Ecological Quality Evolution and Its Driving Factors in Yunnan Karst Rocky Desertification Areas

Shiwen Zhang, Yan Wang (), Xuehua Wang, Yang Wu, Chengrong Li, Chao Zhang and Yuhang Yin
Additional contact information
Shiwen Zhang: College of Ecology and Environment, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
Yan Wang: College of Ecology and Environment, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
Xuehua Wang: College of Ecology and Environment, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
Yang Wu: College of Ecology and Environment, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China
Chengrong Li: Key Laboratory of Ecological Environment Evolution and Pollution Control in Mountainous Rural Areas of Yunnan Province, Kunming 650224, China
Chao Zhang: Key Laboratory of Ecological Environment Evolution and Pollution Control in Mountainous Rural Areas of Yunnan Province, Kunming 650224, China
Yuhang Yin: College of Ecology and Environment, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 24, 1-19

Abstract: Rocky desertification is a key element affecting regional ecological quality. Rocky desertification in Southwest China directly affects the ecological security of the Yangtze River and Pearl River basins and also restricts regional economic and social development. In order to clarify the evolution laws and key influencing factors of ecological quality in Yunnan karst rocky desertification areas, a quantitative analysis based on the remote sensing-based ecological index (RSEI) model was conducted to explore the overall evolution characteristics and change laws of ecological quality in Yunnan karst rocky desertification areas in the past 30 years. The correlation between RSEI, rock outcrop rate (Fr), and driving factors was determined by redundancy analysis. The results showed the following: (1) RSEI in Yunnan karst rocky desertification areas generally showed a decreasing trend, with a fluctuation in the mid-term, followed by a tendency to recover. It fell into three stages: decline, trough, and recovery, with fitting coefficients of −0.121, −0.057, and 0.157, respectively. In contrast, Fr showed an opposite tendency, illustrating the inverse relationship between RSEI and Fr, and the rate of sequential succession was much faster than that of the reverse succession under human measures of intervention. (2) The mean value of RSEI of Yunnan karst rocky desertification areas was generally lower than that of the total Yunnan Province land areas and Yunnan non-karst rocky desertification areas, but the mean value of Fr was generally more than that of both the above-mentioned areas. In addition, the RSEI and Fr of Yunnan karst rocky desertification areas both showed lower stability values than those of both the above-mentioned areas. This generally suggested a low ecological quality and a high degree of desertification under a low stability in Yunnan karst rocky desertification areas. (3) The correlation of RSEI and Fr with driving factors followed the order of topographic factors, soil factors > water factors > anthropogenic factors. Anthropogenic factors were the driving force changing the state of rocky desertification, geological factors such as topography and soil to a larger extent determined the original macroscopic ecological relationship of rocky desertification, and water factors lay between the above two. The findings of this research will provide theoretical support and a basis for the improvement of ecological quality and comprehensive control of karst rocky desertification in Yunnan Province.

Keywords: ecological quality evolution; karst rocky desertification; analysis of driving mechanisms; Yunnan karst rocky desertification areas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/24/16904/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/24/16904/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:24:p:16904-:d:1005291

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().