An early warning method of landscape ecological security in rapid urbanizing coastal areas and its application in Xiamen, China

Based on the Pressure–State–Response (P–S–R) approach, an index system for landscape ecological security (LES) was suggested using three dimensions, six factors, and three weights. The indicators in the system were divided into two groups: spatial interpolation (acquired by the remote sensing data) and non-spatial interpolation (acquired by consultation with experts). According to data of 2003 and 2006, coupled with current tendencies, the early warning method was classified into four categories: security and degradation, sub-security and slow degradation, sub-security and rapid degradation, and insecurity. Our research with early warning method finds three interesting phenomena: (1) mean value of LES in 2003 was 0.586, indicating medium security; while in 2006 it was 0.650, an upper medium security. The LES level within each districts of Xiamen in 2006 was better than the level in 2003. In terms of LES, the comprehensive condition within each district of Xiamen in 2006 was enhanced compared with 2003. Overall, there was improvement in 80.5% of areas from 2003 to 2006, showing promising signs of positive development. (2) The LES of Xiang’an District and Jimei District were in stages of high early warning given that the percentage of land in these districts that showed symptoms of insecurity and degradation was 41.03 and 34.89%, respectively. (3) On the whole, the areas that showed notable signs of insecurity and rapid landscape, and which can already be identified as early warning areas requiring immediate attention, correspond closely with the distribution of coastal industrial parks in these regions. In conclusion, the consequences of rapid industrialization and urbanization are far reaching and affect local and regional ecological security.