Forest Landscape Visual Quality Assessment In Yangshuo Section Of Lijiang River Basin

With the development of social economy and the improvement of living standards,people’s demand for viewing and experiencing natural landscape is constantly increasing,and more and more attention is paid to landscape greening,among which forest landscape as an important component of natural landscape has attracted much attention.Vision is the most direct way for people to perceive the landscape.The visual quality assessment of forest landscape is of great significance for determining the best viewing area for tourists and forest landscape planning.Yangshuo Section of Lijiang River Basin is a World Natural Heritage Site,whose typical karst landforms form a unique forest landscape.This study takes Yangshuo Section of Lijiang River Basin as an example to comprehensively evaluate the Forest Landscape Visual Quality(FLVQ).Based on Visual Management System(VMS),using GIS spatial analysis technology,Analytic Hierarchy Process(AHP),landscape index analysis and other methods,the evaluation factors were graded and assigned.Some abstract indexes in landscape visual quality evaluation were quantified,and the comprehensive evaluation process and framework of FLVQ were established based on watershed scale and visual evaluation unit.From the perspective of visual environment quality and human perception of forest landscape,first-level indexes of FLVQ comprehensive evaluation index system constructed in Yangshuo Section of Lijiang River Basin include Scenic Quality(SQ),Visual Sensitivity(VS)and Visual Absorption Capability(VAC).Based on the comprehensive evaluation of FLVQ in Yangshuo Section of Lijiang River Basin,the development goals and future development suitability of regional forest landscape were explored,and the forest health and rehabilitation planning in Yangshuo Section of Lijiang River Basin was carried out under the background of county tourism,which provided the decision basis for the sustainable utilization of forest landscape resources in Yangshuo section of Lijiang River Basin and the development of holistic tourism destinations in Yangshuo.The main research results are as follows:(1)Forest landscape visual quality characteristics:Through grid calculation and statistics of evaluation indexes,it was found that the FLVQ area percentages at low(7’&5’),middle(9’)and high(13’&11’)levels were 10.95%,29.67%and 59.38%,respectively.The FLVQ in Yangshuo Section of Lijiang River Basin was generally at a high level.The comprehensive score of FLVQ in karst area(7.07’)is slightly lower than that in non-karst area(7.59’).The visual evaluation unit with the highest FLVQ(13’)is distributed in the core area of Lijiang River Scenic spot,and the area of karst landform accounts for 99.58%of the visual evaluation unit.The FLVQ in Yangshuo Section of Lijiang River Basin has maintained a relatively stable level in the past 20 years under the protection of local scenic and historic interest area protection policies and the relatively stable natural climate and forest landscape pattern.Bivariate correlation analysis showed that FLVQ score Y was negatively correlated with Landscape Fragmentation Index(LFI)(r_p=-0.543,p=0.013<0.05),and landscape fragmentation had a certain negative impact on FLVQ level.The land use types in the region with low FLVQ score are mainly cultivated land and construction land,and the landscape fragmentation phenomenon is relatively serious,the vegetation coverage is low and the topographic and geomorphic changes are not obvious.(2)Main influencing factors and prediction models of forest landscape visual quality:Using step-up regression method and 15 sub-index factors as independent variables,a multiple regression model(R~2=0.462)was established for influencing factors of FLVQ score in Yangshuo Section of Lijiang River Basin.The regression coefficients of the optimal prediction model(p<0.05)were as follows:topography(0.639)>forest landscape heterogeneity(0.319)>relative sight distance(0.266)>slope aspect(0.246).Topography,forest landscape heterogeneity and slope aspect related to natural factors,relative sight distance related to human perception are the key influencing factors affecting the level of FLVQ in the study area.(3)Forest landscape resource management and health planning:Based on the FLVQ comprehensive evaluation,the management objectives and future development suitability of forest landscape visual resources in different regions were obtained based on VMS and visual impact assessment model.In combination with the current situation of forest landscape resources,tourism development planning and ecological protection requirements in Yangshuo Section of Lijiang River Basin,the measures and countermeasures of forest landscape resource management and ecological restoration were proposed.According to the current situation of natural resources and social development,the forest health and cultivation base of Yangshuo Section of Lijiang River Basin is planned with overall layout structure of"one axis,two belts,four zones and multiple points".In summary,by constructing GIS index database and FLVQ evaluation index system,the visual quality of forest landscape in Yangshuo Section of Lijiang River Basin is comprehensively evaluated,the forest landscape pattern and visual quality characteristics in karst area are discussed,and the forest health and maintenance plan is planned based on the future development suitability,so as to make beneficial exploration on forest landscape resource management in Yangshuo Section of Lijiang River Basin.The research results can provide case support for the analysis of visual characteristics of forest landscape and the development of forest health and conservation in similar Karst World Natural Heritage Site.