Integrated GIS-based and analytic hierarchy process research on urban ecological sensitivity of Shanghai City, China

In this paper, five ecological sensitivity factors affecting the eco-environment of Shanghai, i.e., rivers and lakes, historical relics and forest parks, geological disasters, soil pollution and land use, were selected, and their weights were determined by analytic hierarchy process (AHP). Applying with GIS spatial analysis technique, the ecological sensitivity of the five factors was divided into four grades, i.e., highly sensitive, moderately sensitive, low sensitive and insensitive, and the spatial distribution of the ecological sensitivity of Shanghai was figured out. There existed a significant spatial differentiation in the ecological sensitivity of Shanghai, and the insensitive, low sensitive, moderately sensitive and highly sensitive areas occupied 37.07%, 5.94%, 38.16% and 18.83%, respectively. Some suggestions on Shanghai´s zoning protection and construction were proposed. This study could provide scientific references for the city´s environmental protection and economic development.