Effects of human disturbance on the landscape pattern in the mountainous area of western Henan, China

Abstract

Human disturbance, including agricultural development, urbanization, and resource exploitation, has become one of the important driving factors in the formation and evolution of mountain landscape patterns. Understanding the spatiotemporal changes of human disturbance and their impacts on landscape patterns is of great significance for sustainable development of mountainous areas. This study focuses on the mountainous areas of western Henan in China, dividing elevation zones based on vegetation distribution, using hemeroby index (HI) to evaluate the intensity and degree of human disturbance, and reflecting landscape spatial patterns such as fragmentation, complexity, aggregation, and diversity through four landscape pattern indices (AREA_MN, FRAC_MN, AI, SHDI). Statistical analysis methods are used to explore the relationships between human disturbance and landscape patterns. The results showed that from 1990 to 2020, the overall human disturbance in the mountainous area of western Henan increased by 1.5 %. The vertical differentiation and temporal variation of human disturbance degree among four elevation zones (farmland zone, shrubland zone, broad-leaved forest zone, and subalpine meadows zone) were relatively not obvious, mainly manifested as mid-level disturbance degree in the farmland and shrubland zones, and low-level disturbance degree in the broad-leaved forest and subalpine meadows zones. The landscape compositions of four elevation zones show significant differentiation. As the elevation increases, the percentage of artificial landscapes such as farmland and built-up land gradually decreased from 67 % to 68 % of the farmland zone at the bottom of the mountainous areas to 0–1 % of the subalpine meadows zone at the top from 1990 to 2020. Correspondingly, natural landscapes such as grassland and forestland increased from 29-32 % to 99 %–100 %. With the increase of human disturbance, landscape patterns in different elevation zones exhibited differential responses. The high-elevation landscapes that were initially subject to low-level human disturbance, are becoming more fragmented, less connected, and more diverse. In contrast, the low-elevation landscapes that were originally subject to high-level human disturbance showed the opposite changes. These findings highlight the necessity of implementing altitude-specific management strategies, and provide a scientific basis for landscape planning and the management of human disturbance in the mountain areas of western Henan, China.