Ecological Restoration Strategies for the Topography of Loess Plateau Based on Adaptive Ecological Sensitivity Evaluation: A Case Study in Lanzhou, China

Abstract

Existing studies related to ecological sensitivity evaluation are comparatively mature; however, few approaches are concerned with distinctive topographical conditions that enable response to specific environmental restoration requirements. In this paper, an adaptive ecological sensitivity evaluation framework is established according to a representative plateau topography (i.e., the Loess Plateau region) via a case study of Gaolan County, China. Through the process of factor selection, index system construction, formula adaption, factor weight determination by analytic hierarchy process (AHP) as well as the support of RS and GIS technology, the ecological sensitivity of the research region has been evaluated and analyzed in combination with land use types and typical gully problems. The results show that high sensitivity areas account for 11.16 percent of the total area in the research region and a tendency for fragmentation in spatial distribution. Forest lands with steep slopes in gullies’ upstream have the highest ecological sensitivity, the proportion of forest and garden land dominated by trees in the highest sensitivity area is around 80 percent. Evidence-based ecological restoration strategies are proposed in terms of the topography of Loess Plateau. This study shows possibilities to adapt existing sensitivity evaluation model for medium-scaled specific topography problems and provides useful clues as a basis for knowledge acquisition that can feed into spatial design, planning and restoration processes.