Arid Zone Research ›› 2024, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (4): 674-683.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2024.04.13

• Ecology and Environment • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Assessment of habitat quality in the Yellow River Basin in Inner Mongolia from 1990 to 2020

LIU Rulong1,2(), ZHAO Yuanyuan1(), CHEN Guoqing2, CHI Wenfeng3, LIU Zhengjia4   

  1. 1. College of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
    2. College of Desert Science and Engineering, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, Inner Mongolia, China
    3. College of Resources and Environmental Economics, Inner Mongolia University of Finance and Economics, Hohhot 010070, Inner Mongolia, China
    4. Institute of Geographical Sciences and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
  • Received:2023-11-04 Revised:2024-01-16 Online:2024-04-15 Published:2024-04-26

Abstract:

The Yellow River Basin in Inner Mongolia is an important ecological region in China. Exploring changes in habitat quality and their driving factors is important for regional desertification prevention and biodiversity conservation. Using land use/cover data from 1990 to 2020, GIS technology, and the InVEST model, the habitat quality of the region was assessed, and the driving factors of the spatial heterogeneity of habitat quality were analyzed using geographic detectors. The results indicated the following: (1) The overall spatial distribution pattern of habitat quality in the study area was low in the north and high in the south, with a positive spatial correlation and significant spatial clustering. Areas with low habitat quality, accounting for 23.50%, were mainly distributed in the Kubuqi Desert and the southeastern part of the study area. (2) From 1990 to 2020, the habitat quality in the Yellow River Basin in Inner Mongolia showed a trend of initial decrease and then a slight increase. Over the past 30 years, the area with degraded habitat quality, accounting for 11.97%, was mainly concentrated in the northern part of the study area and near the banks of the Yellow River. It is an area of cultivated land expansion and sandy land distribution, with significant human activity interference. Future research on ecological governance and restoration should focus on this area. (3) Natural factors such as DEM, NDVI, and soil type are the main driving factors for spatial differentiation of habitat quality. The interaction of any two determining factors has greater explanatory power for the spatial differentiation of habitat quality than the corresponding single factors. The study results provide reference and guidance for ecological environment protection and restoration research in the Yellow River Basin in Inner Mongolia.

Key words: InVEST model, habitat quality, spatial autocorrelation, geographic detectors, Yellow River Basin, Inner Mongolia