Landscape ecological security assessment based on projection pursuit in Pearl River Delta

Regional landscape ecological security is an important issue for ecological security, and has a great influence on national security and social sustainable development. The Pearl River Delta (PRD) in southern China has experienced rapid economic development and intensive human activities in recent years. This study, based on landscape analysis, provides a method to discover the alteration of character among different landscape types and to understand the landscape ecological security status. Based on remotely sensed products of the Landsat 5 TM images in 1990 and the Landsat 7 ETM+ images in 2005, landscape classification maps of nine cities in the PRD were compiled by implementing Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System technology. Several indices, including aggregation, crush index, landscape shape index, Shannon’s diversity index, landscape fragile index, and landscape security adjacent index, were applied to analyze spatial–temporal characteristics of landscape patterns in the PRD. A landscape ecological security index based on these outcomes was calculated by projection pursuit using genetic algorithm. The landscape ecological security of nine cities in the PRD was thus evaluated. The main results of this research are listed as follows: (1) from 1990 to 2005, the aggregation index, crush index, landscape shape index, and Shannon’s diversity index of nine cities changed little in the PRD, while the landscape fragile index and landscape security adjacent index changed obviously. The landscape fragile index of nine cities showed a decreasing trend; however, the landscape security adjacent index has been increasing; (2) from 1990 to 2005, landscape ecology of the cities of Zhuhai and Huizhou maintained a good security situation. However, there was a relatively low value of ecological security in the cities of Dongguan and Foshan. Except for Foshan and Guangzhou, whose landscape ecological security situation were slightly improved, the cities had reduced values in landscape ecological security, with the most decreased number 0.52 in Zhaoqing. Results of this study offer important information for regional eco-construction and natural resource exploitation.

[1]  Gaohuan Liu,et al.  Study on Dynamic Changes of Wetland Landscape Pattern in Yellow River Delta: Study on Dynamic Changes of Wetland Landscape Pattern in Yellow River Delta , 2010 .

[2]  Wang De-hui.  Changes of Landscape Pattern in Shunde District of Foshan City , 2007 .

[3]  J. Friedman,et al.  PROJECTION PURSUIT DENSITY ESTIMATION , 1984 .

[4]  J. Ivey,et al.  Ann Arbor, Michigan , 1969 .

[5]  Q. Cai,et al.  Impacts of cascaded small hydropower plants on microzooplankton in Xiangxi River, China , 2009 .

[6]  Xiubing Li,et al.  Urban land expansion and arable land loss in China - a case study of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region , 2005 .

[7]  Mao Xian-qiang.  Spatial analysis of regional landscape ecological risk , 2006 .

[8]  Chen Li.  Landscape pattern analysis in landscape ecology:current,challenges and future , 2008 .

[9]  Yu Feng.  Land Use Change and Eco-security Assessment of Huangfuchuan Watershed , 2006 .

[10]  Synthesis of ecosystemic and ecoscreening modelling in solving problems of ecological safety , 1999 .

[11]  Chen Xin,et al.  Quantitative evaluation of ecological security status and trends: a case study of Guangdong Province,China , 2006 .

[12]  Yan-sui Liu,et al.  Urban ecological security assessment and forecasting, based on a cellular automata model: A case study of Guangzhou, China , 2009 .

[13]  L. Jing.  Quantitative Analysis of Dynamic Change and Spatial Difference of the Ecological Safety: The Case of Shaanxi Province , 2005 .

[14]  Zhu Xiao.  Landscape ecological security assessment in rapidly urbanizing bay-area: a case study of Xiamen City,China , 2008 .

[15]  Gong Jian.  Dynamic analysis of the Guangzhou landscape eco-security pattern based on 3S technology , 2008 .

[16]  J. Friedman,et al.  Projection Pursuit Regression , 1981 .

[17]  Lina Xiu,et al.  The response of landscape metrics against pattern scenarios , 2004 .

[18]  Xiaodong Zhu,et al.  An early warning method of landscape ecological security in rapid urbanizing coastal areas and its application in Xiamen, China , 2010 .

[19]  Jiaping Wu,et al.  Integrative fuzzy set pair model for land ecological security assessment: a case study of Xiaolangdi Reservoir Region, China , 2010 .

