Accessing Place Vulnerability Based On The Framework Of SES

Rapidly environment changes caused by human activities, has been a serious blow to the Earth's biological system in recent years. These changes not only impact physical and chemical systems, but also cause global-scale climate change, and result in regional-scale disasters. Human society shows significant vulnerability when it exposes to these changes and disasters.Based on this situation, the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP) proposed Social-Ecological System (SES) framework, pointing out that the current research related to the environment changes should be considered both natural factors and human factors, emphasizing the interaction between this two kinds of factors and their drive on global environment changes. A special issue discussed the concept of vulnerability, adaptability, resilience and research based on Social-Ecological System (SES) framework is initiated in 2006. In this paper, we access the place vulnerability to certain environment problem base on the SES framework, which consider three elements: exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Among them, we give the exposure condition a qualitative description, sensitivity is elicited by certain evaluation system, and adaptive capacity is modeled in accordance to its conception.All the evaluation system both considers natural factors and human factors, then the vulnerability degree to certain problem of a place was calculated. The full text takes soil erosion in Lanzhou as an example to analysis the three elements step-by-step, and to make a comprehensive evaluation of vulnerability. The results show:(1) Ecological environmental problems due to lag,transfer,magnification,accumulation effects which enlarge the impact of their characteristics to a wide range of significant harm as exposure conditions. The reason caused these characteristics is both on human and nature dimensions. The soil erosion in Lanzhou which affects by original natural conditions and human conditions has significant features of accumulation and amplification; in addition, it has negative impact in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, but because of its lag effect, not until leads to specific disasters such as mud-rock flow occurred, had not received attention it deserves.(2) We establish a evaluation system of sensitive by synthetize many factors, which contain both natral factors and social factors.for natral factors we consider vegetation degree,soil texture,precipitation erosion ability and for social factors we consider people density, road density, livestock loading per kilometer and other four factors,terra-undulating degree.then we get all weights by AHP.The result illustratest that: most areas of Lanzhou has middle or high sensitivity of soil erosion ,low sensitivity only lies in rarely places,such as Xinlong mountain in the southern part of Yuzhong County and Liancheng in the northwest of Yongdeng County, which has high vegetation cover and lithoid texture.(3) Base on the concept of adaptive capability under the framework of SES(Social—Ecological System),this paper presents an assessment of the adaptive capability of ecosystems by a model, which considering the following two factors:Coping capacity and recovering capacity. Among them, coping capacity is estimated by the synthesis ability of resistance, recovering capacity is respectively weighed up by some evaluation systems and vegetation degree, according to different human impact. Then we utilized this model to acquire region adaptive capability of the soil erosion in our study area, Lanzhou. The results illustrate: Then we utilized this model to acquire region adaptive capability of the soil erosion in our study area, Lanzhou, The results illustrate: most areas of LanZhou has middle or low adaptive capability for soil erosion. Totally speaking, the whole area has low coping capacity, recovering capacity, which cause low adaptive capability, according to this situation, priority erosion control is rapidly need for the vulnerable areas.(4) Through the Vulnerability Model, this paper carry out a comprehensive evaluation for vulnerability on soil erosion in Lanzhou, which shows: under a fragile natural environment, Lanzhou region soil erosion is very intense, 70.8% of area has the higher soil erosion sensitivity,low adaptive capacity, and vulnerability index is 0.03 ~ 0.26, vulnerability is medium and high; It is easily to degrade under the forcing condition of irrational human activities such as improper farming and overgrazing.(5) Through a comprehensive evaluation for vulnerability on soil erosion, this paper deepened the understanding of the relationship among sensitivity, adaptability, vulnerability, and proved the general perspective that the vulnerability equivalent to sensitivity is not rigorous.We advance a analysis model more than a detail ways, so different users can apply this model by their own demands and own methods.