Impact assessment and protection of outstanding landscape integrity in a natural heritage site: Fairy valley, Kanas Nature Reserve, Xinjiang, China

The essential purpose of the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage is to protect the integrity of heritage values. Outstanding landscape is the core embodiment of the aesthetic value of a natural heritage site. This paper proposes a new assessment method from the point of view of the protection of heritage values. It is used to measure the degree of outstanding landscape integrity under the human and natural impact in natural heritage sites. This paper employ three indices, a visual index of outstanding landscape, a harmony index of the artificial landscape and a disturbance index of damaged landscape, to measure the impact of landscape integrity. The impact assessment model is based on a weighted combination of the three indices. The study site is the Fairy Valley, Kanas Nature Reserve, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwest China. The information employed is derived from field investigation and a Digital Elevation Model (DEM). A comprehensive evaluation of the Fairy valley was undertaken and it was determined that the outstanding landscape values are being compromised. Three protection methods are proposed to reduce the adverse effects and maintain landscape quality, thereby providing site managers with suggestions for the protection of natural heritage values. More broadly, the paper contributes novel methods of landscape assessment applicable to natural protected areas.