Spatial and Temporal Changes in Vegetation Cover in the Three North Protection Forest Project Area Supported by GEE Cloud Platform
Year: 2023
Type: article
Abstract: The alterations in vegetation cover in the Three North Protection Forest Project area influence its ecological and environmental management. It helps to study soil erosion, environmental change, and ecosystem protection to provide basic data support. Based on the Google Earth Engine cloud platform, this paper selects MODIS 3Q1 data from 2000–2020 and uses the image element dichotomous model to estimate the fractional vegetation cover (FVC) of the Three North Protection Forest Project area, evaluates the stability and temporal and spatial variation of FVC, investigates the coupling relationship between the FVC and temperature and rainfall through evaluation indexes such as the slope of inter-annual variation and partial correlation coefficient, and then analyzes the influence of land use changes on the FVC. The results show that the fractional vegetation cover of the Three North Protection Forest Project area as a whole has increased significantly over the past 20 years, the medium and high vegetation coverage areas have reached 36.4%, the high vegetation FVC has increased from 20.66% in 2000 to 21.59% in 2020, and the vegetation activity is increasing. The vegetation cover is significantly affected by the topographic effect, with the vegetation cover improving relatively well at slopes between 5–13° and elevations ranging from 2000–2500 m. The overall positive correlation between vegetation and temperature and vegetation and precipitation in the study area was 54.08% and 70.04%, respectively, and precipitation was the key factor influencing vegetation growth in the research region. Human activities have a stronger effect on vegetation construction than destruction, and this study contributes to the evaluation of the benefits of the Three North Protection Forest Project and the understanding of human influence on environmental change.
Source: Forests
DOI: 10.3390/f14020295
Authors: Xusheng Li, Quansheng Hai, Zhenchang Zhu, Donghui Zhang, Yakui Shao, Yingjun Zhao, Hu Li, Battsengel Vandansambuu, Xiaoli Ning, Donghua Chen, Yufeng Liu
Institutions: Beijing Research Institute of Uranium Geology, Inner Mongolia University of Science and Technology, National University of Mongolia, Guangdong University of Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Beijing Forestry University, Anhui Normal University, Chuzhou University
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDGs: Life on land, Climate action
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,224
OpenAlex ID: W4319083708