Geospatial patterns of forest fragmentation over the three traditional giant forested areas of China (Northeastern, southwestern and Southern China) were analyzed comparatively and reported based on a 250-m resoluti...Geospatial patterns of forest fragmentation over the three traditional giant forested areas of China (Northeastern, southwestern and Southern China) were analyzed comparatively and reported based on a 250-m resolution land cover dataset. Specifically, the spatial patterns of forest fragmentation were characterized by combining geospatial metrics and forest fragmentation models. The driving forces resulting in the differences of the forest spatial patterns were also investigated. Results suggested that forests in southwest China had the highest severity of forest fragmentation, followed by south region and northeast region. The driving forces of forest fragmentation in China were primarily the giant population and improper exploitation of forests. In conclusion, the generated information in the study provided valuable insights and implications as to the fragmentation patterns and the conservation of hiodiversity or genes, and the use of the chosen geospatial metrics and forest fragmentation models was quite useful for depicting forest fragmentation patterns.展开更多
基金This research was performed while the lead author held a National Research Council (NRC) Research Associateship Program Award a postdoctoral program sponsored by the NRC in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey
文摘Geospatial patterns of forest fragmentation over the three traditional giant forested areas of China (Northeastern, southwestern and Southern China) were analyzed comparatively and reported based on a 250-m resolution land cover dataset. Specifically, the spatial patterns of forest fragmentation were characterized by combining geospatial metrics and forest fragmentation models. The driving forces resulting in the differences of the forest spatial patterns were also investigated. Results suggested that forests in southwest China had the highest severity of forest fragmentation, followed by south region and northeast region. The driving forces of forest fragmentation in China were primarily the giant population and improper exploitation of forests. In conclusion, the generated information in the study provided valuable insights and implications as to the fragmentation patterns and the conservation of hiodiversity or genes, and the use of the chosen geospatial metrics and forest fragmentation models was quite useful for depicting forest fragmentation patterns.