Land Use Change Degree Steadily Increases and Ecological Security Situation Improves Overall in the Manas River Basin, Xinjiang

The ecological security of a region derives from a combination of natural factors and human activities, and land use change plays a crucial role in determining regional ecological security and the environmental problems resulting from human activities. Understanding the interactions between land use degree and ecological security grade has become a core issue in global sustainable development, and the studies in this topic have important theoretical and practical significance for the rational exploitation of regional land resources and environmental conservation.

The Manas River Basin, located on the northern slopes of the Tianshan Mountains and the southern marginal zone of the Junggar Basin, is an important region in the oasis of Xinjiang. So, evaluating ecological security from the viewpoint of land use change in this ecologically fragile area is necessary.

To quantitatively evaluate ecological security at the drainage basin scale in the Manas River Basin, researchers from Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences (XIEG) developed a comprehensive computational model using RS and GIS methods. The relationship between the land use change degree and ecological security of the drainage basin was analyzed to reveal the general principles governing the effects of land use change on the ecology of endorheic drainage basins in arid areas, as a means of managing ecological security and environmental conservation. In order to accurately quantify the land use degree of different land use types, the composite value method of land use degree was used to establish six grades of land use degree based on the land use categories and the different degrees of exploitation and utilization of land resources.

The results showed that the degree of land use change steadily increased in the Manas River Basin, and overall land use was in a state of development. From 1989–2002, the ecological security of the drainage basin generally improved somewhat, but deteriorated subsequently in some regions. The ecological security grade increased in regions with land use composite change extent values of 18–100, and ecological security grade improved from moderate warning in 1989 to early warning in 2002. Regions with woodlands and grasslands were important areas for ecological restoration and regeneration in this drainage basin, and that it was difficult to improve the ecological environment on sandy soils.

Based on the result, researchers suggested that ecological security grades can be improved by increasing land use degree in regions where it is low. The result was published in Russian Journal of Ecologyin January 2014.