Tourist landscape vulnerability assessment in mountainous world natural heritage sites: The case of Karajun-Kurdening, Xinjiang, china

The landscape is one of the bases of tourism development. Natural heritage sites are the pinnacle of natural areas with outstanding universal value, but the landscapes are diverse and fragile. Heritage sites needs to be moderately utilized to protect the landscape. Based on the aesthetic value of the heritage site, this study proposed an evaluation system for the tourist landscape vulnerability of a mountainous natural area in three aspects Integration-Ecology-Coordination. The results are as follows: (1) The factors influencing the integrated vulnerability of the landscape of Karajun-Kurdening were natural conditions, landscape patterns, and human activities in descending order of strength. In terms of spatial distribution, the integrated vulnerability of the study area was high, and the vulnerability in the south was higher than that in the north. (2) The forest landscape and grassland landscape are the carriers of the aesthetic value of the Karajun-Kurdening heritage site. The vulnerability of patch integrity and structural abundance of the forest landscape were low, while the forest density had strong heterogeneity. In addition, the patch integrity of the grassland landscape was strong, while the area of low grassland coverage was large. (3) The current tourism development was compatible with the landscape. Through the quantitative and qualitative comprehensive assessment of tourist landscape vulnerability, this study can usefully inform local policy-, plan-, and decision-making for future landscape conservation in mountainous natural heritage sites.

Automated summary

This study proposed an evaluation system for assessing the tourist landscape vulnerability in a mountainous natural area, considering the integration, ecology, and coordination aspects. The results revealed that the factors influencing the landscape vulnerability in Karajun-Kurdening were natural conditions, landscape patterns, and human activities. The forest and grassland landscapes were carriers of aesthetic value, with varying levels of vulnerability. The current tourism development was found to be compatible with the landscape.