Ecosystem Health Assessment of the Jinghe River Watershed on the Huangtu Plateau |
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Authors: | An-Ning Suo You-Cai Xiong Tian-Ming Wang Dong-Xia Yue Jian-Ping Ge |
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Institution: | (1) MOE Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Science and Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, P.R. China;(2) National Marine Environment Monitor Center, Dalian, 116023, P.R. China;(3) MOE Key Laboratory of Arid and Grassland Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, P.R. China |
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Abstract: | An improved Costanza model was developed to assess the health of the Jinhe River Watershed ecosystem. The watershed is located
at the center of the Huangtu Plateau in China and has suffered a severe disturbance in the last few decades. Three indicators
including vigor, organization, and resilience were calculated respectively by merging ground-based observations with remotely
sensed data on a watershed scale. Health indices of 12 topographic sub-watersheds were calculated using a modified Costanza
formula. Health evaluated results indicated that sub-watersheds in the Huangtu mountain region were relatively healthy ecosystems
with scores over 0.673. The sub-watersheds in the loess mountain and the loess gully regions, e.g., Jinghe, Heihe, and Honghe
regions, scored moderately; their evaluated value ranged from 0.505 to 0.606. The two sub-watersheds in the loess gully region
and all sub-watersheds in the loess hilly region scored the lowest, less than 0.50 and were considered unhealthy ecosystems.
It can be argued that the loess hilly region and the loess gully regions should be in primary consideration for ecological
protection and rehabilitation. This study provided a possible quantitative model for ecological planning and landscape management
with respect to topographic conditions in this area. |
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Keywords: | ecosystem health Costanza model watershed health indices Jinghe River Watershed |
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