Assessment of eco-environment vulnerability in the northeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

Abstract

The northeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is typically a vulnerable eco-environment where an overload of alpine meadows and serious soil degeneration have led to vulnerability to natural disasters. Consequently, this vulnerable eco-environment does not allow for rapid socioeconomic development, resulting in weak potential for sustainable development. The northeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in China is used for this case study, which sets up 17 impact factors of eco-environment vulnerability (EEV) to assess the indexes, including natural impact factors, economic impact factors and social impact factors. Subsequently, the study uses an analytic hierarchy process to endow index weights and proposes an assessment model of $$ G = 1 - \sum\nolimits_{i = 1}^{n} {{{P_{i} \cdot W_{i} } /{( {\max \sum\nolimits_{i = 1}^{n} {P_{i} \cdot W_{i} } + \min \sum\nolimits_{i = 1}^{n} {P_{i} \cdot W_{i} } } )}}} $$ to analyze and assess the dynamic changes in the EEV of the study area from 1987–2008. Finally, the correlation of the EEV and 17 impact factors is analyzed.