Sustainability, Vol. 17, Pages 2835: Study on the Evolution of Ecological Sensitivity and Zoning Management for Sustainable Development in the Kuye River Basin

Sustainability doi: 10.3390/su17072835

Authors:
Yang Wang
Fucang Qin
Xiaoyu Dong
Yuan Yuan
Yihan Wu

The Kuye River Basin, as an extremely important tributary of the Yellow River Basin, assessing its ecological environment’s response to human activities and natural environmental changes is of utmost importance. This can provide a critical reference for the protection of the ecological environment and sustainable development. This study selected major ecological and environmental issues in the study area, including soil erosion, water resources, and biodiversity, and constructed a comprehensive ecological sensitivity index using the spatial distance index model. Analyze the fluctuation intensity and trend of ecological sensitivity in the Kuye River Basin using grid coding models; use the Geodetector to analyze the main driving factors of its ecological sensitivity; and finally, adopt a method combining the “static” current state of ecological sensitivity with the “dynamic” trend of ecological sensitivity changes for ecological governance zoning. The results indicate the following: (1) the ecological sensitivity of the Kuye River Basin at different periods shows significant spatial differentiation, with a distribution pattern of low in the northwest and high in the central and southwestern areas in 2005, and a distribution pattern of low at both ends and high in the central area in 2020; (2) from 2005 to 2020, the overall ecological sensitivity showed a decreasing trend, with the area proportion of continuously declining regions accounting for 50.91%; (3) biodiversity is the main driving factor for the comprehensive ecological sensitivity of the Kuye River Basin; (4) the Kuye River Basin can be divided into four ecological zones: ecological environment protection area, ecological environment optimization area, ecological environment management area, and ecological environment governance area. Based on the characteristics of each region, it is recommended to adopt a differentiated ecological management plan to enhance the sustainability of its green development.

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