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Land Use and Land Cover Change and Their Impacts on the Environment in Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Areas

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A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land – Observation and Monitoring".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 August 2023) | Viewed by 26352

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Linshan Liu

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Guest Editor

Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Interests: land cover mapping; satellite image processing; spatial analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Prem Sagar Chapagain

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Guest Editor

Central Department of Geography, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu 44613, Nepal
Interests: land and livelihood change; natural resource management; climate change adaptation; indigenous knowledge

Prof. Dr. Jie Gong

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Guest Editor

College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Key Laboratory of West China’s Environmental Systems (MOE), Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
Interests: integrated physical geography; land change science; ecosystem service; environmental remote sensing; ecological assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Md. Nurul Islam

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Guest Editor

Department of Geography & Environment, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka 1342, Bangladesh
Interests: hydrology; channel forms and dynamics; floodplain and watershed management; geographical information systems (GIS); research methodology and disaster management

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Known as the "roof of the world" and the "third pole of the earth", the Tibetan Plateau is the "source of rivers" in China and Asia. It plays an important role in climate regulation, water conservation, biodiversity protection, and soil conservation. It is an ecological security barrier for China and even the entirety of East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. As one of the unique regional units on the Earth's surface, most of the Tibetan Plateau is in a natural state and is highly vulnerable and sensitive to disturbance from external factors. Under the joint influence of human and natural factors, changes have taken place in the land cover of the plateau, which has a significant impact on the internal environment of the plateau and human socio-economic activities, as well as on the areas around the plateau.

The scientific issues of land use and land cover changes, and their impacts on the environment of the Tibetan Plateau, are of great significance in stabilizing and improving the ecological security barrier function of the Tibetan Plateau. Such research is not only a primary route for exploring the impact of human activities on the environment, but also acts as a basis and premise for optimizing and improving the management and control strategies surrounding the area.

This Special Issue aims to gather relevant research studies that relate to the land use and land cover changed and their impacts on the environment in the Tibetan Plateau and the surrounding areas.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include—but are not limited to—the following:

Land cover mapping and validation;
Land observation and monitoring using satellite and UAVs;
Land-related issues in climate, ecology, environmental/geosciences, social, economic (sustainability) sciences; and biodiversity research;
Land management, including the application of ecosystem services;
Livelihoods and food security in relation to land issues;
Land use change;
Landscape change;
Vegetation phenology;
Environmental impacts;
Human–environment interactions.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Linshan Liu
Prof. Dr. Prem Sagar Chapagain
Prof. Dr. Jie Gong
Prof. Dr. Md. Nurul Islam
Guest Editors

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Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

land cover and land use change
ecosystem service
remote sensing
google earth engine
vegetation dynamics
monitoring change
hyperspectral remote sensing
biophysical and social data integration
sustainable development goals (SDGs)
environmental impacts

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Published Papers (12 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 4786 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Impact of Land Use/Cover Changes on Soil Erosion by Wind and Water from 2000 to 2018 in the Qaidam Basin

by Xue Cao, Yuzhuo Cheng, Juying Jiao, Jinshi Jian, Leichao Bai, Jianjun Li and Xiaowu Ma

Land 2023, 12(10), 1866; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12101866 - 30 Sep 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1746

Abstract

Assessing the impact of land use and land cover change (LUCC) on soil erosion by wind and water is crucial for improving regional ecosystem services and sustainable development. In this study, the Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ) and Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE) were used to reveal changes in the extent of soil erosion by wind and water in the Qaidam Basin from 2000 to 2018 and the impact of LUCC on them. From 2000 to 2018, with global climate change, the areas and intensities of soil erosion by wind decreased, whereas those of soil erosion by water increased. With increased human activities, approximately 12.96% of the total area underwent conversion of the type of use: the areas of cropland, woodland, grassland, and construction land increased, whereas the areas of shrubbery, desert, and other unused land decreased. Land use/cover changes are positive to the soil erosion of water but negative to the soil erosion of wind. Among them, the changes in vegetation coverage of other unused land and grassland contributed to 83.19% of the total reduction in soil erosion by water. Converting other unused land to grassland reduced the total reductions in soil erosion by wind by 94.69%. These results indicate that the increase in vegetative cover and area of grasslands in the Qaidam Basin had a positive impact on the reduction in soil erosion. It is recommended that the arrangement of grasses, shrubs, and trees be optimized to prevent compound erosion by wind and water for protecting regional ecological environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Land Cover Change and Their Impacts on the Environment in Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Areas)

