Changes in the Landscape Pattern in Sanjiangyuan during 1970-2020 and Implications for Ecotourism Development

doi:10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2023.02.002

Abstract

Abstract:

The landscape spatial pattern in Sanjiangyuan region has changed substantially over the past 50 years. This study analysed the implications of variations in grassland, wetland, desert, and forest landscapes during 1970-2020 for ecotourism development in the Sanjiangyuan region by applying satellite remote sensing data, and discussed the factors driving these changes through a literature analysis. The results show that the areas of the four landscape types accounted for 89.7% of the total area of the Sanjiangyuan region in 2020. The most widely distributed landscape type was grassland (71.95%), followed by wetland and desert, and then forest. Under the influence of climate change and human activities, the proportion of these four landscape types increased by 5.01% during 1970-2020. Grassland experienced the largest increase, followed by wetland. In contrast, forests have decreased by 0.83%, and deserts have decreased by 2.79%. The landscape structures of the 17 districts are similar, and they have changed little over the past 50 years. This landscape pattern indicated an overall homogeneity that poses challenges to ecotourism development among those counties, especially with regard to grassland ecotourism, which needs to be a concern of managers.

Key words: landscape, spatial pattern, change, Sanjiangyuan region

ZENG Yuxi, ZHONG Linsheng, WANG Ling-en. Changes in the Landscape Pattern in Sanjiangyuan during 1970-2020 and Implications for Ecotourism Development[J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2023, 14(2): 230-238.

Figures/Tables 6

Fig. 1 Location, elevation and districts of the Sanjiangyuan region

Fig. 2 Some typical landscapes in the Sanjiangyuan region

Fig. 3 Landscape distribution in the Sanjiangyuan region in 2020

Fig. 4 Landscape transformations in the Sanjiangyuan region during 1970-2020 Note: For., forest; Gra., grassland; Wet., wetland; Des., desert; Non., non-ecological landscape; the full name of a landscape indicates no conversion.

Fig. 5 Changes in the four ecotourism landscape types in the Sanjiangyuan region during 1970-2020

