Evaluation of ecological sensitivity of terrestrial ecosystem in China
A healthy ecological environment is the foundation of sustainable development.Nevertheless,the studies were rarely reported on assessing the ecological sensitivity in the whole China.Moreover,some deficiencies existed in the research content and methods.The ecological sensitivity of five ecological issues and their comprehensive ecological sensitivity were evaluated for the terrestrial ecosystem in China using spatial information technology and multi-source data,including remotely sensed data,meteorology data,soil data,etc.Moreover,the regional distribution characteristics were analyzed for the sensitivity mentioned above at the levels of five geographical units,including the nation,ecological zones,and basin films.The results showed that:(1)China's 23.48%and 3.78%regions were extremely sensitive to land desertification and freeze-thaw erosion,respectively.The former areas were mainly distributed in northwest China and northwest Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.The latter regions were primarily in the mountainous regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and northwest China.China's 59.36%,51.26%,and 9.56 regions were sensitive to water-caused soil erosion,land desertification,and freeze-thaw erosion,respectively.A few regions were extremely sensitive or sensitive to rocky desertification or land salinization.(2)The comprehensive ecological sensitivity was extremely sensitive and sensitive for China's 26.00%and 68.17%regions,respectively.The former areas were mainly distributed in northwest China and the northwest Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.The latter regions were widely distributed except the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and northern Jiangsu Province.The highly sensitive geographic units mainly included two ecological zones(the northwest ecological zone>roof of the world ecological zone)and three basin films(the inland rivers basin film>Yellow River basin film>southwest rivers basin film).The results can provide a theoretical basis for regional ecological protection and high-quality development,optimization of spatial development patterns,etc.