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17 pages, 8832 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Relationships between Ecosystem Health and Urbanization on the Tibetan Plateau from a Coupling Coordination Perspective

by Yu Hu, Tong Wu, Luo Guo and Shidong Zhang

Land 2023, 12(8), 1635; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12081635 - 20 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1092

Abstract

A complex relationship exists between natural environmental and urban systems. This study focuses on the province of Qinghai, which is a major part of the Tibetan Plateau. For the period 1995–2020, we explore the relationships between ecosystem health and urbanization. We established an indicator system for ecosystem health and urbanization and quantitatively analyzed the spatiotemporal pattern of coupling coordination between the two. It shows that between 1995 and 2020, the urbanization level in Qinghai showed a continuous upward trend, with the urbanization index in 2020 increasing by 147.20% compared to 1995. The level of ecosystem health also showed an upward trend, with the ecosystem health index (EHI) value in 2020 increasing by 3.31% compared to 1995. The coupling coordination degree between ecosystem health and urbanization in Qinghai increased year-on-year. Areas with high coupling coordination between ecosystem health and urbanization basically overlapped with areas with high urbanization, and the area gradually increased during the study period. Locations with slightly unbalanced development were located on the periphery of high coupling-coordination areas, and that area expanded in the years covered in this study. The low coupling-coordination areas were located in the northwest and southwest of Qinghai, bounded by the Qinghai-Tibet Highway. These results can support the evaluation of ecosystem health and urbanization on the Tibetan Plateau and high-altitude river source areas similar to Qinghai in China and elsewhere, contributing to sustainable land use policy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Land Cover Change and Their Impacts on the Environment in Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Areas)

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17 pages, 11252 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Geographically and Ontologically Oriented Scoping of a Dry Valley and Its Spatial Characteristics Analysis: The Case of the Three Parallel Rivers Region

by Linhao Zhang, Haiping Tang, Peijun Shi, Wei Jia and Luwei Dai

Land 2023, 12(6), 1235; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12061235 - 16 Jun 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1475

Abstract

A dry valley is a special landscape type that is formed by the combined effect of climate and topography. Accurately defining the scope of a dry valley and knowledge of its spatial distribution characteristics can provide data support for relevant studies in the region. Starting from natural ontological characteristics and formation mechanisms, we constructed a geographical ontological model of dry valleys through an analysis of concepts related to the dry valley and combined GIS technology and methods to accurately define the scope and analyze the spatial characteristics of the dry valleys in the Three Parallel Rivers Region (DVT). Our results show that: (1) The geographically and ontologically oriented method developed to define the scope of the dry valley has a high accuracy, with an overall accuracy of 92.3% and a kappa coefficient of 0.84, therefore it can provide a better mechanism for defining the scope of a dry valley on a large scale. (2) The total area and total length of the DVT are 6147.1 km² and 2125.3 km, respectively. The dry valleys in this region are mainly located in the Tibet Autonomous Region and in the Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in China. (3) The terrain in the DVT is precipitous, and areas with slopes greater than 25° account for 70% of the total area of the dry valleys. The DVT area of sunny aspects (north, northeast, and northwest aspects) is larger than that of shady aspects (south, southeast, and southwest aspects), and the land cover is mainly grassland with a desert substrate. The result of our study can provide data support for further in-depth research in related fields of dry valleys. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Land Cover Change and Their Impacts on the Environment in Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Areas)

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14 pages, 8089 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Land Use Simulation and Landscape Ecological Risk Assessment on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

by Nansha Sun, Qiong Chen, Fenggui Liu, Qiang Zhou, Wenxin He and Yuanyuan Guo

Land 2023, 12(4), 923; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12040923 - 20 Apr 2023

