Fragmentation effects of oil wells and roads on the Yellow River Delta, North China

Oil exploitation and road development have strongly fragmented the coastal landscapes, leading to profound ecological consequences. The dynamic relationships between oil wells, roads, and landscape fragmentation indices in the Yellow River Delta, China were explored. Oil wells, roads and land cover were mapped from TM images in 1992, 2000, 2006, and 2009, respectively. Changes and relationships were compared among three selected typical sections using linear regression models. We also evaluated the fragmentation effects of oil exploitation on protected wetlands in the Yellow River Delta Natural Reserve (NR). The results showed that oil wells and roads increased greatly. Oil well density and road length density were positively related to patch number and negatively related to patch shape indices. Both drivers have cumulative effects on landscape fragmentation. Influences of old oil wells and roads were stronger than those of new ones. Current management strategies of the NR have failed to effectively prohibit the disturbances of oil activities at the regional scale. The ecological function of protected wetland systems has been damaged by the increase of oil wells. Therefore, based on the principles of landscape ecology, effective approaches were proposed to minimize the negative effects of oil exploitation on the coastal area.

Research highlights
► Oil well density mainly affected patch number, while road length density mainly affected patch shape.
► Oil wells and roads have cumulative effects on landscape fragmentation.
► Oil-related activities contributed significantly to wetland loss in the NR.
► The principles of landscape ecology provide new insight into the planning and management of coastal areas in oil field.