Assessment of Regional Ecosystem Health—A Case Study of the Golden Triangle of Southern Fujian Province, China

Ziyan Wang, Lina Tang, Quanyi Qiu, Huaxiang Chen, Tong Wu and Guofan Shao
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Ziyan Wang: Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences Urban Environment and Health Key Laboratory, Xiamen 361021, China
Lina Tang: Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences Urban Environment and Health Key Laboratory, Xiamen 361021, China
Quanyi Qiu: Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences Urban Environment and Health Key Laboratory, Xiamen 361021, China
Huaxiang Chen: Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences Urban Environment and Health Key Laboratory, Xiamen 361021, China
Tong Wu: Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences Urban Environment and Health Key Laboratory, Xiamen 361021, China
Guofan Shao: Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences Urban Environment and Health Key Laboratory, Xiamen 361021, China

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 4, 1-21

Abstract: Intensifying urbanization and rapid population growth in Fujian Province, China, has caused pollution of air and water resources; this has adversely impacted ecosystems and human health. China has recently begun pursuing a massive infrastructure and economic development strategy called the Belt and Road Initiative, which could potentially cause further environmental damage. Evaluations of ecosystem health are therefore a first step towards identifying the potential impacts from the development and planning sustainable development strategies in the Golden Triangle of Southern Fujian. To this end, our study analyzed landscape patterns and evaluated ecosystem health in this region. We used an index system method to develop a pressure–state–response (PSR) model for assessing the region’s ecosystem health. We found that: (1) the landscape type with the greatest area in the study region is cultivated land and there were no areas that were undisturbed by human activity; (2) the overall ecological health of the region is good, but there is distinct variation across the region. This study incorporates the landscape pattern into an evaluation of ecosystem health. Using counties as evaluation units, we provide a general evaluation index for this scale. The methods reported here can be used in complex ecological environments to inform sustainable management decisions.

Keywords: the Golden Triangle of Southern Fujian Province; pressure-state-response model; ecosystem health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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