Monitoring and evaluation of eco-environmental quality of lake basin regions in Central Yunnan Province, China

Abstract

The basin region of nine highland lakes plays an important role in the economic development of Yunnan Province, in which, the basin region of the five lakes (Dianchi, Fuxianhu, Xingyunhu, Qiluhu and Yangzonghai Lake, hereinafter was called Five-lake Basin) locating in the central region of Yunnan Province is the most active economic and social development area of industry, agriculture and tourism, closely related to the eco-environmental quality of the whole basin. In this study, the eco-environmental quality of the Five-lake Basin from 1988 to 2018 was monitored and evaluated based on remote sensing ecological index (RSEI). The results showed that although the eco-environmental quality in this area had a trend of turning better from 1988 to 2018, with the mean value of RSEI increasing from 0.368 to 0.481, whereas the overall eco-environmental quality of the basin was poor. The area with improved eco-environmental quality accounted for 57.6%, which was mainly distributed in the mountains between lakes, while the declining area was mainly the flat area around the lake. The eco-environmental quality of Dianchi Lake, Fuxianhu Lake, and Yangzonghai Lake was improved during the study period, but the eco-environmental quality of Qiluhu Lake and Xingyunhu Lake deteriorated obviously in the last 10 years. The change of eco-environmental quality in each lake was consistent with the change of water quality. In the future, the improvement of eco-environmental quality needs more social attention and government investment.