Assessing the Spatiotemporal Evolution of Anthropogenic Impacts on Remotely Sensed Vegetation Dynamics in Xinjiang, China

The dynamics of the ecosystem represented by vegetation under the influence of human activities have become an important issue in the study of the regional ecological environment. Xinjiang is one of the most ecologically fragile areas in the world, and vegetation changes have received extensive attention. Xinjiang is one of the most ecologically fragile areas in the world, and vegetation changes have received extensive attention. However, the spatiotemporal patterns and evolutionary trends of anthropogenic impacts on vegetation dynamics in Xinjiang are still unclear. In this study, the anthropogenic impacts on vegetation dynamics were quantitatively assessed by combining the improved normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) prediction model and the residual analysis method in Xinjiang, China. The human driving factors were analyzed with the support of a stepwise multiple regression model for vegetation changes at the county scale. Based on trend analysis and the Hurst exponent, the spatiotemporal characteristics and evolutionary trends of the impact of human activities on vegetation change were discussed. The results show that (1) the NDVI values in Xinjiang showed a gradually increasing trend at a rate of 0.005/10 years from 1982 to 2018, and the vegetation dynamics mainly showed significant improvements (57.09% of the vegetated areas), especially for crops. (2) The anthropogenic effects of vegetation changes in Xinjiang mainly included positive impact increases (43.22% of the vegetated areas) from 2000 to 2018. Human activities promoted the increase in the NDVI of various vegetation types. Both the positive and negative impacts of human activities increased over the study period, and the growth rate of the positive influence (0.08%/10 years) was higher than that of the negative influence (0.04%/10 years). (3) The cultivated area, GDP of primary industry, and population are the main anthropogenic factors causing the increase in NDVI, which dominate the vegetation greening in 30.34%, 29.22%, and 28.09% of the counties in Xinjiang, respectively. The animal husbandry population, agricultural population, and livestock number are the main anthropogenic factors causing the decrease in NDVI, which dominate the vegetation degradation in 23.60%, 21.35%, and 17.98% of the counties in Xinjiang, respectively. (4) The evolutionary trend of the anthropogenic impact on vegetation dynamics in Xinjiang will be dominated by anti-persistence (53.84% of the vegetated areas), thereby mainly showing that the positive impacts continued to increase (22.56% of the vegetated areas), especially for crops, shrubs, grasslands, and alpine vegetation. Our results are helpful in understanding the characteristics and evolutionary trends of vegetation changes in arid areas caused by human activities and are of significance as a reference for policymakers to appropriately adjust policy guidance in a timely manner to promote the protection and sustainable development of fragile ecosystems.

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NDVI Indicates Long-Term Dynamics of Vegetation and Its Driving Forces from Climatic and Anthropogenic Factors in Mongolian Plateau

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13040688 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (4) ◽

pp. 688 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Enliang Guo ◽

Yongfang Wang ◽

Cailin Wang ◽

Zhongyi Sun ◽

Yulong Bao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Vegetation Dynamics ◽

