Forest landscape dynamics and their relevance to forest operation factors during 1980–2015 in Sichuan province, China

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment Vol. 192; no. 5; p. 318
• Main Authors: Zhao, Anjiu, Chen, Xiaohong
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.05.2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Afforestation; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Demography; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecological function; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental monitoring; Environmental protection; Environmental science; Forest conservation; Forest effects; Forest management; Forest resources; Forests; Land use; Landscape; Local climates; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Protected areas; Regression analysis; Regression models; Socioeconomics; Sustainability management; Sustainable forestry; China; Forest land use conversion; Spatial regression model; Forest program; Forest operations
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-020-8230-5

Forest landscape change is affected by a complex mix of multiple interacting factors, including the biophysical environment, socioeconomic activities, cultural contexts, and forest management. Here, we investigated the temporal and spatial changes in forested land in Sichuan, China, using forest resource inventory data from 1980 to 2015. The factors that drove forest landscape conversion included environmental and socioeconomic characteristics, and forest operations. We also used spatial techniques to allow for neighborhood effects from forest land use activities in neighboring areas. We found that forest landscapes were very dynamic, with high change and high turnover in forest type and cover, but with an overall net gain. Spatial regression models showed strong neighborhood effects. Forest operations such as afforestation and protected areas had positive effects on forest gain. Meanwhile, forest land use changes resulting from forest programs (in Sichuan, mainly the Grain to Green Program and Natural Forest Conservation Program) were the major driving factors for increasing forest areas and improving forest conditions, tempered by local conditions of topography, climate, demography, and economy. The effective implementation of sustainable forest management strategy and policy can increase forest quality and quantity and maintain ecological function.