Vegetation restoration in <scp>N</scp>orthern China: A contrasted picture

Wang, Feng; Pan, Xubin; Gerlein‐Safdi, Cynthia; Cao, Xiaoming; Wang, Sen; Gu, Lianhong; Wang, Dongfang; Lu, Qi

doi:10.1002/ldr.3314

Cited by 92 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…There is a linear relationship between the NDVI and the fractional vegetation coverage (FVC) [50]. Thus, the vegetation coverage information can be calculated by establishing its conversion relationship.…”

Section: The Calculation Of the Fractional Vegetation Coveragementioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation Dynamics and Their Response to the Urbanization of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region, China

Chang

Zhang

et al. 2020

Sustainability

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Rapid global urbanization has caused substantial changes in land cover and vegetation growth. Rapid urban growth in a short time has escalated the conflicts between economic development and ecological conservation, particularly in some metropolitan regions. However, the effects of rapid urbanization on vegetation have not been fully captured, especially accounting for the latest ecological development initiatives. In this study, we chose a typical urban agglomeration, the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) urban agglomeration in China, and analyzed the vegetation variation and the impacts of urbanization on the vegetation growth based on transferable methods, using data such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the nighttime light (NTL). The results indicate significantly enhanced vegetation growth in the BTH region, with a strikingly spatial pattern of greening in the northwest, and browning in the southeast from 2001 to 2018. Besides this, the results enclose most of the areas (72%) of built-up land in the BTH, which tended to brown in the process of rapid urban development, while 27% greened with increasing urbanization. This means that the vegetation’s response to urbanization shows apparent differences and geographic heterogeneity along the urbanization gradient at the urban agglomeration scale. Parts of the periphery of the metropolis and the central areas of developing cities may experience a browning trend; however, the core urban areas of urbanized metropolises demonstrate greening, rather than browning. Furthermore, this study provides solid evidence on the remarkable greening impacts of several ecological restoration projects which are currently underway, especially in ecologically fragile areas (e.g., the suburbs). The implications derived from the urban ecological development and the transferable methodology deployed in this paper facilitate the unfolding relationships between urbanization and social-ecological development. Our findings provide new insights into the interactions between vegetation dynamics and urbanization at the regional level.

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Section: The Calculation Of the Fractional Vegetation Coveragementioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation Dynamics and Their Response to the Urbanization of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region, China

Chang

Zhang

et al. 2020

Sustainability

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“…Annual growing season FVC (hereafter termed as annFVC) was selected to reflect the highest level of vegetation cover within a specific year, using the yearly NDVI composites described in Section 2.2. With reference to previous studies [45,46], NDVI soil was assigned with the 5th percentile in the NDVI frequency cumulative table each year, and NDVI veg was taken as the 95th percentile in the NDVI frequency cumulative table each year.…”

Section: Fractional Vegetation Cover Calculationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time Series of Landsat Imagery Shows Vegetation Recovery in Two Fragile Karst Watersheds in Southwest China from 1988 to 2016

Pei

Wang

et al. 2019

Remote Sensing

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Since the implementation of China’s afforestation and conservation projects during recent decades, an increasing number of studies have reported greening trends in the karst regions of southwest China using coarse-resolution satellite imagery, but small-scale changes in the heterogenous landscapes remain largely unknown. Focusing on two typical karst regions in the Nandong and Xiaojiang watersheds in Yunnan province, we processed 2,497 Landsat scenes from 1988 to 2016 using the Google Earth Engine cloud platform and analyzed vegetation trends and associated drivers. We found that both watersheds experienced significant increasing trends in annual fractional vegetation cover, at a rate of 0.0027 year−1 and 0.0020 year−1, respectively. Notably, the greening trends have been intensifying during the conservation period (2001–2016) even under unfavorable climate conditions. Human-induced ecological engineering was the primary factor for the increased greenness. Moreover, vegetation change responded differently to variations in topographic gradients and lithological types. Relatively more vegetation recovery was found in regions with moderate slopes and elevation, and pure limestone, limestone and dolomite interbedded layer as well as impure carbonate rocks than non-karst rocks. Partial correlation analysis of vegetation trends and temperature and precipitation trends suggested that climate change played a minor role in vegetation recovery. Our findings contribute to an improved understanding of the mechanisms behind vegetation changes in karst areas and may provide scientific supports for local afforestation and conservation policies.

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“…Global desertification and land degradation trends remain dire [7]. Nevertheless, China alone accounts for 25% of the global net increase in leaf area with its 6.6% of the global vegetated area, due to its ambitious national restoration programmes [8,9]. These programmes are said to have greatly improved the sustainability of the rural land system [10,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Situating China in the Global Effort to Combat Desertification

Zheng-hong

Stringer

Paavola

et al. 2021

Land

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International efforts to tackle desertification led by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) support participatory approaches. The emphasis has been on dialogue between different perspectives, which are often grounded in individualism rather than prioritizing society as a whole, and as a result progress in implementation has been slow. China has made substantial progress in tackling desertification, but its approaches have been controversial, and the sustainability of its achievements has been questioned. While China has been active in UNCCD processes, its approach to addressing desertification has differed from those of other countries. China can thus offer important insights into the international campaign, while acknowledging that China can also learn from the efforts of others. We compare the UNCCD’s “bottom-up” approach and China’s “top-down” approach to better understand the challenges of tackling desertification. We examine the evolution in how desertification has been addressed and shed light on the context behind the changes, focusing on the role of science, policies, and public participation. We find a convergence between top-down and bottom-up approaches and that similar challenges have been experienced. Constant communications with outsiders have enabled adjustments and changes in both China and the international community, even though their approaches remain distinct. We conclude that both approaches are moving toward solutions that start from proactive investments of governments in financial, legal, institutional, and organizational aspects, draw on scientific insights, and which are grounded in the motivated and voluntary participation of non-state actors. Improved sharing of lessons across these approaches would help to create a better enabling form of environmental governance that contributes to tackling desertification.

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Vegetation restoration in Northern China: A contrasted picture

Cited by 92 publications

References 23 publications

Vegetation Dynamics and Their Response to the Urbanization of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region, China

Vegetation Dynamics and Their Response to the Urbanization of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region, China

Time Series of Landsat Imagery Shows Vegetation Recovery in Two Fragile Karst Watersheds in Southwest China from 1988 to 2016

Situating China in the Global Effort to Combat Desertification

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