Spatial-Temporal Variation and Driving Factors of Ecological Vulnerability in Nansi Lake Basin, China

Abstract

Lake basins are one of the most significant areas of human–land interaction. It is essential for the region’s ecological protection and high-quality development to assess their ecological vulnerability (EV) and analyze the key driving factors of EV. Considering the characteristics of the lake basin, we chose 17 indicators to evaluate the EV of the Nansi Lake Basin based on the “sensitivity-resilience-pressure” (SRP) model. Then, spatial principal component analysis (SPCA) and a transfer matrix were used to analyze the spatial-temporal variation characteristics of the EV. Moreover, the optimal parameters-based geographical detector (OPGD) was applied to investigate the factors influencing the spatial heterogeneity of the EV. The results indicated that the EV of the Nansi Lake Basin was characterized by a circling spatial structure, with low values distributed in the Nansi Lake and its surrounding areas, as well as high values concentrated in the northwest. The EV of the Nansi Lake Basin decreased from 2010 to 2020, indicating that the overall ecological pressure in the Nansi Lake Basin decreased. Climatic factors, land use type, and habitat quality were the primary factors that influenced the spatial heterogeneity of the EV in the basin. Our findings can serve as policy guidelines for ecological management and the sustainable development of the Nansi Lake Basin and also contribute to the EV assessment of lake basins.