Inner Mongolia ◽

Potential Evapotranspiration ◽

Stepwise Multiple Regression ◽

Anthropogenic Factors ◽

Anthropogenic Activity ◽

Mongolian Plateau ◽

Positive Effects ◽

The Impact

In recent years, global warming and intense human activity have been responsible for significantly altering vegetation dynamics on the Mongolian Plateau. Understanding the long-term vegetation dynamics in this region is important to assess the impact of these changes on the local ecosystem. Long-term (1982–2015), satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) datasets were used to analyse the spatio-temporal patterns of vegetation activities using linear regression and the breaks for additive season and trend methods. The links between these patterns and changes in temperature, precipitation (PRE), soil moisture (SM), and anthropogenic activity were determined using partial correlation analysis, the residual trends method, and a stepwise multiple regression model. The most significant results indicated that air temperature and potential evapotranspiration increased significantly, while the SM and PRE had markedly decreased over the past 34 years. The NDVI dataset included 71.16% of pixels showing an increase in temperature and evaporation during the growing season, particularly in eastern Mongolia and the southern border of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous region, China. The proportion indicating the breakpoint of vegetation dynamics was 71.34% of pixels, and the trend breakpoints mainly occurred in 1993, 2003, and 2010. The cumulative effects of PRE and SM in the middle period, coupled with the short-term effects of temperature and potential evapotranspiration, have had positive effects on vegetation greening. Anthropogenic factors appear to have positively impacted vegetation dynamics, as shown in 81.21% of pixels. We consider rapid economic growth, PRE, and SM to be the main driving factors in Inner Mongolia. PRE was the main climatic factor, and combined human and livestock populations were the primary anthropogenic factors influencing vegetation dynamics in Mongolia. This study is important in promoting the continued use of green projects to address environmental change in the Mongolian Plateau.

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The Impact of the Covid 19 Pandemic on the Development of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in Southern Africa

Journal of Intellectual Disability - Diagnosis and Treatment ◽

10.6000/2292-2598.2021.09.01.7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 56-63

Author(s):

Elizabeth Ojo-Fafore ◽

◽

Clinton Aigbavboa ◽

Wellington Thwala

Keyword(s):

Southern Africa ◽

Human Activities ◽

Industrial Revolution ◽

Economic Sector ◽

African Region ◽

Fourth Industrial Revolution ◽

Wide Range ◽

The World ◽

The Impact ◽

Industrial Revolutions

The fourth industrial revolution (4IR) is gradually gaining momentum in a wide range, and as it gathers pace, innovations are becoming faster, more efficient, and widely accessible than before. However, due to the outbreak of Covid 19, the world had seen a shift in the traditional ways in all aspects of human activities, especially in the socio-economic sector. This paper explores the effect of Covid19 on the development of the fourth industrial revolution in the Southern African region and will review the literature on pandemic and its effect on industrial revolutions. It will also review the literature on the fourth industrial revolution, the spread of the Covid 19 pandemic, and its effect on the development of the fourth industrial revolution in Southern Africa.

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Honey Bee Diversity is Swayed by Migratory Beekeeping and Trade Despite Conservation Practices: Genetic Evidences for the Impact of Anthropogenic Factors on Population Structure

10.32942/osf.io/k96fh ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Mert Kükrer ◽

Meral Kence ◽

Aykut Kence

Keyword(s):

Population Structure ◽

Gene Flow ◽

Honey Bee ◽

Honey Bees ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Anthropogenic Factors ◽

Conservation Implications ◽

The Status ◽

Bee Diversity ◽

The Impact

Intense admixture of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) populations is mostly attributed to migratory beekeeping practices and replacement of queens and colonies with non-native races or hybrids of different subspecies. These two practices are also heavily carried out in Anatolia and Thrace where 5 subspecies reside naturally.Here, we carried out an analysis of population structure of honey bees sampled from six different regions (n = 250) in order to test the genetic impacts of migratory beekeeping, queen and colony trade and conservation efficacy of isolated regions. A total of 30 microsatellite markers were used in four multiplex reactions.Direct genetic impact of migratory beekeeping was demonstrated first time based on a comparison of assignment of individuals to their geographically native populations where migratory colonies showed less fidelity. We found genetic evidence for them acting as a hybrid zone mobile in space and time, becoming vectors of otherwise local gene combinations.The effects of honey bee trade were revealed by the presence of very high introgression levels from the highly commercial Caucasian bees naturally limited to a narrow range. We also measured the direction and magnitude of this gene flow connected with bee trade.Comparison between regions that are either open to migratory beekeeping or not let us evaluate the status of isolated regions as centers of limited gene flow and showed the importance of establishing such regions.Despite signs of gene flow, our findings confirm high levels of geographically structured genetic diversity of four subspecies of honey bees in Turkey and emphasize the need to develop policies to maintain this diversity.Our overall results might potentially bear a wider interest to the community since they constitute an important attempt to quantify the effects of anthropogenic impacts on established patterns of honey bee diversity. Our measurable and justified findings on migratory beekeeping, queen and colony replacements as well as conservation implications will hopefully be of use for the decision makers and other stakeholders.

