Human activities significantly alter ecosystems and their services; however, quantifying the impact of human activities on ecosystems has been a great challenge in ecosystem management. We used the Universal Soil Loss...Human activities significantly alter ecosystems and their services; however, quantifying the impact of human activities on ecosystems has been a great challenge in ecosystem management. We used the Universal Soil Loss Equation and county-level socioeconomic data to assess the changes in the ecosystem service of soil conservation between 2000 and 2010, and to analyze its spatial characteristics and driving factors in the southwestern China. The results showed that cropland in the southwestern China decreased by 3.74%, while urban land, forest, and grassland areas increased by 46.78%, 0.86%, and 1.12%, respectively. The soil conservation increased by 1.88 × 10^(11) kg, with deterioration only in some local areas. The improved and the degraded areas accounted for 6.41% and 2.44% of the total land area, respectively. Implementation of the Sloping Land Conversion Program and urbanization explained 57.80% and 23.90% of the variation in the soil conservation change, respectively, and were found to be the main factors enhancing soil conservation. The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake was one of the factors that led to the degradation of soil conservation. Furthermore, industrial adjustment, by increasing shares of Industry and Service and reducing those of Agriculture, has also promoted soil conservation. Our results quantitatively showed and emphasized the contributions to soil conservation improvement made by implementing ecological restoration programs and promoting urbanization. Consequently, these results provide basic information to improve our understanding of the effects of ecological restoration programs, and help guide future sustainable urban development and regional industrial restructuring.展开更多
Deciduous oak forest is one of the typical vegetation types in temperate and subtropical mountain zones in China.However,the patterns and determinants of the structural characteristics of these forests remain poorly u...Deciduous oak forest is one of the typical vegetation types in temperate and subtropical mountain zones in China.However,the patterns and determinants of the structural characteristics of these forests remain poorly understood.We investigated 682 oak forest plots across China to characterize the community structures of the oak forests and analyze the underlying factors controlling their spatial patterns.Across all plots,the overall mean values were 13.7 cm,10.0 m,1468 stems/ha and 24.3 m^(2)/ha for the diameter at breast height(DBH),height,stem density and total basal area(TBA)of trees,respectively.The average species richness was 6 species/600 m^(2),10 species/100 m^(2) and 4 species/1 m^(2) for the tree,shrub and herb layers,respectively.As latitude increased,the mean tree height,stem density,TBA,tree species richness and shrub species richness decreased,and the mean DBH did not show a significant trend,while species richness of herbs increased significantly.Climatic and anthropogenic variables could explain more variations in mean DBH,mean tree height,TBA,tree species richness,shrub species richness than those in stem density and herb species richness.Further analysis showed that precipitation-related climatic factors were major factors shaping the spatial patterns of community structures.Our findings provide a basis for recognizing the biogeographic patterns of oak forest structures and their responses to global change in China.展开更多
基金Under the auspices of National Key Technology Research and Development Program of China(No.2011BAC09B08)Special Issue of National Remote Sensing Survey and Assessment of Eco-Environment Change between 2000 and 2010(No.STSN-04-01)
文摘Human activities significantly alter ecosystems and their services; however, quantifying the impact of human activities on ecosystems has been a great challenge in ecosystem management. We used the Universal Soil Loss Equation and county-level socioeconomic data to assess the changes in the ecosystem service of soil conservation between 2000 and 2010, and to analyze its spatial characteristics and driving factors in the southwestern China. The results showed that cropland in the southwestern China decreased by 3.74%, while urban land, forest, and grassland areas increased by 46.78%, 0.86%, and 1.12%, respectively. The soil conservation increased by 1.88 × 10^(11) kg, with deterioration only in some local areas. The improved and the degraded areas accounted for 6.41% and 2.44% of the total land area, respectively. Implementation of the Sloping Land Conversion Program and urbanization explained 57.80% and 23.90% of the variation in the soil conservation change, respectively, and were found to be the main factors enhancing soil conservation. The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake was one of the factors that led to the degradation of soil conservation. Furthermore, industrial adjustment, by increasing shares of Industry and Service and reducing those of Agriculture, has also promoted soil conservation. Our results quantitatively showed and emphasized the contributions to soil conservation improvement made by implementing ecological restoration programs and promoting urbanization. Consequently, these results provide basic information to improve our understanding of the effects of ecological restoration programs, and help guide future sustainable urban development and regional industrial restructuring.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(no.31988102)the National Key Research and Development Program of China(no.2017YFC0503906)Key Research Program of Frontier Sciences,Chinese Academy of Sciences(QYZDY-SSW-SMC011).
文摘Deciduous oak forest is one of the typical vegetation types in temperate and subtropical mountain zones in China.However,the patterns and determinants of the structural characteristics of these forests remain poorly understood.We investigated 682 oak forest plots across China to characterize the community structures of the oak forests and analyze the underlying factors controlling their spatial patterns.Across all plots,the overall mean values were 13.7 cm,10.0 m,1468 stems/ha and 24.3 m^(2)/ha for the diameter at breast height(DBH),height,stem density and total basal area(TBA)of trees,respectively.The average species richness was 6 species/600 m^(2),10 species/100 m^(2) and 4 species/1 m^(2) for the tree,shrub and herb layers,respectively.As latitude increased,the mean tree height,stem density,TBA,tree species richness and shrub species richness decreased,and the mean DBH did not show a significant trend,while species richness of herbs increased significantly.Climatic and anthropogenic variables could explain more variations in mean DBH,mean tree height,TBA,tree species richness,shrub species richness than those in stem density and herb species richness.Further analysis showed that precipitation-related climatic factors were major factors shaping the spatial patterns of community structures.Our findings provide a basis for recognizing the biogeographic patterns of oak forest structures and their responses to global change in China.
