Assessment of Habitat Quality Changes in South Korea’s East Coast due to Land Cover Changes

초록

Biodiversity is the foundation of ecosystem services and plays a crucial role in human survival and well-being. However, biodiversity is severely threatened by habitat degradation resulting from human activities such as industrialization and urbanization. Land cover change, which alters the structure and function of habitats, is a primary driver of biodiversity loss, making the quantitative assessment of habitat health essential for conservation. This study quantitatively analyzes the impact of land cover changes over the seven-year period from 2017 to 2023 on habitat quality in the terrestrial coastal area of the East Coast of South Korea, utilizing the InVEST Habitat Quality model. The study area was defined as the inland region within 1.5 km of the coastline in six coastal cities of Gangwon, South Korea. The analysis period—2017, 2020, 2022, and 2023—was selected based on increases and decreases in urbanized areas, which reflect human activity, to assess changes in land cover and habitat quality. The results indicated that the expansion of urbanized areas and the decrease in Trees were most significant between 2017 and 2020, a period which also showed a substantial decline in habitat quality was also observed. The pattern of change in habitat quality was consistent with that of the urbanized area, suggesting a strong correlation between human activities and habitat quality. Validation results showed that while there was a relatively high agreement for low-quality habitat areas, the agreement was comparatively lower for high-quality areas. The findings underscore the need for policies that balance conservation and development in coastal areas and can be used as foundational data for establishing habitat conservation and land use plans.

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