A GIS-Based Ecological Safety Assessment of Wushen Banner, China

Abstract

ABSTRACTEco-environmental sensitivity assessment as a new research field on sustainable development is the foundation for establishing early warning systems for ecological safety and environmental management. Many scholars have started to study national and social safety from an ecological point of view. Wushen Banner, which is located in the transitional area between Ordos Plateau in Inner-Mongolia and Loess Plateau in the north of Shanxi Province, is in the center of the Mu Us Desert, an area with a fragile environment. From the perspective of regional ecological safety, the regional eco-environmental sensitivity assessment index system was established, including sensitivity to soil erosion, land desertification, bioinhabitation, and human settlements. Based on the grid module supported by the geographical information system (GIS), changing the spatial data into a 30 m × 30 m grid, through grid average weight calculation, the eco-environmental sensitivity assessment distribution map of Wushen Banner was compiled. The results show that an acute sensitivity area, located in the northwest area of Wushen Banner, represents about 29.1%. The main features of the physical environment are very poor. Soil salinization and grassland desertification are serious. This research could provide a scientific basis for exploring sustainable development of regional resources and environment as well as guiding local development construction and ecological risk management.