Grassland Conservation Effectiveness of National Nature Reserves in Northern China

Zhao, Siqing; Zhao, Xiang; Zhao, Jiacheng; Liu, Naijing; Sun, Mengmeng; Mu, Baohui; Sun, Na; Guo, Yinkun

doi:10.3390/rs14071760

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 84 publications

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“…The coefficient of variation (CV) characterizes the degree of dispersion of the time series and measures the degree of fluctuation of the NDVI over time [47]. The CV is calculated at the pixel scale as follows:…”

Section: Trend Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring Grassland Variation in a Typical Area of the Qinghai Lake Basin Using 30 m Annual Maximum NDVI Data

Li,

Wang,

Sun

et al. 2024

Remote Sensing

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The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) can depict the status of vegetation growth and coverage in grasslands, whereas coarse spatial resolution, cloud cover, and vegetation phenology limit its applicability in fine-scale research, especially in areas covering various vegetation or in fragmented landscapes. In this study, a methodology was developed for obtaining the 30 m annual maximum NDVI to overcome these shortcomings. First, the Landsat NDVI was simulated by fusing Landsat and MODIS NDVI by using the enhanced spatial and temporal adaptive reflectance fusion model (ESTARFM), and then a single-peaked symmetric logistic model was employed to fit the Landsat NDVI data and derive the maximum NDVI in a year. The annual maximum NDVI was then used as a season-independent substitute to monitor grassland variation from 2001 to 2022 in a typical area covering the major vegetation types in the Qinghai Lake Basin. The major conclusions are as follows: (1) Our method for reconstructing the NDVI time series yielded higher accuracy than the existing dataset. The root mean square error (RMSE) for 91.8% of the pixels was less than 0.1. (2) The annual maximum NDVI from 2001 to 2022 exhibited spatial distribution characteristics, with higher values in the northern and southern regions and lower values in the central area. In addition, the earlier vegetation growth maximum dates were related to the vegetation type and accompanied by higher NDVI maxima in the study area. (3) The overall interannual variation showed a slight increasing trend from 2001 to 2022, and the degraded area was characterized as patches and was dominated by Alpine kobresia spp., Forb Meadow, whose change resulted from a combination of permafrost degradation, overgrazing, and rodent infestation and should be given more attention in the Qinghai Lake Basin.

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Section: Trend Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Monitoring Grassland Variation in a Typical Area of the Qinghai Lake Basin Using 30 m Annual Maximum NDVI Data

Li,

Wang,

Sun

et al. 2024

Remote Sensing

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“…This not only hinders the development of animal husbandry in the country, but also seriously affects the stability of the regional ecosystem and the functioning of the plateau ecological barrier (Harris, 2010;Liu et al, 2021). Recently, the Chinese government has implemented numerous ecological protection projects (Xu et al, 2006;Quan et al, 2011;Zhao et al, 2022). Dealing with the environmental problems of grassland degradation, restoring and improving functions, and connecting ecological protection projects, such as the construction of ecological security barriers, is of great significance to the sustainable development of the region and the construction of ecological security barriers in the future.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Increased availability of preferred food and decreased foraging costs from degraded grasslands lead to rodent pests in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

