Ecological risk in the Tibetan Plateau and influencing urbanization factors

Abstract

The Tibetan Plateau (also known as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau) is an important ecological shield in China, and it is one of the most vulnerable areas of its environmental system. With increasing urbanization in the Tibetan Plateau region, ecological pressures due to intense human activities are increasing. Studying the influence of urbanization factors on ecological risk in the Tibetan Plateau is of use in promoting the sustainable development of the region. To this end, this study constructs a comprehensive index system for evaluating ecological risk, covering the three categories of pressure, state and response. In addition, an index system of influencing urbanization factors is constructed, comprising the four categories of population, economy, society and space. Based on the panel data for 15 cities and prefectures in Qinghai Province and the Tibet Autonomous Region covering the period 2000–2015, a geographically and temporally weighted regression model (GTWR) is used to study quantitatively the ecological risk in the Tibetan Plateau and the influencing urbanization factors. The results show that, overall, the environment of the Tibetan Plateau is healthy, but there are marked regional differences. The Tibet Autonomous Region has low ecological risk, while ecological risk in the Qinghai Province is gradually increasing, making it the high-risk area of the Plateau region; there is a positive spatial correlation to ecological risk in the Tibetan Plateau, with obvious spatial clustering; Haixi, Haidong and Lhasa are the core high-risk areas, among which Haidong is a sustainable and stable high-risk area; urbanization has exacerbated ecological risk in the Tibetan Plateau, with population playing the primary role and urban population density having the greatest influence, but industrial structure and urban expansion are increasingly prominent factors.