Abstract
Land use/land cover change (LUCC) and climate changes are responsible for degradation of any ecosystem in arid and semi-arid regions. Studying the ecological variations is particularly essential for any type of sustainable development, in which LUCC considers as one of the chief inputs. The main objective is to evaluate the impacts of LUCC and climatic changes on the Ecosystem Vulnerability (ESV) using remote sensing and some statistical models around the Yellow River, Ningxia, China. Eleven classes of LUCC were identified during 1995 and 2019: village land, bare land, grassland, industrial land, irrigated land, swamp land, tidal flat, transportation land, urban land, water bodies, and water channels. Grassland may be decreased annually with percentage − 5.873% due to some human activities and environmental changes in climate from one season to another. About 24.23 km2 and 24.86 km2 was converted from grassland to industrial lands and irrigated lands, respectively. ESV has been calculated using LULC, DEM, slope, soil, and geology. About 45% and 60% of 1995 and 2019, respectively, undergone moderate vulnerability. The annual rate of ESVI decreased in low and reasonable but it was increased in moderate, high, and extreme showing – 4.166% as a total percentage of annual vulnerability. High vulnerability area needs proper management. Majority of vegetation area is located in zone under the moderate vulnerability zone; in contrast, grasslands were subjected to high vulnerability. Areas around the Yellow River were subjected to drought and flooding due to climatic change affecting negatively on the production of crops. Also, the desert lands of the study area have been turned to agriculture according to statistical model. Population growth, industrial development, and governmental policies for ecosystem protection were responsible for major changes. This study is more beneficial for decision-making in eco-environmental protecting and planning. Results of this study could help planners in formulating effective strategies for better management of ecosystem.
Highlights
Responsible Editor: Amjad KallelFundamental changes of any environment may be attributed to natural or anthropogenic activities
The objectives of this study are to (1) assess the ecosystem sensitivity affected by land use/land cover change (LUCC) and climate changes using statistical simulation and data of remote sensing technology; (2) to study the LUCC from 1995 to 2019 using satellite data, assess the transition of LULC and land use dynamics, establish an Ecosystem Vulnerability Index (ESVI) based on some ecological variables; and (3) to establish a statistical model for assessing the changes in water, vegetation, and drought as an indicator of climatic change
This study examined the effect of LULC and climatic change on the ecosystem in North Ningxia using ecosystem sensitivity index (ESV) for the period 1995 to 2019
Summary
Fundamental changes of any environment may be attributed to natural or anthropogenic activities. Due to the change in global climate, the land surface temperature (LST) has increased, which has affected land use/land cover change (LUCC), vegetated areas, water resources, etc. Choudhury et al (2019) stated that changes in climatic changes are responsible for various environmental problems. LST refers to the temperature of the earth surface including the temperature of bare soil, the canopy of vegetation, etc. Climate change has had an important effect on water resources in Africa principally on the west coast where the demand for water is high for agriculture. Lakes, and wetlands which are the principal surface water resources of the region suffered devastating consequences by the drought of the early 1970s
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