Eco-environmental vulnerability evaluation in the Yellow River Basin, China

Using remote sensing (RS) data and geographical information system (GIS), eco-environmental vulnerability and its changes were analyzed for the Yellow River Basin, China. The objective of this study was to improve our understanding of eco-environmental changes so that a strategy of sustainable land use could be established. An environmental numerical model was developed using spatial principal component analysis (SPCA) model. The model contains twelve factors that include variables of land use, soil erosion, topography, climate, and vegetation. Using this model, synthetic eco-environmental vulnerability index (SEVI) was computed for 1990 and 2000 for the Yellow River Basin. The SEVI was classified into six levels, potential, slight, light, medium, heavy, and very heavy, following the natural breaks classification. The eco-environmental vulnerability distribution and its changes over the ten years from 1990 to 2000 were analyzed and the driving factors of eco-environmental changes were investigated. The results show that the eco-environmental vulnerability in the study area was at medium level, and the eco-environmental quality had been gradually improved on the whole. However, the eco-environmental quality had become worse over the ten years in some regions. In the study area, population growth, vegetation degradation, and governmental policies for eco-environmental protection were found to be the major factors that caused the eco-environmental changes over the ten years.