Spatiotemporal changes in forest loss and its linkage to burned areas in China

Abstract

loss and burned areas using Spearman's correlation. Forest loss increased significantly (264.8 km 2 a −1 ; R 2 = 0.54, p < 0.01) throughout China, with an average annual increase of 11.4% during 2003-2015. However, the forest loss trend had extensive spatial heterogeneity. Forest loss increased mainly in the subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest zone (315.0 km 2 a −1 ; R 2 = 0.69, p < 0.01) and tropical rainforest zone (38.8 km 2 a −1 ; R 2 = 0.66, p < 0.01), but the loss of forest decreased in the cold temperate deciduous coniferous forest zone (− 70.8 km 2 year −1 ; R 2 = 0.75, p < 0.01) and the temperate deciduous mixed broadleaf and coniferous forest zone (− 14.4 km 2 a −1 ; R 2 = 0.45, p < 0.05). We found that 1.0% of China's area had a significant positive correlation (r ≥ 0.55, p < 0.05) with burned areas and 0.3% had a significant negative correlation (r ≤ − 0.55, p < 0.05). In particular, forest loss had a significant positive relationship with the burned area in the cold temperate deciduous coniferous forest zone (16.9% of the lands) and the subtropical evergreen broadleaf forest zone (7.8%). These results provide a basis for future predictions of fire-induced forest loss in China.

Spatial–Temporal Dynamics of Forest Extent Change in Southwest China in the Recent 20 Years

“…The results of this study report a more complicated phenomenon for deforestation dynamics in SWC than those that have been reported. The results agree with the analysis of Wu et al [40], e.g., the general increase of forest loss from 2001 to 2008, and then followed by some decrease fluctuations until 2015. As has been reported in previous studies, inhibition of forest loss mainly depends on regional and national policies [41][42][43].…”

“…The dry and hot climate there increases the risk of forest fires, in turn resulting in forest loss. Many studies have shown that there is a strong relationship between them [40,48]. In addition, large-scale infrastructure construction is also a driving factor in promoting deforestation hotspots in Sichuan.…”

“…It is likely that most of this loss corresponds to natural occurrences such as fire and pests [50]. Wu et al, also point out that, in recent years, the increase in fire frequency and fire-site area has destroyed a large amount of forest vegetation [40].…”

High resolution data reveal a surge of biomass loss from temperate and Atlantic pine forests, seizing the 2022 fire season distinctiveness in France

“…As forest ecosystems contribute to several ecosystem services (Ninan and Inoue, 2014;Mori et al, 2017), including regulating (carbon sequestration), provisioning (timber and non-timber products), cultural (recreational, aesthetic) and supporting (decomposition, nutrient cycling) purposes, defining a pre-fire state is topicspecific. Tree aboveground biomass is a crucial spatial variable used to evaluate the impact of fires and the resilience of ecosystem services to fires (Díaz et al, 2018;Martínez-Batlle, 2022;Powell et al, 2014;Sirin et al, 2021;Tyukavina et al, 2022;Volkova and Weston, 2015;Wu et al, 2020), as it serves as a proxy for wood resources and habitat for wildlife and biodiversity (Fusco et al, 2021;Basile et al, 2021;Cazzolla Gatti et al, 2017).…”

Effects of prescribed burning on understory Quercus species of Pinus yunnanensis forest

“…Fire has historically shaped China's ecosystems' structure, composition, and function (Hu et al, 2017;Wu et al, 2019;Gao et al, 2021). With economic and social growth, forest fires have become increasingly prominent (Guo et al, 2017).…”