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Quantifying Influences of Natural and Anthropogenic Factors on Vegetation Changes Based on Geodetector: A Case Study in the Poyang Lake Basin, China

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13245081 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (24) ◽

pp. 5081

Author(s):

Yiming Wang ◽

Zengxin Zhang ◽

Xi Chen

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Human Activities ◽

Vegetation Change ◽

Poyang Lake ◽

Anthropogenic Factors ◽

Lake Basin ◽

Vegetation Changes ◽

Vegetation Growth ◽

Poyang Lake Basin ◽

Natural And Anthropogenic Factors

Understanding the driving mechanism of vegetation changes is essential for vegetation restoration and management. Vegetation coverage in the Poyang Lake basin (PYLB) has changed dramatically under the context of climate change and human activities in recent decades. It remains challenging to quantify the relative contribution of natural and anthropogenic factors to vegetation change due to their complicated interaction effects. In this study, we selected the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) as an indicator of vegetation growth and used trend analysis and the Mann-Kendall test to analyze its spatiotemporal change in the PYLB from 2000 to 2020. Then we applied the Geodetector model, a novel spatial analysis method, to quantify the effects of natural and anthropogenic factors on vegetation change. The results showed that most regions of the basin were experiencing vegetation restoration and the overall average NDVI value in the basin increased from 0.756 to 0.809 with an upward yearly trend of +0.0026. Land-use type exerted the greatest influence on vegetation change, followed by slope, elevation, and soil types. Except for conversions to construction land, most types of land use conversion induced an increase in NDVI in the basin. The influence of one factor on vegetation NDVI was always enhanced when interacting with another. The interaction effect of land use types and population density was the largest, which could explain 45.6% of the vegetation change, indicating that human activities dominated vegetation change in the PYLB. Moreover, we determined the ranges or types of factors most suitable for vegetation growth, which can be helpful for decision-makers to optimize the implementation of ecological projects in the PYLB in the future. The results of this study could improve the understanding of the driving mechanisms of vegetation change and provide a valuable reference for ecological restoration in subtropical humid regions.

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Comment on the second reply by Higdon to the comment by Romero and Kannada on “Genetic analysis of 16th-century whale bones prompts a revision of the impact of Basque whaling on right and bowhead whales in the western North Atlantic”Appears in Can. J. Zool. 86(1): 76–79.

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z07-119 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 86 (1) ◽

pp. 80-82

Author(s):

Aldemaro Romero ◽

Shelly Kannada

Keyword(s):

Genetic Analysis ◽

North Atlantic ◽

Anthropogenic Impacts ◽

Historical Review ◽

16Th Century ◽

Bowhead Whales ◽

The North ◽

The World ◽

The North Atlantic ◽

The Impact

The second reply by J.W. Higdon (2008. Can. J. Zool. 86: 76–79) criticizes a previously published comment by us of T. Rastogi et al.’s (2004. Can. J. Zool. 82: 1647–1654) paper saying that we presented factual errors, misused key sources, and made a number of omissions. The main objective of our original comment was to show that there had been many other peoples and nations besides the Basques who were engaged in whaling in the North Atlantic for many centuries and, therefore, the Basques could not have been solely responsible for anthropogenic impacts on the populations of large whales in that part of the world. To that end we only sampled some sources to make our point. In this rebuttal, we show that Higdon mischaracterizes our comment as a historical review and that neither he nor B.A. McLeod et al. (2006. Can. J. Zool. 84: 1066–1069) provide any evidence that challenges our fundamental conclusions.

