An Assessment of Ecological Protection Importance Based on Ecosystems Services and Vulnerabilities in Tibet, China

Abstract

Tibet has a unique ecosystem and unique species resources and is an important ecological protection area in China and surrounding countries. Ecological protection in Tibet needs to be strengthened and targeted regionally. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the importance of ecological protection and its spatial difference for policy formulation. In this study, the importance of biodiversity conservation, water retention, soil retention, and sand prevention, as well as the vulnerability of soil erosion and land desertification, was assessed, and the importance of ecological protection was classified. The extremely important ecological protection areas covered an area of 615,000 km2, mainly located in the Northern Tibet Plateau, the southern foot of the Himalayas, the Hengduan Mountains, and the Gangdise-Nyainqentanglha Mountains. The relationship between land-use type, elevation, and ecological protection importance was studied. The results showed that the most important ecological protection area consisted of forest and grassland in low-altitude areas or uninhabited areas 5000 m above sea level. The spatial characteristics of dominant ecological functions in different regions were identified by comparing the importance of different factors. The study found that there are significant differences in the dominant factors of important ecological protection areas in Southeast Tibet, Northern Tibetan Plateau, and Central Tibet. The results provide an effective reference for ecological function zoning and ecological protection policy formulation in Tibet, as a scientific basis for promoting ecological protection and restoration in Tibet.