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Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Continuous Hydrologic and Water Quality Monitoring of Vernal Ponds
Published on: November 13, 2017
[Spatial-temporal Evolution Characteristics and Driving Factors of Ecological Vulnerability in the Middle and Upper
1,2, Yu-Chun-Zi Du1,2, Rong She1,2
1Hohhot General Survey of Natural Resources Center, China Geological Survey, Hohhot 010010, China.
Abstract:
The combined effects of global climate change and human activities have made the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River Basin ecologically sensitive, where the dynamic evolution of ecological vulnerability is crucial to regional sustainable development and national ecological security. This study takes the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River Basin as its focus and employs an ecological vulnerability evaluation index detection and spatial autocorrelation analysis to reveal the spatiotemporal patterns of ecological vulnerability in the region from 2000 to 2023 and quantify the contributions of, and interactions between, natural and human-induced drivers. The results indicate that: The overall ecological vulnerability of the study area exhibited a spatial pattern of "high in the northwest and low in the southeast." From 2000 to 2023, the area underwent a transformation characterized by "initial deterioration followed by improvement." After 2010, the area of moderately vulnerable zones decreased from 31.90%-2.84% under the influence of national ecological restoration projects, and severely vulnerable zones disappeared. The ecological environment showed a sustained improvement trend. The spatial clustering characteristics of ecological vulnerability were significant, with the global Moran's I index ranging from 0.827 to 0.881. The northwest region was a high-high clustering area, while the southeast region was a low-low clustering area. The primary drivers influencing the spatial distribution of ecological vulnerability in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River Basin were precipitation, the normalized vegetation index, biological abundance, and the net primary productivity of vegetation. The interactive effects of these drivers exerted a stronger influence on ecological vulnerability than that of individual factors. These findings provide a scientific basis for differentiated ecological management and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin.
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