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 1706

Abstract

The land use and land cover pattern of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) is an important basis for the structure and function of the QTP ecological barrier. It is of great significance to simulate the land use pattern and landscape ecological risk of the QTP under future scenarios for the construction of the QTP barrier area and to promote the sustainable use of land resources. The QTP was selected as the study area. Based on the spatial pattern of land use in 2010 and 2020, the PLUS model was used to predict the land use patterns of the QTP in 2030 under the two scenarios of natural development and ecological conservation. The landscape ecological risk index was constructed to evaluate the past, present, and future landscape ecological risk of the QTP. The natural break point method was used to divide the landscape ecological risk index into five levels: lower ecological risk, low ecological risk, medium ecological risk, high ecological risk, and higher ecological risk. The results showed that: (1) Under the natural development scenario, the area of cropland, forestland, grassland, and unused land decreased continuously, while the areas of water and built-up land increased gradually. Under the ecological conservation scenario, the areas of forestland and grassland increased by 130 km² and 2293 km², respectively, compared with the natural development scenario. (2) Under the natural development scenario, the overall ecological risk of the QTP increased from 2010 to 2030, which showed that the proportions of lower ecological risk area decreased, while the proportion of medium and high ecological risk area increased. Under the ecological conservation scenario, compared with the natural development scenario, the area of lower, low, and high ecological risk increased by 4044 km², 2484 km², and 6401 km², respectively, while the areas of medium and higher ecological risk decreased by 6333 km² and 6597 km², respectively. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Land Cover Change and Their Impacts on the Environment in Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Areas)

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21 pages, 2864 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Land-Use/Land-Cover Change and Ecosystem Service Provision in Qinghai Province, China: From the Perspective of Five Ecological Function Zones

by Xiaofan Ma and Haifeng Zhang

Land 2023, 12(3), 656; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12030656 - 10 Mar 2023

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2263

Abstract

Qinghai Province is an important part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and has special importance in the construction of ecological civilisation in China, which is related to the ecological security of the country and long-term development. The land is the basis of terrestrial ecosystem services. Land use/cover change (LUCC) can alter the structure, distribution and processes of terrestrial ecosystems, thereby affecting ecosystem services. Ecological Function Zone (EFZ) is the special zone designated by the government to protect ecosystems more effectively. Studying the response of ecosystem services value (ESV) to LUCC within EFZ is of great significance to the construction of ecological civilization in Qinghai Province. This study uses five periods of land use data from 1980 to 2020 and selects the equivalent factor method, correction method and elasticity model to analyse the characteristics of land use change and its impact on the value of ecosystem services. The conclusions are as follows. (1) The results showed that the ESV of Qinghai Province decreased from 822.559 billion yuan in 1980 to 819.903 billion yuan in 2000, and then increased rapidly to 905.775 billion yuan in 2020, showing a total increase of 83.216 billion yuan (1 RMB equates to 0.144129 USD). The restoration of grassland and the expansion of water bodies are the main reasons for the growth of ESV. (2) The ESV of Sanjiangyuan EFZ was the highest, followed by Qaidam EFZ, Qinghai Lake EFZ and Qilian Mountains EFZ, while Hehuang EFZ was the lowest. (3) The elasticity of the ESV to LUCC generally declined in all EFZs. Every 1% change in the LUCC in the Qaidam EFZ will result in a 4.78% change in ESV, followed by the Sanjiangyuan EFZ (2.56%), Qilian Mountains EFZ (2.1%), Qinghai Lake EFZ (1.01%), and the Hehuang EFZ with the lowest elasticity index (0.53%). (4) The distribution of the high values of the ESV elasticity gradually expands, with a clear spatial distribution characteristic of high west and low east. (5) The most suitable area for urban construction in Qinghai Province is the Hehuang EFZ, and urban construction in the Qaidam EFZ should avoid encroaching on water bodies or polluting water sources. The conclusions can provide a reference for optimising the land use structure and harmonising conservation and development in Qinghai Province. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Land Cover Change and Their Impacts on the Environment in Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Areas)

