Abstract
The Wulingyuan area, in Zhangjiajie, China, is a world natural heritage site famous for quartz sand and rock peak landscape. The assessment of vegetation dynamics and human activities are conducive to protecting the heritage value and to formulating sustainable development plans. Here, we use long-term MODIS data to quantify the spatiotemporal changes of vegetation and the response to environmental variables through three NDVI processing methods. We also analyze human activities and policy changes. The results indicated the following. (i) The vegetation in Wu has been in good condition on average for the past 18 years, with a high vegetation index and high vegetation productivity. (ii) The vegetation in Wu and each subarea shows an overall improvement trend, 71.00% (60.03%, 46.80%), and shows an increase in AM-NDVI (SG-NDVI and STI). Spatially, the vegetation increase area is mainly located in the buffer area, and a very small vegetation decrease area is in the development region. (iii) There are correlations between vegetation and temperature and precipitation, but neither of them passed the significance test. (iv)To comply with the World Heritage Convention, establishing national scenic areas and supplementing woodland protection planning may be the key policies having a positive effect on the vegetation change.
Highlights
Natural World Heritage Sites (NWHS), via their formal designation through the United Nations, are globally recognized as containing some of the Earth's most valuable natural assets
From the 18-year average values of the AM-normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), SMNDVI and seasonal total integral (STI) from 2001 to 2018 (Fig. 3-a,b, c), we can see that the vegetation in Wu is in good condition on average for these 18 years, with high vegetation index and high vegetation productivity
The GS-NDVI is slightly higher than AM- NDVI, which conforms to the characteristics of vegetation growth
Summary
Natural World Heritage Sites (NWHS), via their formal designation through the United Nations, are globally recognized as containing some of the Earth's most valuable natural assets. Understanding changes in their ecological condition is essential for their ongoing preservation[1]. The Wulingyuan (Wu) area, in Zhangjiajie, Hunan Province, is a national scenic spot in China and a world natural heritage site famous for its quartz sand and rock peak forest landscape. Geomorphologic landscapes, diverse ecological systems and rare animal and plant resources give Wu unique aesthetic and biodiversity value.
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