Characteristics of Changes in Karst Rocky Desertification in Southtern and Western China and Driving Mechanisms

The karst landform is a typical ecologically vulnerable region, and the problem of karst rocky desertification in southtern and western China has led to impoverishment and a degraded local ecological environment, which severely limits local socioeconomic development. An effective and appropriate control of karst rocky desertification in southtern and western China requires knowledge about its characteristics of variation and driving mechanisms. In this study, we chose eight regions in the southtern and western China as research areas and analysed the characteristics of the changes in karst ecosystem patterns and rocky desertification from 2000 to 2015. Based on these characteristics, we present the mechanisms that drive karst rocky desertification in the southtern and western China by utilizing the redundancy analysis (RDA) ordination method. The results show that the total area of rocky desertification in southtern and western China had been continuously decreasing from 2000 to 2015, revealing a positive development trend in rocky desertification. Rocky desertification variations were mainly affected by human activities. The reduction in farmland area improved farmland management and increased regional gross industrial product, which together with continuously rising gross domestic product of the tertiary industry caused a positive rocky desertification development. However, the local karst tourism has a certain effect on inducing slight rocky desertification.