The Response of Rocky Desertification to the Development of Road Networks in Karst Ecologically Fragile Areas

Shiwen Zhang; Yan Wang; Chengrong Li; Yang Wu; Yuhang Yin; Chao Zhang

doi:10.3390/ijerph20043130

The Response of Rocky Desertification to the Development of Road Networks in Karst Ecologically Fragile Areas

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 10;20(4):3130. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20043130.

Authors

Shiwen Zhang¹, Yan Wang^{1

2}, Chengrong Li^{2

3}, Yang Wu¹, Yuhang Yin¹, Chao Zhang^{2

3}

Affiliations

¹ College of Ecology and Environment, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China.
² Key Laboratory of Ecological Environment Evolution and Pollution Control in Mountainous Rural Areas of Yunnan Province, Kunming 650224, China.
³ College of Forestry, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming 650224, China.

Abstract

Frequent cross-regional communication makes road networks increasingly dense and has generated prominent human interference, thus resulting in the destruction of the landscape's integrity and leading to changes in the functional processes of the habitat. In order to discuss the impacts of intense human activity brought by the road networks on the rocky desertification landscape and habitat quality in karst ecologically fragile areas, taking the road networks as the humans activity intensity factor, a quantitative analysis was conducted to analyze the impacts of road networks on the spatial evolution of the rocky desertification landscape and changes in regional habitat quality characteristics under different development modes in the study area based on a landscape pattern gradient method, spatial analysis, and INVEST model. The results showed that: (1) in the study area, due to the destruction of landscape integrity caused by the development of the road networks over the past 17 years, the landscape pattern of rocky desertification tended to be fragmented and complex, first showing an inclination for rapid fragmentation and then gradual recovery later. (2) The land-use intensity and degree of rocky desertification in the industrial areas and in the tourist areas of the study area have increased to varying degrees over the past 17 years, as is seen mainly via the expansion of construction land, cultivated land enclaves in the urban expansion areas, and new development areas. (3) Unders different regional models, the fragmentation of the rocky desertification landscape in the industrial areas was higher than that in the tourist areas, resulting in a significantly lower habitat quality and obvious degrees of degradation. The research findings provide the basis for further deepening our understanding how human activity intensity affects the evolution of the regional landscape, including the development of rocky desertification, the supply of services, and supporting habitat conservation in karst ecologically fragile areas.

Keywords: karst ecologically fragile areas; road networks; rocky desertification landscape.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

China
Conservation of Natural Resources*
Ecosystem*
Human Activities
Humans
Spatial Analysis

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under grant number 32260420, 32160405; Yunnan Province Science and Technology Plan under grant number 202001AT070115; Scientific Research Foundation of Education Department of Yunnan Province under grant number 2023Y0739; Opening Foundation of Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plateau Wetland Conservation, Restoration and Ecological Services under grant number 202105AG070002; and National Innovation Entrepreneurship Training Program for College Students under grant number 202210677009.