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16 pages, 3569 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Variation in Soil Aggregate Stability Due to Land Use Changes from Alpine Grassland in a High-Altitude Watershed

by Ying Li, Zhanming Ma, Yutao Liu, Zilong Cui, Qiuyu Mo, Can Zhang, Haiyan Sheng, Wen Wang and Yongkun Zhang

Land 2023, 12(2), 393; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020393 - 1 Feb 2023

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2763

Abstract

Land use change affects soil aggregate composition and stability, which impacts soil structure and health. To reveal how land use change impacted soil aggregates of alpine grassland in a high-altitude watershed, soil samples from 161 sites including alpine grassland, cropland and abandoned land were selected to measure and analyze the distribution of aggregate fractions (macro-aggregates, micro-aggregates, silt+clay), soil aggregate stability (mean weight diameter, geometric mean diameter, fractal dimension, etc.) and related soil properties (soil organic carbon content, soil particle composition, etc.) in the Huangshui River watershed of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. The results showed: (1) As alpine grasslands were converted to croplands and croplands to abandoned lands, the proportion of macro-aggregates and the aggregate stability index showed a trend of first decreasing and then increasing (p < 0.05), indicating that tillage and abandonment have significant influences on soil aggregate structure. (2) Compared with temperate grassland, alpine grassland had richer soil organic carbon, and a higher ratio of macro-aggregates and aggregate stability. (3) Soil organic carbon and sand content had distinct influences on the fractions and stability of aggregates during land use change. These results suggested that cultivation can substantially reduce the soil aggregate stability in alpine grassland, whereas abandonment can effectively improve soil aggregate structure. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Land Cover Change and Their Impacts on the Environment in Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Areas)

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18 pages, 2056 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of the Evolution of Land-Use Types in the Qilian Mountains from 1980 to 2020

by Miao Wang and Meixue Yang

Land 2023, 12(2), 287; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12020287 - 19 Jan 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1591

Abstract

The Qilian Mountains (QMs), located in the northeast part of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau in China, have a fragile ecological environment, complex and sensitive climate, and diverse land-cover types. It plays an important role in the “Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau Ecological Barrier” and “Northern Sand Control Belt” in China’s “two screens and three belts” ecological security strategy. Based on land use data of 1980, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020, we utilized GIS technology, land use dynamic degree, and land use transition matrixes to analyze the spatial and temporal evolution of land use in the QMs from 1980 to 2020. The results showed the following: (1) From 1980 to 2020, grassland, forest land, and unused land were the main land-use types in the QMs, and the proportion of construction land accounted for only 0.31% of all land-use types. (2) The single land use dynamic degree showed that the dynamic degree of construction land was the highest and the fastest change rate from 2010 to 2015. The comprehensive land use dynamic degree showed that the intensity of land-use change was relatively drastic in the three time periods of 1990–1995, 1995–2000, and 2015–2020. (3) The land-use types in the study area switched infrequently during 2000–2005, 2005–2010, and 2010–2015. (4) The main transition directions of land-use types were grassland and unused land to other land-use types. These changes altered the spatial distributions of different land-use types. The study is critical for understanding the spatial and temporal change patterns of land-use change in the QMs and providing guidance for the optimization of land use in the study area and the improvement of regional eco-environmental protection. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Land Cover Change and Their Impacts on the Environment in Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Areas)

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17 pages, 13310 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on the Spatial Differences in Land-Use Change and Driving Factors in Tibet

by Chunsheng Wu

Land 2022, 11(9), 1584; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11091584 - 16 Sep 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2014

