Journal of Ecology and Rural Environment ›› 2018, Vol. 34 ›› Issue (1): 37-45.doi: 10.11934/j.issn.1673-4831.2018.01.005

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Spatio-Temporal Variations of Vegetation Coverage in Taihu Lake Basin From 2004 to 2014

PAN Ying1, LIN Jie1, TONG Guang-chen2, TANG Peng1, ZHANG Jin-chi1, GU Zhe-yan3   

  1. 1. College of Forestry, Nanjing Forestry University/Collaborative Innovation Center of Sustainable Forestry in Southern China of Jiangsu Province/Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Restoration of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing 210037, China;
    2. Ninghai Water Conservancy Bureau, Ninghai 315600, China;
    3. Jiangsu Surveying and Design Institute of Water Resources Co. Ltd., Yangzhou 225127, China
  • Received:2017-06-08 Online:2018-01-25 Published:2018-01-26

Abstract:

As is well known, the Taihu Lake Basin is always one of the regions relatively well-developed in economy in China. With the region developing rapidly in economy, growing in population and rising in urbanization level, the forest ecosystem therein has been deteriorating seriously. Therefore, it is very important for us to study changes in spatial pattern of its vegetation cover and their influencing factors, so as to lay down certain basis for formulating scientific sustainable development programs for the basin. Relevant MODSI-NDVI data available were analyzed using the dimidiate pixel model, variation coefficient, linear trend analysis, principal component analysis and some other analysis methods to characterize changes in spatio-temporal pattern of the vegetation cover of the basin, and trends and influential factors of the changes from 2004 to 2014. Results show:(1) In the past 11 years from 2004 to 2014, the vegetation cover, on the whole, was on a significant declining trend, with a rate being 2.6%·(10 a)-1. Its mean dropped from 0.606 5 in 2004 to 0.594 2 in 2014, or by 2.03%; (2) The spatial distribution of the vegetation cover in the basin exhibited a downward trend from the southwest to the east, and varied the most drastically in the east, less in the north and west, and the least in the southwest; (3) The areas with vegetation cover seriously degraded accounted for 35.08% of the total of the basin in area, while those with vegetation cover obviously improved accounted for 40.00% and were mostly distributed in the southwest and east and rarely in northwest; and (4) The decrease in the vegetation cover of the basin was attributed mainly to the joint effect of the increases in precipitation, population and economic development. And human activities had dual effects on vegetation cover. It is, therefore, essential for the Taihu Lake Basin to control the population growth, optimize the employment structure, and accelerate the construction of ecological civilization and vegetation restoration, for the purpose of mitigating the detrimental effect of population and industrial development on the vegetation, enhancing citizens' environmental protection consciousness, and reducing destruction of the ecological environment.

Key words: Taihu Lake Basin, vegetation cover, spatio-temporal variation, trend analysis, influencing factor

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