Spatiotemporal changes of ecosystem health and the impact of its driving factors on the Loess Plateau in China

The Loess Plateau is renowned for its fragile ecosystem, and understanding the changes and driving impacts of ecosystem health (EH) is crucial for formulating environmental protection policies for the region. Soil erosion, as a key limiting factor of the region’s ecosystem, must be considered when e...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Xuepeng Zhang, Taixia Wu, Qiqi Du, Ninglei Ouyang, Wei Nie, Yang Liu, Peng Gou, Guangchao Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-01-01
Series:Ecological Indicators
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24014778
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832576529032282112
author Xuepeng Zhang
Taixia Wu
Qiqi Du
Ninglei Ouyang
Wei Nie
Yang Liu
Peng Gou
Guangchao Li
author_facet Xuepeng Zhang
Taixia Wu
Qiqi Du
Ninglei Ouyang
Wei Nie
Yang Liu
Peng Gou
Guangchao Li
author_sort Xuepeng Zhang
collection DOAJ
description The Loess Plateau is renowned for its fragile ecosystem, and understanding the changes and driving impacts of ecosystem health (EH) is crucial for formulating environmental protection policies for the region. Soil erosion, as a key limiting factor of the region’s ecosystem, must be considered when evaluating EH in this area. Based on this idea, a new framework for assessing EH is proposed. The efficient machine learning model (light gradient boosting machine model) and the variable explanation model (SHapley Additive exPlanation model) are combined to quantify the functional relationships between various driving factors and EH, thereby exploring the impacts of climatic factors, socioeconomic development (SED), and ecological restoration projects (ERP) on EH. The study found that: (1) From 1995 to 2020, EH in the Loess Plateau increased from 0.42 to 0.58, and the forms of spatial clustering changed. Moreover, there are significant differences in the speed and patterns of EH improvement in different regions, especially after 2010. (2) The importance of precipitation (PRE), SED, ERP, and temperature (TEM) is 33 %, 26 %, 24 %, and 17 %, respectively. The driving impacts exhibit non-monotonic polynomial relationships of third, fourth, second, and fourth degrees, indicating that the mechanisms through which EH is influenced by these factors can change. (3) Counties with higher response to PRE (>0.32) are mainly located in the central region. Counties with higher response to SED (>0.30) are primarily in areas with higher population and urbanization. Counties with higher response to ERP (>0.36) are mainly in the eastern region. Counties with higher response to TEM (>0.26) are primarily in the southern and western regions. The results of this paper provide new insights for EH research in areas with fragile ecosystems and are of significant importance for the ecological civilization construction of the Loess Plateau.
format Article
id doaj-art-1b74f8fbd0bc4d4c9cd295579392dc7e
institution Kabale University
issn 1470-160X
language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series Ecological Indicators
spelling doaj-art-1b74f8fbd0bc4d4c9cd295579392dc7e2025-01-31T05:10:31ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2025-01-01170113020Spatiotemporal changes of ecosystem health and the impact of its driving factors on the Loess Plateau in ChinaXuepeng Zhang0Taixia Wu1Qiqi Du2Ninglei Ouyang3Wei Nie4Yang Liu5Peng Gou6Guangchao Li7School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China; College of Information Engineering, Jiaxing Nanhu University, 314001 Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China; Research Center of Big Data Technology, Nanhu Laboratory, Jiaxing 314000, ChinaSchool of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China; Corresponding authors.College of Information Engineering, Jiaxing Nanhu University, 314001 Jiaxing, Zhejiang, China; Corresponding authors.School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, ChinaResearch Center of Big Data Technology, Nanhu Laboratory, Jiaxing 314000, ChinaResearch Center of Big Data Technology, Nanhu Laboratory, Jiaxing 314000, ChinaResearch Center of Big Data Technology, Nanhu