[20]  Liu Li.  Spatial-temporal landscape dynamics in the Hulunbeir forest-steppe ecotone , 2008 .

[21]  Gong Jian.  Response to classification numbers of vegetation types on correlative coefficients among landscape metrics , 2007 .

[22]  D. Rapport.  Ecosystems not optimized: a reply , 1993 .

[23]  Keming Ma,et al.  [Assessment method of ecosystem health]. , 2002, Ying yong sheng tai xue bao = The journal of applied ecology.

[24]  Tingping Ouyang,et al.  Urbanization in the Pearl River Delta Economic Zone, China , 2005 .

[25]  R. M. Hulshoff,et al.  Landscape indices describing a Dutch landscape , 1995, Landscape Ecology.

[26]  Peng Shao.  Influence of landscape pattern changes on the restoration of stream in Dongjiang River riparian buffer , 2009 .

[27]  Guy N. Cameron,et al.  Analysis of landscape patterns in coastal wetlands of Galveston Bay, Texas (USA) , 2001, Landscape Ecology.

[28]  Chen Li-ding,et al.  Pattern analysis in landscape ecology: progress, challenges and outlook , 2008 .

[29]  Chunlai Zhang,et al.  Assessing the ecological security of the Tibetan plateau: methodology and a case study for Lhaze County. , 2006, Journal of environmental management.

[30]  Rang-hui Wang,et al.  Analysis of patterns and ecological security trend of modern oasis landscapes in Xinjiang, China , 2007, Environmental monitoring and assessment.

[31]  Qiang Fu,et al.  Applying PPC Model Based on RAGA in the Investment Decision-making of Water Saving Irrigation Project , 2003 .

[32]  The temporal and spatial characteristic of landscape ecological security at Lancang River Watershed of longitudinal range gorge region in Southwest China , 2008 .

[33]  Mundy,et al.  Hopes for the Future: Restoration Ecology and Conservation Biology , 1997 .

[34]  Bruce T. Milne,et al.  Indices of landscape pattern , 1988, Landscape Ecology.

[35]  Ü. Mander,et al.  Landscape diversity changes in Estonia , 1998 .

[36]  Xiao Du.  Changes of landscape pattern bteween 1986 and 2000 in Jiuquan oasis, Heihe River basin , 2006 .

[37]  Rogers Ks.  Ecological security and multinational corporations. , 1997 .

[38]  A. Lausch.  Applicability of landscape metrics for the monitoring of landscape change: issues of scale, resolution and interpretability , 2002 .

[39]  Huang Qiaohua.  Characteristics of Urban Forest Landscape Pattern and Optimization of Urban Forest Spatial Structure: A Case Study of Nanjing City , 2007 .

[40]  W. Wenying,et al.  Response of carbon and nitrogen content in plants and soils to vegetation cover change in alpine Kobresia meadow of the source region of Lantsang, Yellow and Yangtze Rivers , 2008 .

[41]  R. O'Neill,et al.  A factor analysis of landscape pattern and structure metrics , 1995, Landscape Ecology.

[42]  K. Seto,et al.  Quantifying Spatiotemporal Patterns of Urban Land-use Change in Four Cities of China with Time Series Landscape Metrics , 2005, Landscape Ecology.

[43]  Cui Baoshan,et al.  Changes in landscape pattern of alpine wetlands on the Zoige Plateau in the past four decades , 2008 .

[44]  Zong Xiuying,et al.  Study on Dynamic Changes of Wetland Landscape Pattern in Yellow River Delta , 2009 .

[45]  Li Xiao-bing.  Landscape Ecological Risk Assessment of Natural/Semi-natural Landscapes in Fast Urbanization Regions——A Case Study in Beijing,China , 2008 .

[46]  G. S. Niroula,et al.  Impacts and causes of land fragmentation, and lessons learned from land consolidation in South Asia , 2005 .

[47]  H. Mooney,et al.  Human Domination of Earth’s Ecosystems , 1997, Renewable Energy.

[48]  Guo Luo.  Spatial-temporal Changes of Forest Landscape Patterns in Guangzhou , 2006 .