et al. 2022

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The increased population density of rodent species during ongoing grassland degradation further deteriorates its conditions. Understanding the effects of grassland degradation on rodent feeding habits is of great value for optimizing grassland management strategies. In this study, lightly degraded (LD), moderately degraded (MD), severely degraded (SD), and reseeded grassland (RG) were selected and their plant resources and soil physical properties were investigated. In addition, the study used ITS2 barcode combined with the Illumina MiSeq sequencing method to analyze the food composition and proportion of plateau zokors in different grassland conditions. The results showed that, with grassland degradation, plant biomass decreased, but the relative proportion of forbs increased (LD: 32.05 ± 3.89%; MD: 28.97 ± 2.78%; SD: 49.16 ± 4.67% and RG: 10.93 ± 1.53%). Forbs were the main food of the plateau zokor, accounting for more than 90% of their diet, and the animal had a clear preference for Potentilla species; the soil compaction of feeding habits showed a decreasing trend in the 10–25 cm soil layer, suggesting a decreased foraging cost. Nutritional analysis showed that the stomach content of crude protein in zokors feeding on MD grassland was significantly higher than that of animals feeding on the other grassland types. Structural equation modeling showed that soil physical properties and the relative biomass of forbs had significant (P < 0.05) and extremely significant (P < 0.001) impacts on the population density of plateau zokors, with direct impact contribution rates of 0.20 and 0.63. As the severity of grassland degradation increased, although the aboveground and underground biomass of the plants decreased, the proportion of food preferred by the plateau zokor increased, and the corresponding changes in the feeding environment resulted in decreased foraging energy expenditure, thereby increasing the suitability of the degraded grassland for the plateau zokor. Compared with degraded grassland, the food diversity and evenness of zokors increased, the food niche width enlarged, and the proportion of weeds decreased in RG, which increased the difficulty of obtaining food. Reseeding in grassland management is therefore an effective way to control plateau zokors.

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Multi-Factor Collaborative Analysis of Conservation Effectiveness of Nature Reserves Based on Remote Sensing Data and Google Earth Engine

Zhang,

Ju,

Cai

et al. 2023

Remote Sensing

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Protected areas (PAs) play a crucial role in safeguarding biological resources and preserving ecosystems. However, the lack of standardized and highly operational criteria for evaluating their conservation effectiveness, particularly across different ecological types, remains a significant gap in the literature. This study aims to address this gap by constructing a conservation effectiveness evaluation model for two distinct types of PAs in Heilongjiang Province, China: the Zhalong National Nature Reserve (ZlNNR), a wetland ecological reserve; and the Mudanfeng National Nature Reserve (MdfNNR), a forest ecological reserve. We employed various methods, including land use dynamic index, visual analysis of landscape patterns, remote sensing inversion, and a multi-factor comprehensive assessment model, to assess changes in conservation effectiveness from 2000 to 2020. Our findings reveal a contrast between the two PAs. In the ZlNNR, croplands and water bodies increased significantly by 4069.4 ha (K = 1.5820%) and 2541.58 ha (K = 3.2692%). In the MdfNNR, impervious lands increased greatly by 65.35 ha (K = 7.4021%), whereas forest lands decreased by 125 ha (K = −0.067%). The core area of the two PAs displayed increased landscape regularity, whereas the experimental area showed heightened landscape diversity. In ZlNNR, the MPSL value increased by 134.91%, whereas the PDL value decreased by 57.43%, indicating a more regular landscape pattern. In MdfNNR, the SHDIL value decreased by 110.7%, whereas the PDL value increased by 52.55%, indicating a more fragmented landscape pattern. The area with improved vegetation trends in ZlNNR was 8.59% larger than in MdfNNR, whereas the area with degraded vegetation trends was 4.86% smaller than in MdfNNR. In all years, the high effectiveness area was larger in ZlNNR than in MdfNNR, whereas the medium and low effectiveness areas were smaller in ZlNNR compared to MdfNNR. This study provides a scientifically rigorous assessment method for evaluating the conservation effectiveness of different types of PAs, laying a solid theoretical foundation and practical guidance for future conservation strategies.

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Grassland Conservation Effectiveness of National Nature Reserves in Northern China

Cited by 5 publications

References 84 publications

Monitoring Grassland Variation in a Typical Area of the Qinghai Lake Basin Using 30 m Annual Maximum NDVI Data

Monitoring Grassland Variation in a Typical Area of the Qinghai Lake Basin Using 30 m Annual Maximum NDVI Data

Increased availability of preferred food and decreased foraging costs from degraded grasslands lead to rodent pests in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Multi-Factor Collaborative Analysis of Conservation Effectiveness of Nature Reserves Based on Remote Sensing Data and Google Earth Engine

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