Engineering Research Center of Ministry of Education for Mine Ecological Restoration, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China.
School of Environment Science and Spatial Informatics, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou 221116, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Mar 1;16(5):752. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16050752.
The ecological status of the semi-arid steppes in China is fragile. Under the long-term and high-intensity development of mining, the ecological integrity and biodiversity of steppe landscapes have been destroyed, causing soil pollution, grassland degradation, landscape function defect, and so on. Previous studies have mainly focused on ecosystem health assessment in mining areas. Landscape ecological health (LEH) pays more attention to the interactions between different ecosystems. Therefore, the ecological assessment of mining cities is more suitable on a landscape scale. Meanwhile, the existing LEH assessment index systems are not applicable in ecologically fragile areas with sparse population, underdeveloped economy, and in relatively small research areas. The purpose of this study was to construct a LEH assessment index system and evaluate the LEH of a mining city located in a semi-arid steppe. Xilinhot is a typical semi-arid steppe mining city in China. The contradictions between the human, land and ecological environment are serious. A new model Condition, Vigor, Organization, Resilience, and Ecosystem (CVORE) model was constructed that integrated five subsystems (services) from the perspectives of ecology, landscape ecology, mining science, and geography. This study used the CVORE model to systematically evaluate the LEH in Xilinhot city in terms of five LEH levels, including very healthy, healthy, sub-healthy, unhealthy and morbid landscape. Research results show that the areas of the very healthy, healthy, sub-healthy, unhealthy and morbid landscapes are 13.23, 736.35, 184.5, 66.76 and 20.63 km², respectively. The healthy landscapes area accounts for 72.08% and most grasslands are healthy. The sub-healthy landscapes are mainly located around areas with higher disturbances due to human activities. The morbid or unhealthy landscapes are concentrated in the mining areas. The proposed CVORE model can enrich the foundations for the quantitative assessment of Landscape Ecological Health of Mining Cities in Semi-arid Steppe (LEHMCSS). This study provided a new LEH assessment approach (CVORE model), which can support landscape ecological restoration, ecological environmental protection and urban planning of the semi-arid steppe mining cities.
中国半干旱草原的生态状况较为脆弱。在长期高强度矿业开发的影响下，草原景观的生态完整性和生物多样性遭到破坏，导致土壤污染、草原退化、景观功能缺陷等问题。已有研究主要集中在矿区的生态系统健康评估方面，而景观生态健康（LEH）更关注不同生态系统之间的相互作用。因此，矿业城市的生态评估更适合在景观尺度上进行。同时，现有的 LEH 评估指标体系不适用于人口稀少、经济欠发达、研究区域较小的生态脆弱地区。本研究旨在构建一个 LEH 评估指标体系，并评估位于半干旱草原的矿业城市的 LEH。锡林浩特是中国典型的半干旱草原矿业城市，人类、土地和生态环境之间的矛盾较为突出。本研究构建了一个新的条件、活力、组织、恢复力和生态系统（CVORE）模型，该模型综合了生态学、景观生态学、矿业科学和地理学五个子系统（服务）。本研究利用 CVORE 模型，从五个 LEH 水平（非常健康、健康、亚健康、不健康和病态景观）对锡林浩特市的 LEH 进行了系统评估。研究结果表明，非常健康、健康、亚健康、不健康和病态景观的面积分别为 13.23、736.35、184.5、66.76 和 20.63km²。健康景观面积占 72.08%，大部分草原处于健康状态。亚健康景观主要分布在人类活动干扰较高的区域周围。病态或不健康景观集中在矿区。所提出的 CVORE 模型可以丰富半干旱草原矿业城市景观生态健康（LEHMCSS）定量评估的基础。本研究提供了一种新的 LEH 评估方法（CVORE 模型），可为半干旱草原矿业城市的景观生态恢复、生态环境保护和城市规划提供支持。
