Conflict or Coordination? The Spatiotemporal Relationship Between Humans and Nature on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Abstract

As the Earth's Third Pole and the Asian water tower, the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) plays a key role in global climate regulation and biodiversity maintenance. Living in harmony with nature is vital for local and global sustainable development. Current research on the conflicted or coordinated relationship between humans and nature on the QTP at a fine spatial scale remains limited. To fill the gap, we developed the human activity intensity index (HAI) and eco-environmental quality index (EQI) at 1-km resolution and proposed a four-quadrant diagram approach to explore the dynamics between them. The results show a coordinated development on the QTP as the HAI and EQI both increased from 2000 to 2020, and the ratio of coordinated areas to conflicted areas was 5:1. High HAI areas were mainly in big cities such as Xining, Lhasa, Haidong, Xigaze, and along traffic lines. The significant conflicted areas were mainly outside the Lhasa metropolitan, south of the Hengduan Mountains, and along some new roads, and reduced by 8% between 2000–2010 and 2010–2020. The area of high HAI but low EQI was the smallest proportion, mainly in southern Qinghai Lake, southern Brahlung Zangbo River, Gobi oases, and western transport lines, but it implies the highest risk of ecosystem degradation. This research expands the fundamental methodology to address complex human-natural relationships and provides implications for the sustainable development of fragile ecosystems.