Abstract
The purpose of this study is to propose a GIS-based mechanism for diagnosing karst rocky desertification (KRD) ecosystem health. Using the Huajiang Demonstration Area in Guizhou Province as a case study, this research offers a multi-factor indicator system for diagnosing KRD ecosystem health. A set of geologic, environmental, and socio-economic health indicators were developed based on remote sensing images from field-investigation, hydrological, and meteorological monitoring data. With the use of grid GIS technology, this study gives an indicator for diagnosing the spatial expression of desertification at a 5 m × 5 m grid scale. Using spatial overlaying technology based on grid data, the temporal and spatial dynamics of ecosystem health in the Huajiang Demonstration Area were tracked over a 10 year time span. The results of the analysis indicate that ecosystem health in the Huajiang Demonstration Area varies regionally, and has overall improved over time. The proportion of healthy area increased from 3.7% in 2000 to 8.2% in 2010. However, unhealthy and middle-health areas still accounted for 78.7% of the total area by 2010. The most obvious improvement of ecosystem health was in an area where comprehensive control measures for curbing KRD were implemented. These results suggest that comprehensive control of KRD can effectively mitigate ecosystem deterioration and improve ecosystem health in karst regions of South China.
Highlights
Karst areas are one of the most ecologically fragile ecosystems in the world [1]
These characteristics result in a very fragile ecosystem, which, combined with the aridity of the climate, makes ecological health in this area challenging to sustain. The fragility of this karst ecosystem is exacerbated by the large population of local inhabitants who have built settlements and established unsustainable agricultural practices in these areas. These human and non-human factors have resulted in karst rocky desertification (KRD), which is marked by reversed ecological succession and the decline of ecological health
The results show that the comprehensive control mechanisms implemented in Huajiang Demonstration Area (HDA) have been effective in improving indicate that the improvement of ecological health in areas with KRD control mechanisms was 36.9%, notably higher than the 9.6% increase in areas without control mechanisms
Summary
Karst areas are one of the most ecologically fragile ecosystems in the world [1]. Of the world’s three largest karst-concentrated areas (European Mediterranean coast, Eastern United States, and Southeast Asia), Southern China’s karst area has the largest area of successive bare carbonate rock [2]. The karst area in Guizhou Province is characterized by thin and discontinuous surface soil, high connectivity of surface water and groundwater, rapid hydrological cycling, uneven distribution of water and soil resources, high heterogeneity of hydrothermal factors over time and space, and soil rich in calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) and deficient in nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). These characteristics result in a very fragile ecosystem, which, combined with the aridity of the climate, makes ecological health in this area challenging to sustain. It is necessary to set up a diagnostic framework for analyzing the spatial heterogeneity and temporal responses of ecosystem health in KRD-affected areas
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