A Synthetic Evaluation Process of Environment Vulnerability on the Yunnan Plateau, SW China

Yunnan Plateau, located on the southeastern edge of Tibet Plateau, is a typical and key mountainous region with apparent upland ecosystem sensitivity and vulnerability. Aiming at the spatial-temporal features of environmental vulnerability, the synthetic evaluation index system was set up, and the synthetic index of environmental vulnerability (EV) was computed for the Yunnan Plateau. The results showed that the EV was at medial level in most regions of the study area. The EV is heavier in the east than that in the west, and heavier in the north than that in the south, while it is relatively lower in the middle. From the year of 1990 to 2000, the environmental quality became worse. However, from the year of 2000 to 2010, the degradation trend of environment for the whole Yunnan Plateau had slowed down. The main driving forces of the EV changes were the rapid population growth and vegetation degradation during the years from 1990 to 2000, while the main driving forces of the EV changes were the governmental environment protection policies and the improvement of social economy and scientific technology during the years from 2001 to 2010.