Abstract:Regional ecological sensitivity analysis is an effective tool for making regional environmental policies and environmental management. Literature review indicates that more physical-driving factors than human-driving factors are considered in ecological sensitivity assessment. Our future environment will be consisted largely of human-dominated ecosystems; human activities and anthropogenic impacts are especially important in environmental research. In order to integrate both physical and human driving factors, 7 indices, such as water-caused soil erosion, water quantity and quality of rivers, land sandification, debris flow, mining, road density, and the habitats of endangered species, are selected for ecological sensitivity assessment. Using GIS and RS techniques, the author analyzes the ecological sensitivity degrees and their spatial distributions in Beijing. The results show that high ecological sensitivity regions have two types: one is located in the transition-belt from northeastern to southwestern Beijing, which is between plain and mountain regions in Beijing; the other is distributed along the riparian zones of Yongding River, Chaobai River, North Canal, and Dashi River; and the southern parts of Daxing are also included. Moderate-ecological sensitive regions are distributed around the high sensitive regions peripherally and also distributed in mountainous regions of Hongluo, Yunmeng and Miaofeng. None ecological sensitive regions are largely distributed among the northern mountainous regions of Huairou and Yanqing Others are low ecological sensitive regions. Results also show that (1) the ecological sensitivity degrees decrease from the mountain-plain transition-belt to lower and higher mountainous regions along the northwest direction in mountainous region and, (2) decreases from the watercourses to riparian zones along lateral direction in plain. Based on these research results, some environmental conservative strategies are suggested for future ecological management.