Reforestation policies around 2000 in southern China led to forest densification and expansion in the 2010s
Abstract Forest expansion has been observed in China over the past decades, but the typically applied coarse resolution satellite data does not reveal spatial details about China’s forest transition. By using three decades of satellite observations at a 30-m spatial resolution, we reveal here the co...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-00923-1 |
| _version_ | 1797773933550764032 |
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| author | Xiaowei Tong Martin Brandt Yuemin Yue Xiaoxin Zhang Rasmus Fensholt Philippe Ciais Kelin Wang Siyu Liu Wenmin Zhang Chen Mao Martin Rudbeck Jepsen |
| author_facet | Xiaowei Tong Martin Brandt Yuemin Yue Xiaoxin Zhang Rasmus Fensholt Philippe Ciais Kelin Wang Siyu Liu Wenmin Zhang Chen Mao Martin Rudbeck Jepsen |
| author_sort | Xiaowei Tong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Forest expansion has been observed in China over the past decades, but the typically applied coarse resolution satellite data does not reveal spatial details about China’s forest transition. By using three decades of satellite observations at a 30-m spatial resolution, we reveal here the complex spatiotemporal patterns of individual forest stands forming the forest return history of southern China. We calculate forest age, forest densification rates, and annual forest fragmentation and show that the observed forest area surge around 2010 is a result of trees planted after 2000 that formed dense forests about a decade later. We document that old forests in the 1980s were mostly fragmented into scattered patches located on mountain tops, but forests rapidly expanded downhill by 729,540 km2 and alleviated the clear-cut and logging pressure from old forests. Our study provides a detailed documentation of forest densification and expansion for a country that had been largely deforested three decades ago. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T22:12:37Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-16f485be6ef2436bb4b8198d650264c5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T22:12:37Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj.art-16f485be6ef2436bb4b8198d650264c52023-07-23T11:27:22ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352023-07-01411810.1038/s43247-023-00923-1Reforestation policies around 2000 in southern China led to forest densification and expansion in the 2010sXiaowei Tong0Martin Brandt1Yuemin Yue2Xiaoxin Zhang3Rasmus Fensholt4Philippe Ciais5Kelin Wang6Siyu Liu7Wenmin Zhang8Chen Mao9Martin Rudbeck Jepsen10Key Laboratory for Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory for Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory for Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of SciencesDepartment of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of CopenhagenDepartment of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of CopenhagenLaboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l’Environnement, CEA/CNRS/UVSQ/Université Paris SaclayKey Laboratory for Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of SciencesDepartment of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of CopenhagenDepartment of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of CopenhagenKey Laboratory for Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of SciencesDepartment of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management, University of CopenhagenAbstract Forest expansion has been observed in China over the past decades, but the typically applied coarse resolution satellite data does not reveal spatial details about China’s forest transition. By using three decades of satellite observations at a 30-m spatial resolution, we reveal here the complex spatiotemporal patterns of individual forest stands forming the forest return history of southern China. We calculate forest age, forest densification rates, and annual forest fragmentation and show that the observed forest area surge around 2010 is a result of trees planted after 2000 that formed dense forests about a decade later. We document that old forests in the 1980s were mostly fragmented into scattered patches located on mountain tops, but forests rapidly expanded downhill by 729,540 km2 and alleviated the clear-cut and logging pressure from old forests. Our study provides a detailed documentation of forest densification and expansion for a country that had been largely deforested three decades ago.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-00923-1 |
| spellingShingle | Xiaowei Tong Martin Brandt Yuemin Yue Xiaoxin Zhang Rasmus Fensholt Philippe Ciais Kelin Wang Siyu Liu Wenmin Zhang Chen Mao Martin Rudbeck Jepsen Reforestation policies around 2000 in southern China led to forest densification and expansion in the 2010s Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Reforestation policies around 2000 in southern China led to forest densification and expansion in the 2010s |
| title_full | Reforestation policies around 2000 in southern China led to forest densification and expansion in the 2010s |
| title_fullStr | Reforestation policies around 2000 in southern China led to forest densification and expansion in the 2010s |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reforestation policies around 2000 in southern China led to forest densification and expansion in the 2010s |
| title_short | Reforestation policies around 2000 in southern China led to forest densification and expansion in the 2010s |
| title_sort | reforestation policies around 2000 in southern china led to forest densification and expansion in the 2010s |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-00923-1 |
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