Application Research on the Coupled Human-Environment Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment in Different Spatial and Temporal Scales

Abstract

Researches and application of ecosystem vulnerability are effective ways to guide and solve the problems of global climate change and environment sustainable development. Studies on the vulnerability assessment of coupled human-environment ecosystem under multi-scale cross become a new hot issue of vulnerability research. In this paper, different ecosystem vulnerability assessments methods of natural ecosystem, social-economic system and coupled human-environment ecosystem were systemized, the advantages of the vulnerability of the coupled human-environment ecosystem assessment were analyzed. Respectively, the types according to different interferences and scales of the coupled human-environment ecosystem were classified: on time scale, the interferences was divided into sudden and cumulative two types, and in spatial scale, the ecosystem was divided into three types: macro, meso and micro. The assessment and application of different types of interferences correspond with ecological fragility in different spatial scale were also illustrated. Finally, the insufficient of coupled ecosystem vulnerability assessment in present researches was summarized.