Abstract

As the main body of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, the Tibet Autonomous Region is an important ecological security barrier for the surrounding areas and even for Asia. However, the ecological environment is very fragile, and slight changes in land use may seriously affect the stability of the ecosystem. Therefore, it is necessary to deeply explore the driving factors of change in the various land-use types to stabilize the ecological structure and function of Tibet. In this paper, the transition matrix, land dynamic degree and Geodetector model are introduced to obtain the land-use change in the whole Tibetan region and its four subregions from 1990 to 2020. Based on the elevation, slope, temperature, precipitation, population and GDP, the driving factors of conversions between land-use types are explored. The results showed that during the study period, farmland, grassland and forest all showed a decreasing trend in area size. The grassland is large in the northwest region and is the main land-use type in Tibet, and its conversion to water area is the largest. The area of construction land has increased significantly, and its occupation of farmland is the largest, especially in the southwest region. The Geodetector results show that there are differences in the driving factors of the conversions between the whole region and each subregion. In the whole region, the increase in precipitation and temperature were the main drivers of unutilized land and grassland-to-water area conversions, whereas the growth of GDP and population were the dominant drivers of built-up land expansion; however, at the subregional scale, the driving effects of topographic and climatic factors in the two conversions were enhanced. In addition, under the implementation of different ecological protection measures, the productivity of vegetation has been improved. Based on the study results, ecological protection and restoration projects can be implemented in a targeted manner by guiding human activities and formulating reasonable plans to achieve the purpose of strengthening the sustainability of land use and protecting the ecological environment regionally. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Land Cover Change and Their Impacts on the Environment in Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Areas)

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16 pages, 5705 KiB

Open AccessArticle

NDVI-Based Greening of Alpine Steppe and Its Relationships with Climatic Change and Grazing Intensity in the Southwestern Tibetan Plateau

by Yan Li, Jie Gong, Yunxia Zhang and Bingli Gao

Land 2022, 11(7), 975; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11070975 - 26 Jun 2022

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2362

Abstract

Alpine vegetation on the Southwestern Tibetan Plateau (SWTP) is sensitive and vulnerable to climate change and human activities. Climate warming and human actions (mainly ecological restoration, social-economic development, and grazing) have already caused the degradation of alpine grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) to some extent. However, it remains unclear how human activities (mainly grazing) have regulated vegetation variation under climate change and ecological restoration since 2000. This study used the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and social statistic data to explore the spatiotemporal changes and the relationship between the NDVI and climatic change, human activities, and grazing intensity. The results revealed that the NDVI increased by 0.006/10a from 2000 to 2020. Significant greening, mainly distributed in Rikaze, with partial browning, has been found in the SWTP. The correlation analysis results showed that precipitation is the most critical factor affecting the spatial distribution of NDVI, and the NDVI is correlated positively with temperature and precipitation in most parts of the SWTP. We found that climate change and human activities co-affected the vegetation change in the SWTP, and human activities leading to vegetation greening since 2000. The NDVI and grazing intensity were mainly negatively correlated, and the grazing caused vegetation degradation to some extent. This study provides practical support for grassland use, grazing management, ecological restoration, and regional sustainable development for the TP and similar alpine areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Land Cover Change and Their Impacts on the Environment in Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Areas)

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22 pages, 4243 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ecological Risk Assessment of Transboundary Region Based on Land-Cover Change: A Case Study of Gandaki River Basin, Himalayas

by Bohao Cui, Yili Zhang, Zhaofeng Wang, Changjun Gu, Linshan Liu, Bo Wei, Dianqing Gong and Mohan Kumar Rai

Land 2022, 11(5), 638; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11050638 - 26 Apr 2022

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2995

Abstract

Land-cover change is a major cause of global ecosystem degradation, a severe threat to sustainable development and human welfare. In mountainous regions that cross national political boundaries, sensitive and fragile ecosystems are under complex disturbance pressures. Land-cover change may further exacerbate ecological risks in these regions. However, few studies have assessed the ecological risks in transboundary areas. This study focused on the Gandaki Basin (GRB), a typical transboundary region in the Himalayas. Based on the dynamic change in land cover, the landscape ecological risk index (ERI) model was constructed to assess the ecological risk in the GRB, revealing the evolution characteristics and spatial correlation of such a risk during the period 1990–2020. The results showed that all land cover types in the GRB have changed over the last 30 years. The interconversion of cropland and forestland was a distinctive feature in all periods. Overall, the medium and medium to low ecological risk level areas account for approximately 65% of the study area. The areas of high ecological risk were mainly distributed in the high elevation mountains of the northern Himalayas, while the low risk areas were located in the other mountains and hills of Nepal. In addition, the ecological risk in the Gandaki basin has shown a fluctuating trend of increasing over the past 30 years. However, there were different phases, with the order of ecological risk being 2020 > 2000 > 2010 > 1990. Ecological risks displayed positive spatial correlation and aggregation characteristics across periods. The high–high risk clusters were primarily located in the high and medium high ecological risk areas, while the low–low risk clusters were similar to low risk levels region. The findings provided the reference for ecosystem conservation and landscape management in transboundary areas. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Land Cover Change and Their Impacts on the Environment in Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Areas)

