Analysis of Changes in Shelterbelt Landscape in Northeast China

Abstract

Understanding the shelterbelt development in northeast China over the past 30 years will provide a scientific decision support for its management in future. In this paper, Landsat images were selected to extract shelterbelt information covering three points in time (1990, 2000 and 2010). Shelterbelt density and landscape indexes (ratio of belt to patch, connectivity, and dominance) were introduced to analyze changes in landscape. Farmland landscape indexes (ratio of farmland to zone and fragmentation) were used to analyze the effect of farmland on shelterbelt distribution and change. The result showed that: (1) shelterbelt density had considerable spatial variation. These changes were strong correlated with land-use type. Farmland fragmentation was a main index which significantly affected the connectivity and evenness of shelterbelt, especially on connectivity; (2) shelterbelt density increased about 10% over the 30 years. This modest increase included two contrasting trends, an increase by 13.2% from 1990 to 2000 followed by a 2.8% reduction by 2010. Even the quantity reduced over 2000-2010, the qualities including connectivity and evenness were getting better overall. The temporal changes of shelterbelt density had little relationship with farmland changes. This research can provide valuable information for decision makers to guide and develop future policies.

Estimating the Legacy Effect of Post-Cutting Shelterbelt on Crop Yield Using Google Earth and Sentinel-2 Data

“…This study was conducted in the Songliao Plain in Northeast China-the largest farmland shelterbelt district in the Three-North Shelter Forest Program and the major grain-producing area in China (Figure 1) [43]. It is located in the temperate semi-arid and semi-humid climate zone with an annual mean temperature of 1-7 • C and annual total precipitation of 300-550 mm [6].…”