Threshold analysis of the key factors of rocky desertification evolution in the typical karst region of China

Karst is a unique landform that is widely distributed across the globe and holds significant importance for both the ecological environment and ecosystem. This paper focuses on a typical karst area in Guizhou Province, China, to investigate the threshold of key factors contributing to rocky desertification through quantitative analysis. Utilising the Logistic regression model, the thresholds of these key factors in the evolution of rocky desertification within the study area were successfully calculated and categorised. The findings indicate that vegetation cover thresholds are 35.6%, 52.5%, and 76.6%; slope thresholds are 35°, 25.7°, and 13.8°; land reclamation rates are 0.85, 0.65, and 0.45; and artificial disturbance indices are 0.95, 0.65, and 0.55. These results correspond to three categories: mild threshold, moderate threshold, and intense threshold, which quantify the degree of rocky desertification evolution in karst areas.