Integrative ecological sensitivity (IES) applied to assessment of eco-tourism impact on forest vegetation landscape: A case from the Baihua Mountain Reserve of Beijing, China

Effective assessment of tourism impact on vegetation landscape is important for nature reserve management. A new index concerning multiple vegetation and tourism variables, integrative ecological sensitivity (IES), was constructed and applied to the evaluation of tourism impact on vegetation landscape in the Baihua Mountain Reserve of Beijing, China in this study. The relationships between vegetation landscape, environmental factors and tourism were analyzed by two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) to prove the usefulness of IES. The results showed that IES was effective in evaluation of tourism impact on vegetation landscape. The IES values varied greatly and related to tourism disturbance in the Baihua Mountain Reserve. TWINSPAN gave correct and rapid classification of vegetation landscape and identified 5 districts with different quality. Districts I and II were in nice and medium conditions and districts IV and V in overused by tourism. CCA ordination showed their changing tendency based on tourism development. Both elevation and tourism disturbance were significant in management of mountainous area such as the Baihua Mountain Reserve. The results of TWINSPAN and CCA further proved the effectivity of IES.