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23 pages, 4896 KiB

Open AccessReview

Ecological and Environmental Effects of Land Use and Cover Changes on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau: A Bibliometric Review

by Ying Liang and Wei Song

Land 2022, 11(12), 2163; https://doi.org/10.3390/land11122163 - 30 Nov 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2489

Abstract

The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), known as the “Third Pole of the Earth”, contains fragile ecosystems and is sensitive to global environmental changes. With the intensification of climate change and human activities, the land cover of the QTP is changing significantly, which affects its function as an ecological security barrier. This paper searched 379 papers in the Web of Science core database, conducted a bibliometric analysis, and proposed potential future research directions to gain a macroscopic understanding of the impact of land use and cover change (LUCC) on the regional and global ecological environment of the QTP. The results are as follows. (1) The period from 1995 to 2022 witnessed an overall increase in the number of publications in this field with a high development potential. (2) Climate change, land use, China, impacts, conservation, and management were high-frequency keywords in the field; among these, climate change has received increasing research attention since 2018. (3) The field included three main research directions: the impact of LUCC on biodiversity, the impact of land degradation on ecosystems, and the impact of climate change and land use changes on ecosystem services. (4) The development and evolution of research hotspots were mainly focused on three aspects: the impact of cultivated land expansion and deforestation, the impact of land use management and conservation, and the impact of climate change and human activities on LUCC. (5) Future research should focus on improving the accuracy of land use and cover data on the QTP, assessing and preventing the ecological risks of LUCC, investigating the impacts of human activities on LUCC and the ecological environment, and exploring the interactions between climate change and human activities on the ecological environment. The findings of this paper will help researchers and stakeholders gain a rapid and comprehensive understanding of this research area and thus contribute to the sustainable development of the QTP. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Land Cover Change and Their Impacts on the Environment in Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Areas)

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11 pages, 1701 KiB

Open AccessBrief Report

Effects of Habitat Heterogeneity and Topographic Variation on Insect Pest Risks in Alpine Regions

by Lei Wang, Fei-Xue Zhang, Lan-Ping Li, Chun-Jing Wang and Ji-Zhong Wan

Land 2023, 12(7), 1314; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12071314 - 29 Jun 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1207

Abstract

Insect pests pose a significant threat to alpine ecosystems, especially under rapid environmental change conditions. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the effects of environmental factors on insect pest risks and provide methods for pest management in alpine regions. Habitat heterogeneity and topographic variation are the indicators of insect pest risks. However, few studies have explored the effects of habitat heterogeneity and topographic variation on insect pest risks in alpine regions. We used species distribution modeling (i.e., maxent modeling) to project the distributions of insect pests in this alpine region based on occurrence records. Then, we delineated the high-risk areas for insect pests based on the species distributions under a conceptual risk framework using Zonation software for different ecoregional types. We determined the alpine conifer and mixed forests of the Nujiang Langcang Gorge, the conifer forests of the Qilian Mountains, and the shrublands and meadows of Southeast Tibet as the key areas requiring monitoring for insect pests in Qinghai province based on the scoring of insect pest risk rank with >0.7. Habitat heterogeneity and topographic variation could be developed as indicators of risk exposure to insect pests in alpine regions. Our study suggests that the prevention and control of insect pests should be conducted in areas with high habitat heterogeneity and topographic roughness in alpine regions. We provided new insights into the application of species distribution modeling based on habitat heterogeneity and topographic variation. The results of our study indicate that habitat heterogeneity and topographic variation should be considered for improving pest management effectiveness in alpine regions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Land Use and Land Cover Change and Their Impacts on the Environment in Tibetan Plateau and Surrounding Areas)

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