Ecosystem Functioning of the Loess Plateau in China from Vegetation Restoration Relied Largely on Climate
Climate change and anthropogenic replantation are supposed to greatly change vegetation coverage and ecosystem stability and functions, e.g., net primary productivity (NPP), evapotranspiration (ET) and water use efficiency (WUE). Our study compared WUE of nature- and human-induced forest cover incre...
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MDPI AG
2022-12-01
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| Series: | Forests |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/1/27 |
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| author | Yixuan Wang Gang Dong Luping Qu Zhitao Wu Fangyuan Zhao Changliang Shao |
| author_facet | Yixuan Wang Gang Dong Luping Qu Zhitao Wu Fangyuan Zhao Changliang Shao |
| author_sort | Yixuan Wang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Climate change and anthropogenic replantation are supposed to greatly change vegetation coverage and ecosystem stability and functions, e.g., net primary productivity (NPP), evapotranspiration (ET) and water use efficiency (WUE). Our study compared WUE of nature- and human-induced forest cover increase on the Loess Plateau since 2000 using satellite-derived Vegetation Continuous Fields (VCF), NPP, ET. This study also applied over 30 years of model-based NPP and meteorological observations to compare the stability and changes brought up by the Grain for Green Project. The result showed that the average forest coverage fraction increased from 7.1% (~4.5 × 10<sup>4</sup> km<sup>2</sup>) in 2000 to 11.2% (~7.3 × 10<sup>4</sup> km<sup>2</sup>) in 2014. Artificial forest cover increase occupied 76.43% of the significantly increasing tree cover regions. The role of revegetation practice in NPP and ET became gradually more dominant than climate factors in artificial forests from the northern to the southern part of the Loess Plateau. For areas experiencing limited forest coverage increase, artificial forest areas showed higher WUE than natural forest areas under similar mean annual precipitation (MAP). The difference in stability was small between neighboring natural and artificial forest areas. The northwest of the Loess Plateau had an increasing resilience, whereas the south of the Plateau had an increased resistance to precipitation and temperature change. The higher dependency of the northern reforested areas on climate fluctuation indicates a growing threat of water scarcity to the sustainability of anthropogenic reforestation in semi-arid regions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:43:17Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1999-4907 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:43:17Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
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| series | Forests |
| spelling | doaj.art-e02cb0bad3f849c2a73eb0ce46b5af822023-11-30T22:16:20ZengMDPI AGForests1999-49072022-12-011412710.3390/f14010027Ecosystem Functioning of the Loess Plateau in China from Vegetation Restoration Relied Largely on ClimateYixuan Wang0Gang Dong1Luping Qu2Zhitao Wu3Fangyuan Zhao4Changliang Shao5National Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, ChinaSchool of Life Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, ChinaForestry College, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, ChinaInstitute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, ChinaNational Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, ChinaNational Hulunber Grassland Ecosystem Observation and Research Station, Institute of Agricultural Resources and Regional Planning, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, ChinaClimate change and anthropogenic replantation are supposed to greatly change vegetation coverage and ecosystem stability and functions, e.g., net primary productivity (NPP), evapotranspiration (ET) and water use efficiency (WUE). Our study compared WUE of nature- and human-induced forest cover increase on the Loess Plateau since 2000 using satellite-derived Vegetation Continuous Fields (VCF), NPP, ET. This study also applied over 30 years of model-based NPP and meteorological observations to compare the stability and changes brought up by the Grain for Green Project. The result showed that the average forest coverage fraction increased from 7.1% (~4.5 × 10<sup>4</sup> km<sup>2</sup>) in 2000 to 11.2% (~7.3 × 10<sup>4</sup> km<sup>2</sup>) in 2014. Artificial forest cover increase occupied 76.43% of the significantly increasing tree cover regions. The role of revegetation practice in NPP and ET became gradually more dominant than climate factors in artificial forests from the northern to the southern part of the Loess Plateau. For areas experiencing limited forest coverage increase, artificial forest areas showed higher WUE than natural forest areas under similar mean annual precipitation (MAP). The difference in stability was small between neighboring natural and artificial forest areas. The northwest of the Loess Plateau had an increasing resilience, whereas the south of the Plateau had an increased resistance to precipitation and temperature change. The higher dependency of the northern reforested areas on climate fluctuation indicates a growing threat of water scarcity to the sustainability of anthropogenic reforestation in semi-arid regions.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/1/27reforestationnet primary productivityevapotranspirationwater use efficiencyresilienceresistance |
| spellingShingle | Yixuan Wang Gang Dong Luping Qu Zhitao Wu Fangyuan Zhao Changliang Shao Ecosystem Functioning of the Loess Plateau in China from Vegetation Restoration Relied Largely on Climate Forests reforestation net primary productivity evapotranspiration water use efficiency resilience resistance |
| title | Ecosystem Functioning of the Loess Plateau in China from Vegetation Restoration Relied Largely on Climate |
| title_full | Ecosystem Functioning of the Loess Plateau in China from Vegetation Restoration Relied Largely on Climate |
| title_fullStr | Ecosystem Functioning of the Loess Plateau in China from Vegetation Restoration Relied Largely on Climate |
| title_full_unstemmed | Ecosystem Functioning of the Loess Plateau in China from Vegetation Restoration Relied Largely on Climate |
| title_short | Ecosystem Functioning of the Loess Plateau in China from Vegetation Restoration Relied Largely on Climate |
| title_sort | ecosystem functioning of the loess plateau in china from vegetation restoration relied largely on climate |
| topic | reforestation net primary productivity evapotranspiration water use efficiency resilience resistance |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/14/1/27 |
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