Analysis of the ecological vulnerability of the western Hainan Island based on its landscape pattern and ecosystem sensitivity

The ecological vulnerability of the western Hainan Island of China was assessed using a combined approach of landscape pattern and ecosystem sensitivity. Models were developed using the following five factors: reciprocal of fractal dimension ( FD), isolation ( FI), fragmentation ( FN), sensitivity of land desertification ( SD), and sensitivity of soil erosion ( SW). The major findings include: (1) the vulnerability of various landscape types was in the following decreasing order: farmland > forestland > water area. This suggests that the ecosystems of farmland and forestland are unstable and sensitive to external disturbances; (2) significantly positive relationships were found between the vulnerability of landscape types ( VI) and SD, VI and FN, FN and SD, and FN and EVI (regional eco-environment vulnerability). This suggests that FN and SD have considerable effects on VI and EVI in this case; (3) there is a good agreement between the predicted and the actual distribution of the EVI zones. EVI value tends to decrease with increasing distance from the coastline and increase with increasing altitude; (4) the landscape pattern and the regional ecological vulnerability in this study is predominantly controlled by human activities, although physical factors such as topography and oceanic influences also play roles in the process; and (5) the establishment of relationships between data with respect to landscape and the regional ecological responses could be beneficial in guiding the ecological construction of this region.