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Monitoring Vegetation Change and Its Potential Drivers in Inner Mongolia from 2000 to 2019

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs13173357 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (17) ◽

pp. 3357

Author(s):

Yao Kang ◽

Enliang Guo ◽

Yongfang Wang ◽

Yulong Bao ◽

Yuhai Bao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Activities ◽

Vegetation Dynamics ◽

Inner Mongolia ◽

Vegetation Change ◽

Spatiotemporal Variability ◽

Annual Precipitation ◽

Dominant Factor ◽

Variation Method ◽

Vegetation Changes ◽

Northeastern Part

Inner Mongolia in China is a typically arid and semi-arid region with vegetation prominently affected by global warming and human activities. Therefore, investigating the past and future vegetation change and its impact mechanism is important for assessing the stability of the ecosystem and the ecological policy formulation. Vegetation changes, sustainability characteristics, and the mechanism of natural and anthropogenic effects in Inner Mongolia during 2000–2019 were examined using moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data. Theil–Sen trend analysis, Mann–Kendall method, and the coefficient of variation method were used to analyze the spatiotemporal variability characteristics and sustained stability of the NDVI. Furthermore, a trend estimation method based on a Seasonal Trend Model (STM), and the Hurst index was used to analyze breakpoints and change trends, and predict the likely future direction of vegetation, respectively. Additionally, the mechanisms of the compound influence of natural and anthropogenic activities on the vegetation dynamics in Inner Mongolia were explored using a Geodetector Model. The results show that the NDVI of Inner Mongolia shows an upward trend with a rate of 0.0028/year (p < 0.05) from 2000 to 2019. Spatially, the NDVI values showed a decreasing trend from the northeast to the southwest, and the interannual variation fluctuated widely, with coefficients of variation greater than 0.15, for which the high-value areas were in the territory of the Alxa League. The areas with increased, decreased, and stable vegetation patterns were approximately equal in size, in which the improved areas were mainly distributed in the northeastern part of Inner Mongolia, the stable and unchanged areas were mostly in the desert, and the degraded areas were mainly in the central-eastern part of Inner Mongolia, it shows a trend of progressive degradation from east to west. Breakpoints in the vegetation dynamics occurred mainly in the northwestern part of Inner Mongolia and the northeastern part of Hulunbuir, most of which occurred during 2011–2014. The future NDVI trend in Inner Mongolia shows an increasing trend in most areas, with only approximately 10% of the areas showing a decreasing trend. Considering the drivers of the NDVI, we observed annual precipitation, soil type, mean annual temperature, and land use type to be the main driving factors in Inner Mongolia. Annual precipitation was the first dominant factor, and when these four dominant factors interacted to influence vegetation change, they all showed interactive enhancement relationships. The results of this study will assist in understanding the influence of natural elements and human activities on vegetation changes and their driving mechanisms, while providing a scientific basis for the rational and effective protection of the ecological environment in Inner Mongolia.

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Vegetation Changes in Response to Climatic Factors and Human Activities in Jilin Province, China, 2000–2019

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13168956 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (16) ◽

pp. 8956

Author(s):

