Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:
https://hdl.handle.net/2440/116267
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Type: | Journal article |
Title: | Impacts of mining and urbanization on the Qin-Ba mountainous environment, China |
Author: | Xu, X. Cai, H. Sun, D. Hu, L. Banson, K.E. |
Citation: | Sustainability, 2016; 8(5):1-15 |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Issue Date: | 2016 |
ISSN: | 2071-1050 2071-1050 |
Statement of Responsibility: | Xinliang Xu, Hongyan Cai, Daowei Sun, Lan Hu and Kwamina E. Banson |
Abstract: | The Qin-Ba Ecological Functional Zone is a component of China’s ecological security pattern designed to protect the regional ecosystem and maintain biodiversity. However, due to the impact of mining and urban encroachment, the plight of a sustainable ecosystem in the Qin-Ba mountainous area is deteriorating. This paper has used a remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) to examine the impacts of mining and urban encroachment on the environment in the Qin-Ba mountainous area. The results indicate that the total mined area in 2013 was 22 km² and is predicted to escalate. Results also show that the ecosystems in Fengxian County, Shaanxi Province and Baokang County, Hubei Province were most severely affected by mining. Urbanization in the Qin-Ba mountainous area has seen an increase of 85.58 km² in urban land use from 2010 to 2013. In addition, infrastructure development including airport construction, tourism resorts and real estate development in the Qin-Ba mountainous area has intensified environmental and biodiversity disturbances since large areas of forest have been cleared. Our results should provide insight and assistance to city planners and government officials in making informed decisions. |
Keywords: | Qin-Ba mountainous area; mining; urbanization; tourism real estate; ecological environment |
Rights: | © 2016 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
DOI: | 10.3390/su8050488 |
Published version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su8050488 |
Appears in Collections: | Aurora harvest 8 Business School publications |
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hdl_116267.pdf | Published Version | 4.07 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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