Complex anthropogenic interaction on vegetation greening in the Chinese Loess Plateau

Kou, Pinglang; Xu, Qiang; Jing-bo, Zhao; Yunus, Ali P.; Luo, Xiaobo; Liu, Minghao

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146065

Cited by 79 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…As is a part of the broad Loess Plateau, the hydrothermal conditions in our study area are better than other regions of the Loess Plateau. Our results showed that LAI in LPES was significantly improved which was consistent with the research results of Kou et al, Wang et al [54,55]. LPSE is a…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Spatial–Temporal Changes and Driving Force Analysis of Ecosystems in the Loess Plateau Ecological Screen

Liu

Wang

2022

Forests

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The ecological degradation caused by unreasonable development and prolonged utilization threatens economic development. In response to the development crisis triggered by ecological degradation, the Chinese government launched the National Barrier Zone (NBZ) Construction Program in 2006. However, few in-depth studies on the Loess Plateau Ecological Screen (LPES) have been conducted since the implementation of that program. To address this omission, based on the remote sensing image as the primary data, combined with meteorological, soil, hydrological, social, and economic data, and using GIS spatial analysis technology, this paper analyzes the change characteristics of the ecosystem pattern, quality, and dominant services of the ecosystem in the LPES from 2005 to 2015. The results show that from 2005 to 2015, the ecosystem structure in the study area was relatively stable, and the area of each ecosystem fluctuated slightly. However, the evaluation results based on FVC, LAI, and NPP showed that the quality of the ecosystem improved. The vegetation coverage (FVC) increased significantly at a rate of 0.91% per year, and the net primary productivity (NPP) had increased significantly at a rate of 6.94 gC/(m2∙a) per year. The leaf area index (LAI) in more than 66% of the regions improved, but there were still about 8% of the local regions that were degraded. During these 10 years, the soil erosion situation in LPES improved overall, and the amount of soil conservation (ASC) of the ecosystem in the LPES increased by about 0.18 billion tons. Grassland and forest played important roles in soil conservation in this area. Pearson correlation analysis and redundancy analysis showed that the soil conservation services (SCS) in the LPES were mainly affected by climate change, economic development, and urban construction. The precipitation (P), total solar radiation (SOL), and temperature (T) can explain 52%, 30.1%, and 17% of the change trends of SCS, respectively. Construction land and primary industry were negatively correlated with SCS, accounting for 22% and 8% of the change trends, respectively. Overall, from 2005 to 2015, the ecological environment of LPES showed a gradual improvement trend, but the phenomenon of destroying grass and forests and reclaiming wasteland still existed.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Spatial–Temporal Changes and Driving Force Analysis of Ecosystems in the Loess Plateau Ecological Screen

Liu

Wang

2022

Forests

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“…This result is consistent with the trend of changes in vegetation coverage after implementation of the GGP in the Loess Plateau region (Zhao et al, 2017). For example, the results of Kou et al (2021) showed that the vegetation coverage in most areas of the Loess Plateau exhibited an overall increase, from ~49% in 1998 to 63% in 2018. Vegetation coverage also increased to varying degrees in the Beiluohe River basin (loess hilly region) and Jiuyuangou basin (loess hill‐and‐gully region), China (Liu et al, 2021; Yan et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

InVEST model analysis of the impacts of land use change on landscape pattern and habitat quality in the Xiaolangdi Reservoir area of the Yellow River basin, China

Zhao

Meng

et al. 2022

Land Degrad Dev

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Changes in land use impact the landscape pattern and habitat quality (LPHQ) of ecosystems. Since 1999, the Grain‐for‐Green Program (GGP) has brought dramatic changes in land use in Western China. Although many studies have reported positive contributions of the GGP to sediment reduction, the effects of the GGP on LPHQ remain unclear. This study aimed to assess the spatiotemporal characteristics of LPHQ in the Xiaolangdi Reservoir Area in China (XRAC) before and after GGP implementation (in 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020) using the InVEST habitat quality model. The results showed that: (1) From 1990 to 2020, the main land use changes in the XRAC were a 34.97% increase in forestland and a 37.56% decrease in farmland. The landscape pattern showed decreased fragmentation and tended toward aggregation, and forestland became the dominant land use type. (2) Habitat quality in the XRAC improved from 0.63 to 0.91 between 1990 and 2020. High‐quality habitat (0.80–1) was observed in 88.24% of the XRAC in 2020. The spatial distribution of habitat degradation decreased overall, with some localized increases; areas with high levels of habitat degradation shrank and aggregated with the concentration of human activities. (3) The spatiotemporal evolution of habitat quality was influenced by both natural factors and human activities; the short‐term improvement in habitat quality in the XRAC was significantly related to the increase in forestland area, decrease in farmland area, and increase in vegetation coverage. Our results provide evidence for assessing the ecological benefit of the GGP in the Yellow River basin.

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“…In particular, the Loess Plateau region, located in eastern NWC, has benefited from the world-renowned Grain to Green Program implemented in 1999 [37]. This program has led to tremendous improvements in vegetation and the environment [38], and LAI and NDVI were greatly enhanced (figure S8). Thus, the increase in RI in the region was high (figure 3).…”

Section: Spatiotemporal Variation Of Ri and Its Driving Factorsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping rainfall interception for assessing ecological restoration sustainability in China

Niu²,

Wei³

et al. 2022

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Ecological restoration (ER) programs play an important role in local and global climate change and carbon management policy interventions. Water resource is a key criterion for assessing the sustainability of ERs. Herein, we explored the spatiotemporal patterns of rainfall interception (RI, an important component of ecosystem water budgets), and its drivers after ER implementation in China. Further, we assessed whether ERs are sustainable by analyzing the trends of RI and water supply. As expected, we found that ERs caused an increase in RI in China from 2001 to 2018 (0.64 mm yr−1, p < 0.01). Changes in the normalized difference vegetation index and leaf area index contributed to a higher change in RI compared with other drivers. The decrease in RI was mainly recorded in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau in Southwest, northern North, and southern Central and Southern China. Conversely, an increasing trend of RI was recorded in the Loess Plateau in Northwest, Northeast, and East China. Moreover, ERs are not always unsustainable in China, especially in Northeast, East, Central and Southern, and high-latitude regions of northern North China. Even in the Loess Plateau, which was criticized by previous studies, the unsustainability occurred only in the semi-humid region. Future ERs should be prioritized in southern parts of Eastern, Central, and Southern China, and must be appropriately considered in the Northeast and high-latitude regions in North China. It should be alert to the pressures of ERs on water supply, and its demand remains vigilant in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau and semihumid areas of the Loess Plateau. This study provides new ideas for accurately evaluating the impact of ERs on water security and the sustainability of ERs.

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Complex anthropogenic interaction on vegetation greening in the Chinese Loess Plateau

Cited by 79 publications

References 61 publications

Spatial–Temporal Changes and Driving Force Analysis of Ecosystems in the Loess Plateau Ecological Screen

Spatial–Temporal Changes and Driving Force Analysis of Ecosystems in the Loess Plateau Ecological Screen

InVEST model analysis of the impacts of land use change on landscape pattern and habitat quality in the Xiaolangdi Reservoir area of the Yellow River basin, China

Mapping rainfall interception for assessing ecological restoration sustainability in China

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