Ying Li ◽

Zhibo Zhao ◽

Lingzhi Wang ◽

Guanghui Li ◽

Lei Chang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Human Activities ◽

Climatic Factors ◽

Dynamic Change ◽

Jilin Province ◽

Vegetation Changes ◽

Forest Land ◽

Barren Land ◽

Average Temperature ◽

The Impact ◽

Permanent Wetland

Dynamic change in vegetation is an integral component of terrestrial ecosystems, which has become a significant research area in the current context of global climate warming. Jilin Province in northeast China is an ecologically fragile area, and there is an urgent need to understand its vegetation changes and responses to both climatic factors and human activities. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was used to analyze trends in vegetation growth, and indicated significant growth overall. The NDVI of different vegetation cover types is increasing, indicating that the vegetation is continuously greening, and in descending order, the growth trends were grassland (0.0035/year) > permanent wetland (0.0028/year) > cropland (0.0027/year) > forest land (0.0022/year) > barren land (−0.0001/year). Grassland and cropland vegetation types included the most severely degraded areas, with fluctuating NDVI values. Precipitation was the main positive controlling climatic factor of NDVI in the western regions of the study area, while average temperature was the main factor in the eastern regions. Precipitation was the main climatic control factor for grassland and cropland, while forest land was limited by precipitation and average temperature. Barren land and permanent wetland were slightly negatively correlated with precipitation. From 2000 to 2019, the residual values for NDVI increased from −0.0121 to 0.0116, and the impact of human activities on vegetation changed from negative to positive. By 2019, the proportion of positively affected zones was as high as 94.01%, and the negatively affected zones were mainly distributed across transitional areas of cropland and grassland, and urban and built-up land and forest land.

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Changes in the human footprint in and around Indonesia’s terrestrial national parks between 2012 and 2017

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-83586-2 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Asri A. Dwiyahreni ◽

Habiburrachman A. H. Fuad ◽

Sunaryo Muhtar ◽

T. E. Budhi Soesilo ◽

Chris Margules ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Nature Conservation ◽

Population Density ◽

Protected Areas ◽

National Parks ◽

Human Activities ◽

Human Population ◽

Human Footprint ◽

The World ◽

The Impact

AbstractThe human footprint (HF) was developed to measure of the impact of human activities on the environment. The human footprint has been found to be closely related to the vulnerability of protected areas around the world. In Indonesia, as nature conservation is still seen as hindering economic development, it is especially important to assess the human footprint in order to comprehend the overall pressures resulting from the various human activities on Indonesia’s national parks. This study measured the change in the human footprint in and around 43 terrestrial national parks over 5 years, between 2012 and 2017. As many as 37 out of 43 NPs experienced an increase in the HF, ranging from 0.4 to 77.3%. Tanjung Puting in Kalimantan experienced the greatest increase (77.3%), while Ujung Kulon in Jawa Bali bioregion had the greatest decrease (10.5%). An increase in human population density and improved access to parks from roads, rivers and coastlines are the main drivers of increasing impacts on national parks.

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Potential and Observed Environmental Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Psychology and Education Journal ◽

10.17762/pae.v58i2.1911 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 58 (2) ◽

pp. 784-794

Author(s):

Vaishnavi Gore, Dr. Swarupa Chakole

Keyword(s):

Environmental Impacts ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Anthropogenic Factors ◽

Coastal Pollution ◽

Waste Products ◽

After Effects ◽

The World ◽

Negative Impacts ◽

Short Time ◽

The Impact

Many ecological variants have impact on the onset and communicability of infectious diseases or pandemics, which may in later days can trigger environmental feedback. The most potentially lethal virus of this century coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was declared an epidemic on March 13, 2020, and its vigorous spread, congruous coverage and its many diverse and complicated after effects may have made it a very dangerous disease to counteract the problems related to it in such a short time period making it once in only century disaster around the world. Most of the countries around the world being currently in a situation of chaos and suffering of this disease and its consequences have responded with great concern and measures by taking social distancing methods and measures of various kinds and drastically reducing the spread of the virus and helping in prevention by it have also helped in resolving many economic and other activities of the country to cope with. As a result, the COVID-19 pandemic at the end of April 2020 caused many environmental impacts, including positive impacts such as improved air quality. Negative impacts such as coastal pollution through the elimination of water and sanitation supplies in urban areas and in rural have shown it effects of healing the surrounding which was caused by the halting to many industries and the release of waste products and hampering of the transport and its emission after the public went into home isolation after the pandemic started. This study provides a first overview of the observed environmental and possible aftermath of COVID-19. We argue that the impact of COVID-19 is largely determined by anthropogenic factors that become apparent as public events declines around the globe, and effects on towns and human health will continue to exist.

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