from 0.48 to 0.57. 2) The southern part of the province has experienced relatively better ecosystem recovery, while the ecosystem quality in the northern and western regions, particularly along the Yellow River, remains poor. 3) Overall, the major factors influencing ecosystem quality are natural geographical factors such as temperature and slope. However, with rapid urbanization, the negative impacts from socio-economic factors represented by GDP have intensified, particularly in the northern regions. Additionally, this study demonstrated that the geographically weighted regression model can better explain the local variations affecting the RSEI and exhibits a high degree of reliability. The research findings provide scientific and effective references for evaluating the ecosystem quality in the Loess Plateau and implementing ecological restoration projects. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T17:09:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b605287f65ec44efb157568a95b63e30 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T17:09:39Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-b605287f65ec44efb157568a95b63e302023-10-20T06:38:55ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2023-11-01155111060Spatiotemporal change and drivers of ecosystem quality in the Loess Plateau based on RSEI: A case study of Shanxi, ChinaCheng Gong0Feinan Lyu1Yilei Wang2School of Design, Taiyuan Normal University, Jinzhong 030619, China; College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China; Corresponding author at: College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China, China Agricultural University, No. 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, China.Department of Landscape Architecture, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, ChinaThe fragile ecological environment and intensive human activities in the Loess Plateau region of China have led to serious soil erosion and adverse weather disasters. To address these issues, the Chinese government has implemented a series of large-scale ecological restoration projects with significant investments and broad public participation. Throughout this process, the ecosystems have undergone substantial artificial intervention. This study utilizes MODIS data to establish a remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) for evaluating the ecosystem quality of Shanxi Province, located in the eastern Loess Plateau, over the past 20 years (2000–2020). Furthermore, the study analyzed the natural and socio-economic factors that influence the local ecosystem quality using Geodetector analysis. The research findings revealed the following: 1) Over the 20-year period of large-scale ecological restoration projects, the ecosystem quality in Shanxi has significantly improved, as indicated by the average RSEI index increasing from 0.48 to 0.57. 2) The southern part of the province has experienced relatively better ecosystem recovery, while the ecosystem quality in the northern and western regions, particularly along the Yellow River, remains poor. 3) Overall, the major factors influencing ecosystem quality are natural geographical factors such as temperature and slope. However, with rapid urbanization, the negative impacts from socio-economic factors represented by GDP have intensified, particularly in the northern regions. Additionally, this study demonstrated that the geographically weighted regression model can better explain the local variations affecting the RSEI and exhibits a high degree of reliability. The research findings provide scientific and effective references for evaluating the ecosystem quality in the Loess Plateau and implementing ecological restoration projects.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X23012025Ecosystem qualityRemote sensing ecologic indexEcological restorationSpatiotemporal changes |
| spellingShingle | Cheng Gong Feinan Lyu Yilei Wang Spatiotemporal change and drivers of ecosystem quality in the Loess Plateau based on RSEI: A case study of Shanxi, China Ecological Indicators Ecosystem quality Remote sensing ecologic index Ecological restoration Spatiotemporal changes |
| title | Spatiotemporal change and drivers of ecosystem quality in the Loess Plateau based on RSEI: A case study of Shanxi, China |
| title_full | Spatiotemporal change and drivers of ecosystem quality in the Loess Plateau based on RSEI: A case study of Shanxi, China |
| title_fullStr | Spatiotemporal change and drivers of ecosystem quality in the Loess Plateau based on RSEI: A case study of Shanxi, China |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spatiotemporal change and drivers of ecosystem quality in the Loess Plateau based on RSEI: A case study of Shanxi, China |
| title_short | Spatiotemporal change and drivers of ecosystem quality in the Loess Plateau based on RSEI: A case study of Shanxi, China |
| title_sort | spatiotemporal change and drivers of ecosystem quality in the loess plateau based on rsei a case study of shanxi china |
| topic | Ecosystem quality Remote sensing ecologic index Ecological restoration Spatiotemporal changes |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X23012025 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT chenggong spatiotemporalchangeanddriversofecosystemqualityintheloessplateaubasedonrseiacasestudyofshanxichina AT feinanlyu spatiotemporalchangeanddriversofecosystemqualityintheloessplateaubasedonrseiacasestudyofshanxichina AT yileiwang spatiotemporalchangeanddriversofecosystemqualityintheloessplateaubasedonrseiacasestudyofshanxichina |