Laboratory, Jiaxing 314000, ChinaSchool of Tourism, Henan Normal University, Xinxiang 453007, ChinaThe Loess Plateau is renowned for its fragile ecosystem, and understanding the changes and driving impacts of ecosystem health (EH) is crucial for formulating environmental protection policies for the region. Soil erosion, as a key limiting factor of the region’s ecosystem, must be considered when evaluating EH in this area. Based on this idea, a new framework for assessing EH is proposed. The efficient machine learning model (light gradient boosting machine model) and the variable explanation model (SHapley Additive exPlanation model) are combined to quantify the functional relationships between various driving factors and EH, thereby exploring the impacts of climatic factors, socioeconomic development (SED), and ecological restoration projects (ERP) on EH. The study found that: (1) From 1995 to 2020, EH in the Loess Plateau increased from 0.42 to 0.58, and the forms of spatial clustering changed. Moreover, there are significant differences in the speed and patterns of EH improvement in different regions, especially after 2010. (2) The importance of precipitation (PRE), SED, ERP, and temperature (TEM) is 33 %, 26 %, 24 %, and 17 %, respectively. The driving impacts exhibit non-monotonic polynomial relationships of third, fourth, second, and fourth degrees, indicating that the mechanisms through which EH is influenced by these factors can change. (3) Counties with higher response to PRE (>0.32) are mainly located in the central region. Counties with higher response to SED (>0.30) are primarily in areas with higher population and urbanization. Counties with higher response to ERP (>0.36) are mainly in the eastern region. Counties with higher response to TEM (>0.26) are primarily in the southern and western regions. The results of this paper provide new insights for EH research in areas with fragile ecosystems and are of significant importance for the ecological civilization construction of the Loess Plateau.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24014778Loess PlateauEcosystem healthSpatiotemporal changesDriving factorsSoil erosion
spellingShingle Xuepeng Zhang
Taixia Wu
Qiqi Du
Ninglei Ouyang
Wei Nie
Yang Liu
Peng Gou
Guangchao Li
Spatiotemporal changes of ecosystem health and the impact of its driving factors on the Loess Plateau in China
Ecological Indicators
Loess Plateau
Ecosystem health
Spatiotemporal changes
Driving factors
Soil erosion
title Spatiotemporal changes of ecosystem health and the impact of its driving factors on the Loess Plateau in China
title_full Spatiotemporal changes of ecosystem health and the impact of its driving factors on the Loess Plateau in China
title_fullStr Spatiotemporal changes of ecosystem health and the impact of its driving factors on the Loess Plateau in China
title_full_unstemmed Spatiotemporal changes of ecosystem health and the impact of its driving factors on the Loess Plateau in China
title_short Spatiotemporal changes of ecosystem health and the impact of its driving factors on the Loess Plateau in China
title_sort spatiotemporal changes of ecosystem health and the impact of its driving factors on the loess plateau in china
topic Loess Plateau
Ecosystem health
Spatiotemporal changes
Driving factors
Soil erosion
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X24014778
work_keys_str_mv AT xuepengzhang spatiotemporalchangesofecosystemhealthandtheimpactofitsdrivingfactorsontheloessplateauinchina
AT taixiawu spatiotemporalchangesofecosystemhealthandtheimpactofitsdrivingfactorsontheloessplateauinchina
AT qiqidu spatiotemporalchangesofecosystemhealthandtheimpactofitsdrivingfactorsontheloessplateauinchina
AT ningleiouyang spatiotemporalchangesofecosystemhealthandtheimpactofitsdrivingfactorsontheloessplateauinchina
AT weinie spatiotemporalchangesofecosystemhealthandtheimpactofitsdrivingfactorsontheloessplateauinchina
AT yangliu spatiotemporalchangesofecosystemhealthandtheimpactofitsdrivingfactorsontheloessplateauinchina
AT penggou spatiotemporalchangesofecosystemhealthandtheimpactofitsdrivingfactorsontheloessplateauinchina
AT guangchaoli spatiotemporalchangesofecosystemhealthandtheimpactofitsdrivingfactorsontheloessplateauinchina