Land cover and landscape changes in Shaanxi Province during China’s Grain for Green Program (2000–2010)

Abstract

This study examines landscape changes in the context of China's national Grain for Green (GFG) policy, one of the world's largest "payment for environmental/ecosystem services" (PES) programs. We explored landscape structures and dynamics between 2000 and 2010 in Shaanxi Province, the Chinese province with the greatest amount of cropland conversion and reforestation in recent decades. We used Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM)-derived data and landscape metrics for six land cover classes to determine (1) the major land cover changes during enforcement of the policy, (2) the spatial and temporal variations in these changes, and (3) the effects of land cover changes on landscape structure and dynamics. The results suggested that provincial-level land cover changes modestly reflected the goals of the GFG. Over the 10-year study period, the forest and grassland coverages expanded from 95,737.9 to 97,017.4 km(2) and from 37,235.9 to 40,613.1 km(2), respectively, while the cropland coverage decreased from 59,222.8 to 54,007.6 km(2). The conversion direction differed regionally: the targeted croplands in Shanbei, namely, types III and IV, were mainly transformed into grassland while those in Shannan were mainly transformed into forestland. Reforestation was associated with increased inter-landscape aggregation and connection. Despite this large-scale reforestation trend, we found notable and significant differences in the land cover changes at the subprovincial level.

Ecological engineering projects increased vegetation cover, production, and biomass in semiarid and subhumid Northern China

“…The tasks of the first period (1978–2000) and the fourth schedule (2001–2010) in the second period have been completed, and a forest cover increase from 5% in 1978 to 10% was reported in 2010 (Wang et al, ). The GfG was put in place in 1999 primarily to reconvert steep slopes (>25°) that had previously been cleared for farming in the countryside to ecological and economical forests or grasslands (Chen et al, ; Delang & Yuan, ; Zhou et al, ). Upon completion of GfG, the forest and grass cover of the target areas should increase by 5%, and most soil‐ and water‐eroded and sand‐fixation areas are expected to be under control.…”

Forest transitions in Chinese villages: Explaining community-level variation under the returning forest to farmland program

“…Yet the evidence on environmental and socioeconomic outcomes of the RFFP is a study in contrasts. Studies of land cover change at regional and provincial scales find gains in forest cover in jurisdictions in which the RFFP was implemented (Chen et al, 2015;Li et al, 2013;Lü et al, 2012). At smaller scales, though, land cover change patterns vary sharply (Li et al, 2013;Van Den Hoek et al, 2014).…”

Soil Water Storage Changes within Deep Profiles under Introduced Shrubs during the Growing Season: Evidence from Semiarid Loess Plateau, China

“…This is a dynamic process that depends on geographical and land use factors [25,27,31]. The variation in SWC and SWSR differed between the different vegetation types, which might be explained by the plant growth and root system characteristics.…”

“…Currently, the GGP has produced significant achievements [29,30]. For instance, in Shaanxi Province over a 10-year period (2000)(2001)(2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010), the forest and grass-land coverage expanded from 95,737.9 to 97,017.4 km 2 and from 37,235.9 to 40,613.1 km 2 , respectively, while the cropland coverage decreased from 59,222.8 to 54,007.6 km 2 [31]. Without adequate planning and monitoring, however, the continued expansion of the GGP may negatively affect the sustainable development of the Loess Plateau [32].…”