scholarly journals Evolution characteristics and simulation prediction of forest and grass landscape fragmentation based on the “Grain for Green” projects on the Loess Plateau, P.R. China

2021 ◽  
Vol 131 ◽  
pp. 108240
Author(s):  
Li Gu ◽  
Zhiwen Gong ◽  
Yuxiao Du
Keyword(s):  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Landscape Fragmentation ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Grain For Green ◽  
Evolution Characteristics

Evolution Characteristics and Simulation Prediction of Forest and Grass Landscape Fragmentation Based on the “Grain for Green” Projects on the Loess Plateau, P.R. China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Gu ◽  
Zhiwen Gong ◽  
Yuankun Bu
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Land Use ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Landscape Fragmentation ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Grain For Green ◽  
Grain For Green Project ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Forest fragmentation is one of the major environmental issues that the international community is generally concerned about under the background of global climate change. Studying the impact and the interaction mechanism of land use change processes on landscape fragmentation is important to gaining a comprehensive understanding of the ecosystem response to human activities and global climate change. Based on the implementation background for the “Grain for Green” Project, we selected the Loess Plateau as the research area and used the coupled future land use simulation (FLUS) model and landscape fragmentation model to explore the temporal and spatial changes in forest and grass landscape fragmentation. The results showed that (1) Woodland, grassland, and cropland are the main landscape types, accounting for about 90% of the total area. In addition, the area of cropland initially increased and then decreased, while the area of woodland and grassland exhibited the opposite trend Oover the last 35 years. In particular, the period from 2000 to 2015 was a forest and grass restoration stage, and the average annual rate of forest and grass restoration reached 0.56%. (2) The FLUS model was used to predict the land use on the Loess Plateau in 2030. The kappa coefficient was 0.85, and the figure of merit coefficient (FOM) was 0.11 for a 1% random sampling, which are within a reasonable range, and the simulation results are also consistent with the objective change in the current social and economic development. (3) The fragmentation of woodland and grassland were dominated by edge type and core type. The core type had a concentrated distribution and an absolute advantage, accounting for more than 75% of the total area. It is predicted that the landscape fragmentation will gradually slowdown in 2030 under different intensities of the “Grain for Green” project. The dynamics of landscape fragmentation based on land use changes are conducive to the reasonable planning and objective evaluation of woodland and grassland spatial allocation and quality improvement, and provide an important basis for the formulation of ecological protection and land management policies.

scholarly journals Has “Grain for Green” threaten food security on the Loess Plateau of China?

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 1709560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peng Shi ◽  
Zhaohong Feng ◽  
Haidong Gao ◽  
Peng Li ◽  
Xiaoming Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Grain For Green

Soil conservation on the Loess Plateau and the regional effect: impact of the ‘Grain for Green' Project

2018 ◽  
Vol 109 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 461-471
Author(s):  
Xiaofeng WANG ◽  
Feiyan XIAO ◽  
Xiaoming FENG ◽  
Bojie FU ◽  
Zixiang ZHOU ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Soil Conservation ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Vegetation Coverage ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Regional Effect ◽  
Grain For Green

ABSTRACTSoil conservation on the Loess Plateau is important not only for local residents but also for reducing sediment downstream in the Yellow River. In this paper, we report a decrease in soil erosion from 2000 to 2010 as a result of the ‘Grain for Green' (GFG) Project. By using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation and data on land cover, climate and sediment yield, we found that soil erosion decreased from 6579.55tkm–2yr–1 in 2000 to 1986.66tkm–2yr–1 in 2010. During this period, there was a major land cover change from farmland to grassland in response to the GFG. The area of low vegetation coverage with severe erosion decreased dramatically, whereas the area of high vegetation coverage with slight erosion increased. Our study demonstrates that the reduction in soil erosion on the Loess Plateau contributed to the decrease in the sediment concentration in the Yellow River.

scholarly journals Estimation of Actual Evapotranspiration in a Semiarid Region Based on GRACE Gravity Satellite Data—A Case Study in Loess Plateau

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 2032 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miao Sun ◽  
Qin’ge Dong ◽  
Mengyan Jiao ◽  
Xining Zhao ◽  
Xuerui Gao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Water ◽  
Loess Plateau ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Satellite Data ◽  
Potential Evapotranspiration ◽  
Sustainable Growth ◽  
Actual Evapotranspiration ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Grain For Green ◽  
Grain For Green Project

Jointly influenced by natural factors and artificial protection measures in recent years, the vegetation coverage of the Loess Plateau has significantly increased. However, extensive vegetation recovery can result in massive water consumption and a severe soil water deficit, which poses a great threat to the sustainable development of the regional ecological system. Maintaining the balance between precipitation and water consumption is an important foundation of ecological security in the Loess Plateau. Based on this, the present study used the GRACE (Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) gravity satellite data to simulate the annual actual water consumption from 2003 to 2014 and to analyze the temporal and spatial evolution of the regional precipitation and the actual evapotranspiration (AET). This study also applied the newly developed rainwater utilization potential index (IRUP) to quantify the sustainability of the water balance in the Loess Plateau. The spatial-temporal patterns of precipitation, potential evapotranspiration, and AET from 2003 to 2014 in the Loess Plateau were all analyzed in this study. Based on the results, the annual average precipitation (AAP) and AET in the entire Loess Plateau had significant increasing trends. The analysis of the spatial distribution reveals that the AET was decreasing from the southeast to the northwest in the Loess Plateau. However, the average values of potential evapotranspiration did not obviously change. Based on the estimated AET result, it was determined that the average IRUP had an increasing trend. The increase in the IRUP is due to an increased rate of precipitation that is statistically higher than that of the AET. Consequently, the Loess Plateau experienced a wetting trend during the period of 2003–2014, especially after the Grain for Green project was implemented. The results in this paper were proven by using three different depths of ERA-Interim (a global atmospheric reanalysis product created by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) soil water content data from the same period and the observed runoff data from 18 different hydrological sites. Consequently, it seems that the vegetation could maintain a sustainable growth with the implementation of the Grain for Green Project.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document