Spatiotemporal evolution of ecological entropy in an ecologically vulnerable area

Abstract

Abstract The spatiotemporal evolution of ecological entropy (EE) reflects the differences and correlations among the different elements (roads, rivers, land, etc.) and regions in an ecosystem. In this study, an index system for evaluating the EE in an ecologically vulnerable area in China from 2005 to 2020 is constructed according to the pressure–state–response model. Models of the EE and its gradient are constructed, and they are evaluated using GIS and remote sensing. The results show that except for the utilization rate of solid waste, the index values of EE have increased dramatically in the past 16 years. Investment in waste pollution control, GDP per capita, vegetation index in July, and utilization rate of solid waste make large contributions to the EE. The EEs on the edge of the ecologically vulnerable area increased from 2005 to 2020, indicating that the ecological environment in these areas has deteriorated year by year. The regions with the largest outflow of EE indicate that the EEs of these regions had a large impact on those of their surrounding regions. The regions with the largest inflow of EE indicate that the ecological security of these regions is relatively stable to the surrounding regions. Large EE gradients existed between adjacent regions show large rate of change and inflow and outflow of EE. The results contribute to alleviating the high entropy, reversing the ecological imbalance, enhancing the ecological benefits, and improving the environmental quality in an ecological entropy system. The present results offer decision support for ecological evaluation, protection, restoration, compensation, and security.