Quantifying the efficiency of soil conservation and optimized strategies: A case‐study in a hotspot of afforestation in the Loess Plateau

Abstract

Although it is generally believed the Grain for Green programme (GFG) implemented in China has attenuated soil erosion, the extent to which it is effective still needs verification. Taking Yan'an in the Loess Plateau as the study area, we analysed both total effect and efficiency differences during GFG implementation. Results showed that, while soil erosion on average decreased from 4,884.49 to 4,087.57 t km−2 yr−1, counties with higher GFG implementation intensity achieved a lower soil conservation effect. For example, Wuqi ranks third in the GFG implementation intensity among all counties in Yan'an, but its actual soil erosion reduction is the lowest, only 54.1% of Yan'an's average level. To analyse the reason for the efficiency difference, the concept of soil conservation potential was proposed. It is concluded that the soil conservation effect is controlled by the soil conservation potential. Ideally, regions with high soil conservation potential should get priority in the GFG application, yet there is a significant spatial mismatch between the GFG implementation intensity and the soil conservation potential because the correlation coefficient is only −0.05, which weakened the soil control effect. A dynamic implementation mechanism was put forward for the formulation and optimization of ecological programmes and projects in future: first, using the soil conservation potential to determine the implementation intensity in each region; second, adjusting the intensity to the changes of the soil conservation potential in the following implementation; third, repeating above steps to ensure high efficiency of soil erosion control, and achieving the sustainability and effectiveness of the ecological projects.

Agricultural production efficiency estimation and spatiotemporal convergence characteristic analysis in the Yangtze River Economic Belt: A semi‐parametric metafrontier approach

“…On the other hand, due to the weak disposability of desired and undesired output, and the excessive input of fertilizers and pesticides will lead to a significant increase in undesired output, excessive investment in pesticides and fertilizers will be reduced. By implementing restrictive measures on both the input and output, it is possible to significantly alleviate practical problems such as land pollution caused by excessive input and land degradation caused by large‐scale land use (Barrow, 2010; Ning et al, 2021).…”

A novel framework for evaluating the effect of vegetation restoration via grazing exclusion by fencing: A case‐study from the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

“…The ratio between the actual vegetation index value and the maximum vegetation index obtained in Equation () is defined as the vegetation restoration potential achievement degree (VRPAD; Xu, Zhang, et al, 2020). It can eliminate or weaken the influence of resource endowment conditions and effectively distinguish the effect of ecological policy from those of resource endowments, and is suitable for large‐scale research (Ning et al, 2021). The VRPAD is calculated as follows: Where : and represent the VRPAD and the actual vegetation index of the current cell with row and column numbers i and j , respectively, in year t , and represents the maximum vegetation index in similar natural conditions in both time and space.…”

“…The ratio between the actual vegetation index value and the maximum vegetation index obtained in Equation ( 1) is defined as the vegetation restoration potential achievement degree (VRPAD; Xu, Zhang, et al, 2020). It can eliminate or weaken the influence of resource endowment conditions and effectively distinguish the effect of ecological policy from those of resource endowments, and is suitable for large-scale research (Ning et al, 2021). The VRPAD is calculated as follows:…”

Do Ecological Restoration Projects Undermine Economic Performance? A Spatially Explicit Empirical Study in Loess Plateau, China

“…Then, how is the relationship between soil conservation and economic development reconciled? Most existing studies have adopted various vegetation indexes to detect the land use/cover change [18,43,44] and analyzed the variation in major ecosystem services and ecological values in the Loess Plateau [45]. In addition, a number of studies analyzed the coupling relationship of the ecosystem and economy for this region, focusing on the variation in the social ecosystem [46][47][48].…”