Fig. 6 Landscape variations in the 17 districts during 1970-2020

References 28

[1]	Agimass F, Lundhede T, Panduro T E, et al. 2018. The choice of forest site for recreation: A revealed preference analysis using spatial data. Ecosystem Services, 31(SI):445-454.
[2]	Bai Y, Guo C, Degen A A, et al. 2020. Climate warming benefits alpine vegetation growth in Three-River Headwater Region, China. Science of the Total Environment, 742: 140574. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140574.
[3]	Balmford A, Beresford J, Green J, et al. 2009. A global perspective on trends in nature-based tourism. Plos Biology, 7: e1000144. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.1000144.
[4]	Choi Y E, Oh C O, Chon J. 2021. Applying the resilience principles for sustainable ecotourism development: A case study of the Nakdong Estuary, South Korea. Tourism Management, 83: 104237. DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104237.
[5]	General Office of the People’s Government of Yushu Municipality. 2019. Government Work Report of Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Yushu, China. http://www.yushuzhou.gov.cn/html/1387/284816.html (accessed on 2019/3/11).
[6]	Ghermandi A, Camacho-Valdez V, Trejo-Espinosa H. 2020. Social media-based analysis of cultural ecosystem services and heritage tourism in a coastal region of Mexico. Tourism Management, 77: 104002. DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2019.104002.
[7]	Han B H, Zhou B R, Zhao H H, et al. 2019. Relationships between grassland vegetation turngreen and climate factors in the Three-River Resources Region. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 39(15): 5635-5641. (in Chinese)
[8]	Ji P, Yuan X. 2018. High-resolution land surface modeling of hydrological changes over the Sanjiangyuan region in the eastern Tibetan Plateau: 2. Impact of climate and land cover change. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, 10(11): 2829-2843.
[9]	Jin Z, You Q L, Wu F Y, et al. 2020. Changes of climate and climate extremes in the Three-Rivers Headwaters’ Region over the Tibetan Plateau during the past 60 years. Transactions of Atmospheric Sciences, 43(6): 1042-1055.
[10]	Li H X, Liu G H, Fu B J. 2011. Response of vegetation to climate change and human activity based on NDVI in the Three-River Headwaters Region. Acta Ecologica Sinica, 31(19): 5495-5504. (in Chinese)
[11]	Li J, Cheng S K, Ma J G, et al. 2009. Investigating modes for poverty elimination through developing tourism resources at county levels in the Sanjiangyuan region. Resources Science, 31(11): 1818-1824. (in Chinese)
[12]	Li R, Chi X. 2014. Thermal comfort and tourism climate changes in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in the last 50 years. Theoretical and Applied Climatology, 117(3-4): 613-624.
[13]	Li X L, Perry G L W, Brierley G, et al. 2013. Restoration prospects for Heitutan degraded grassland in the Sanjiangyuan. Journal of Mountain Science, 10(4): 687-698.
[14]	Li Z W, Wu R J, Ma Y P. 2016. Impact of climate change and human activities on vegetation productivity in the Three-River Headwaters. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, 38(3): 804-810. (in Chinese)
[15]	Liu Z J, Shao Q Q. 2014. Vegetation coverage change and its response to climate change in Three-River Headwaters Region. Research of Soil and Water Conservation, 21(6): 334-339.
[16]	Lv A F, Jia S F, Yan H Y, et al. 2009. Temporal variations and trend analysis of the snowmelt runoff timing across the source regions of the Yangtze River, Yellow River and Lancang River. Resources Science, 31(10): 1704-1709. (in Chinese)
[17]	Peng D, Wu H. 2002. On tourist resources and exploitation in the Cuola geyser area, Batang, Sichuan. Acta Geologica Sichuan, 4: 240-243.
[18]	Shao Q, Cao W, Fan J, et al. 2017. Effects of an ecological conservation and restoration project in the Three-River Source Region, China. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 27(2): 183-204.
[19]	Song Z W, Zhong L S. 2009. ATOS methods for investigating suitability of the conversion between adventure tourism resources and products over the Sanjiangyuan region. Resources Science, 31(11): 1832-1839. (in Chinese)
[20]	Sun Q L, Li B L, Xu L L, et al. 2016. Analysis of NDVI change trend and its impact factors in the Three-River headwater region from 2000 to 2013. Journal of Geo-information Science, 18(12): 1707-1716. (in Chinese)
[21]	Tenerelli P, Püffel C, Luque S. 2017. Spatial assessment of aesthetic services in a complex mountain region: Combining visual landscape properties with crowdsourced geographic information. Landscape Ecology, 32(5): 1097-1115.
[22]	Watson J E M, Dudley N, Segan D B, et al. 2014. The performance and potential of protected areas. Nature, 515: 67. DOI: 10.1038/natu re13947.
[23]	Weyland F, Laterra P. 2014. Recreation potential assessment at large spatial scales: A method based in the ecosystem services approach and landscape metrics. Ecological Indicators, 39: 34-43.
[24]	Xiang B H, Zeng Y X. 2017. Ecotourism construction and operating mechanism in the Sanjiangyuan National Park system pilot area, China. Resource Science, 39(1): 50-60. (in Chinese)
[25]	Xu X L, Liu J Y, Shao Q Q, et al. 2008. The dynamic changes of ecosystem spatial pattern and structure in the Three-River Headwaters Region in Qinghai Province during recent 30 years. Geographical Research, 27(4): 829-838. (in Chinese)
[26]	Yuan X, Ji P, Wang L, et al. 2018. High-resolution land surface modeling of hydrological changes over the Sanjiangyuan region in the eastern Tibetan Plateau: 1. Model development and evaluation. Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth Systems, 10(11): 2806-2828.
[27]	Zeng Y X, Zhong L S, Wang L E. 2018. Spatiotemporal changes in recreation potential of ecosystem services in Sanjiangyuan, China. Journal of Spatial Science, 63(2): 359-377.
[28]	Zhang Y, Zhang C B, Wang Z Q, et al. 2017. Quantitative assessment of relative roles of climate change and human activities on grassland net primary productivity in the Three-River Source Region, China. Acta Prataculturae Sinica, 26(5): 1-14. (in Chinese)