Evaluation of land use sustainability in Qinghai Lake area

Following the principle of practice and syntax, a variety of methods based on the complexity, mechanism and unitarity of ecology, society and economy was used to evaluate sustainable land use in Qinghai Lake area. The evaluation took into account of the land productivity, protective value, stability, economic vitality, and acceptability and security of society. From the view of land productivity, Qinghai Lake area is in start-up phase of sustainable land use with spatial variances among different regions. For the land protective value, developmental stages of sustainable land use evaluated according to different indexes are different. For stability, land use is in the initial stage of sustainability and crop farming stability is lower than that for livestock. Economic vitality of land use in the region is low, indicating unsustainable habitus. Sustainable use of land with regard to acceptability of society is in the start-up phase, while that relating to security is simply non-sustainable. More importantly, this study advances corresponding strategies and countermeasures for sustainable use of land in Qinghai Lake area. It lays further scientific basis for efficient management strategies and methods of sustainable development and utilization of land and related policy-making supports for new countryside construction in minority areas (e.g. pastoral areas).