Quantitative Assessment of Spatial Pattern of Geodiversity in the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

Geodiversity is considered a new tool to exploit the resources of regional and local geotourism. Hitherto, few assessments of geodiversity have been conceived for huge geographic units. The spatial pattern of geodiversity in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is the purpose of this study. A total of 96 abiotic units in six geo-groups of hydrology, pedology, landform, elevation, geology, and geosites were quantified and normalized to assess the geodiversity index. Geosites that represent interdisciplinary and specific abiotic elements are included as an independent component in the parameters of geodiversity assessment. The TP was divided into 1145 areas by fishnet, for counting of abiotic units, geodiversity calculation, and visualization of findings. The results indicated that the Pamir Plateau, Mt. Kunlun, the Delingha area, Mt. Qilian, the Xining area, Langmusi Town, Mt. Siguniang, Mt. Hengduan, the Nyainqentanglha Range, and the Lhasa area are the zones with very high geodiversity. The low geodiversity areas are mainly concentrated in the Qaidam Basin, the Qingnan Plateau, and the South Tibet region. In the TP, international tourist destinations such as UNESCO World Natural Heritage Sites and Global Geoparks, are developed in areas of high geodiversity. The spatial pattern of geodiversity could be indicative of geotourism potential, and be used to guide the development planning of geotourism in the TP. The quantitative assessment of geodiversity also provides a new parameter for geoconservation in China.

Entropy Change of Historical and Cultural Heritage in Traditional Tibetan Area of China Based on Spatial-Temporal Distribution Pattern

“…(1) The distribution patterns of traditional Tibetan historical and cultural heritage in China exhibit a "large dispersion-small aggregation" distribution characteristic and show fluctuating changes of "aggregation-dispersion-aggregation" during the process of socio-economic development. The historical and cultural heritage in traditional Tibetan areas of China is mainly distributed in high-altitude river valleys with suitable climate conditions [90] with the Weizang region, Anduo region, and Kangba region alternately becoming the center of the traditional Tibetan areas. The distribution patterns of historical and cultural heritage reflect the transfer of important cultural activities in the region, which is mainly influenced by geographical environment and socio-economic aspects.…”

Assessing Risks in Cross-Regional Tourism Corridors: A Case Study of Tibetan Plateau Tourism

“…Situated in Southwestern China, the Tibetan Plateau covers the entirety of Tibet and Qinghai, as well as portions of Xinjiang, Gansu, Yunnan, and Sichuan, covering approximately 2.5 million square kilometers and comprising about a quarter of China's land area, making it the largest plateau in the country [31]. As outlined in the "Design and Promotion Programme for the 'Three Regions and Three Prefectures' Tourism Grand Circle Line" issued by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2019, the primary tourism corridors within the Tibetan Plateau region are the Xinjiang-Tibet Line, Qinghai-Tibet Line, Yunnan-Tibet Line, and south Sichuan-Tibet Line.…”

Quantifying Geodiversity at the Continental Scale: Limitations and Prospects

“…Although topographic heterogeneity is included in the widely accepted definition of geodiversity [7], its status differs significantly among individual studies. Many frameworks aimed at geodiversity evaluation feature topographical variables [13,17], while others replace them with metrics of landform diversity [2,52], exclude topography from geodiversity elements and assess it separately [42,43], or move it into a wider category of environmental heterogeneity [44]. Among the topographical measures, elevation (i.e., mean and standard deviation), slope angle, and orientation of a slope (i.e., aspect), topographical wetness index, and terrain ruggedness index are some of the most widely used [37,53].…”

“…Although the amount of geodiversity research grows exponentially [16], relatively few studies explore abiotic diversity on multinational, subcontinental, continental [17,18], or global scales [19]. This makes existing studies at the medium and small scales more dispersed.…”