Responses of vegetation cover to the Grain for Green Program and their driving forces in the He-Long region of the middle reaches of the Yellow River

The implementation of the Grain for Green Program is a great breakthrough in the history of China＇s ecological environment construction,which can control soil erosion effectively,increase land productivity and improve the ecological environment.To investigate the eco-environmental benefits brought by the Grain for Green Program,the spatiotemporal variations of vegetation cover in the growing season from 2000 to 2010 across the Hekou-Longmen （He-Long） region were analyzed by using remote sensing information,meteorological data and land use data.Moreover,the impacts of climate and human activities on vegetation change were evaluated objectively.Annual vegetation cover in the growing season increased very significantly.Increased vegetation cover occurred in 98.7％ of the region,of which the area for vegetation cover improved slightly constituted 79.8％ of the whole area.Vegetation moderately improved was mainly distributed in the south of the He-Long region,covering 9.6％ of the area,and the area for vegetation basically unchanged concentrated in the middle and upper reaches of the Wuding River.Precipitation was found to be an important natural factor influencing vegetation cover change.The area of vegetation cover showing a significantly positive correlation with precipitation occupied 22.14％ of the region.As driven by policies from the Grain for Green Program,forestland increased significantly and land use structure became more intensive.Human activities played a positive and effective role in the protection,restoration and improvement of vegetation in the places where vegetation cover was basically unchanged,even though precipitation declined greatly,and vegetation improved moderately with massive increases of forestland and grassland.

Changes in Land Use and Agricultural Production Structure Before and After the Implementation of Grain for Green Program in Western China–Taking Two Typical Counties as Examples

Soil erosion becomes a serious environmental problem in the world, especially in western China. An effective management practice called the Grain for Green Program(GGP), which was launched in 1999, aims to reduce soil and water loss and alleviate the ecological environment problem in western China. Two typical counties in western China, the Zhongxian(in Chongqing Municipality) and Ansai(in Shaanxi Province) were chosen to evaluate the dynamic changes of land use and agricultural production structure before and after the implementation of the Program in this paper. The results showed that the cultivated land area was reduced by 7.08% from 1989 to 2003. The cultivated land per person was decreased by 8.42% during 1999-2003. Moreover, the stability index of the secondary sector of the economy was increased from 0.91 in the period 1990-1999 to 0.94 in the following ten years. In addition, the stability index of tertiary economic sector increased from 0.88 to 0.92 in Zhongxian county. Meanwhile, the cultivated land area was reduced by 15.48% from 1990 to 1999. The soil erosion modulus was decreased by 33.33% from 1999 to 2006. Also, the stability index of secondary and tertiary economic sectors was 0.86 in the period 1998-2002. However, it decreased by 77% during 2002 to 2007 in Ansai County. These results imply that the Grain for Green Program had different impact on the two regions. Several effective strategies of soil and water conservation have been carried out to ameliorate the sustainable development of ecological environment and economy in these two counties of western China.

Impacts of Drought and Human Activity on Vegetation Growth in the Grain for Green Program Region,China

The Chinese government adopted six ecological restoration programs to improve its natural environments. Although these programs have proven successful in improving local environments, some studies have questioned their performance when regions suffer from drought. Whether we should consider the effects of drought on vegetation change in assessments of the benefits of ecological restoration programs is unclear. Therefore, taking the Grain for Green Program(GGP) region as a study area, we estimated vegetation growth in the region from 2000–2010 to clarify the trends in vegetation and their driving forces. Results showed that: 1) vegetation growth increased in the GGP region during 2000–2010, with 59.4% of the area showing an increase in the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI). This confirmed the benefits of the ecological restoration program. 2) Drought can affect the vegetation change trend, but human activity plays a significant role in altering vegetation growth, and the slight downward trend in the NDVI was not consistent with the severity of the drought. Positive human activity led to increased NDVI in 89.13% of areas. Of these, 22.52% suffered drought, but positive human activity offset the damage in part. 3) Results of this research suggest that appropriate human activity can maximize the benefits of ecological restoration programs and minimize the effects of extreme weather. We therefore recommend incorporating eco-risk assessment and scientific management mechanisms in the design and management of ecosystem restoration programs.

Synergic Relationship between the Grain for Green Program and the Agricultural Eco-economic System in Ansai County based on the VAR model

Understanding the synergic relationship between the Grain for Green Program(GGP)and the agricultural eco-economic system is important for designing an optimized agricultural eco-economic system and developing a highly efficient structure of an agricultural industry chain and a resource chain.This study used Ansai County time series data from 1995 to 2014,applied vector autoregressive(VAR)models and used tools such as Granger causality,impulse response analysis and variance decomposition,to explore the synergy between the GGP and the agricultural eco-economic system.The results revealed a synergic and reciprocal relationship between the GGP and the agroeconomic system.The contribution of the GGP to the agroecosystem reached 34%,which was significantly higher than either its largest contribution to the agroeconomic system(20.8%)or its peak contribution to the agrosocial system(26.7%).The agroeconomic system had the most prominent influence on the GGP,with a year-round stable contribution of up to 55.3%.These results were consistent with reality.However,the impact of the GGP on the agricultural eco-economic system was weaker than the effect of the agricultural eco-economic system on the GGP.The lag of variable stationarity after the shock was relatively short,indicating that optimal coupling had not formed between the GGP and the agricultural eco-economic system.On the basis of enhancing the ecological functions,we should construct the agricultural industry-resource chain such that it focuses on promoting the effective utilization of resources in the region.In addition,the development of a carbon sink industry can be used to manifest the ecological values of ecological functions.