Changes in Light Pollution and the Causing Factors in China’s Protected Areas, 1992–2012

Wenli Xiang,Minghong Tan

doi:10.3390/rs9101026

Abstract

The natural nighttime light environment of the earth has been significantly transformed by human activities. Such “light pollution” has a profound influence on ecosystems. Protected areas (PAs) play key ecological functions and are only effective at low light pollution levels or without any light pollution. In China, with rapid population growth and high urbanization rates, light pollution in PAs continues to aggravate and threaten a number of ecosystems. We used calibrated nighttime light images to study spatial-temporal changes in light pollution in China’s PAs from 1992 to 2012 by classifying light pollution into three levels (moderate, medium, and strong). The results showed that in China’s PAs, the area subject to light pollution increased by about 1.79 times, with a significant increase in the intensity of artificial light. The changes in light pollution exhibited significant regional differences. In the eastern developed regions, light pollution was more significant than that in other regions and the situation in East China was the most severe. In the Qinghai-Tibet, although light pollution was less significant, the area subject to light pollution increased significantly over the evaluated period. Factors influencing light pollution were also analyzed. Light pollution in a PA is influenced by both human activities and its own characteristics.

Highlights

Human activities have transformed the natural nighttime light environment across large areas of the globe
We evaluated the differences in light pollution in Protected areas (PAs) by dividing China into different regions and focusing on both the scope change of the PAs affected by artificial night lighting and the light pollution level change in PAs
Based on World Database of Protected Areas (WDPA), Chinas nature reserves cover a total area of 1.59 million km2.The percentage of protected areas of the whole area of the Qinghai-Tibet is the largest (41.29%), while for East China, the lowest percentage was found (3.20%) (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

Human activities have transformed the natural nighttime light environment across large areas of the globe. In 1996–1997, about two-thirds of the world population lived in areas where the night sky was characterized as polluted [2]. Both the extent and intensity of artificial light continue to increase with the rapid development of urbanization and industrialization. The wide use of artificial light at night has significantly improved the quality of human life, the change in nighttime light environment has a profound influence on ecosystems; for this reason, we refer to the term “light pollution” [3]. Light pollution has strong synergies and interactions with other pressures on biodiversity, including habitat fragmentation and climate change [6]

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion