IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/forpol/v76y2017icp56-64.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Natural disasters and economic development drive forest dynamics and transition in China

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Kerong
  • Song, Conghe
  • Zhang, Yulong
  • Zhang, Quanfa

Abstract

China has been implementing the world's most ambitious afforestation and forest conservation programs and undergoing rapid forest expansion since 1990s, thus, understanding the forest dynamics in China has global implications for sustainable forest management. Through analyzing forest area, biomass dynamics, and factors influencing deforestation and forest restoration, we found that the natural disasters and economic development drove forest dynamics and transition in China. The growth of the economy and population drove up demand for forest products, facilitating deforestation. The booming economy also boosted government's investment in forest restoration and conservation programs. Natural disasters damaged and frequently destroyed forests, but they also served as stimuli for the authorities to adopt remedy forestry policies and programs that ultimately led to forest increase. Nationwide, increasing peaks of annual afforestation were observed in the late 1950s, early 1980s, and early 2000s, and the newly increased area closed for forest restoration reached the peak in 1998. All these peaks were closely associated with peaks of natural disasters (i.e., floods, drought, and dust storm events). Based on the dynamics of forest area, biomass and forest consumption over the past 40years, forest transition occurred during the late 1980s to the early 1990s, and it also strengthened the carbon (C) sink function of forests in China (with an increasing rate of 0.137PgCyr.−1 during 1994–2008). Overall, our study highlighted the influences of natural disasters and economic development on the forestry policies and forest C dynamics in the newly industrialized country.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Kerong & Song, Conghe & Zhang, Yulong & Zhang, Quanfa, 2017. "Natural disasters and economic development drive forest dynamics and transition in China," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 56-64.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:forpol:v:76:y:2017:i:c:p:56-64
    DOI: 10.1016/j.forpol.2015.08.010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S138993411530040X
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.forpol.2015.08.010?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kamaljit S. Bawa & S. Dayanandan, 1997. "Socioeconomic factors and tropical deforestation," Nature, Nature, vol. 386(6625), pages 562-563, April.
    2. Andy White, 2011. "Cash alone will not slow forest carbon emissions," Nature, Nature, vol. 471(7338), pages 267-267, March.
    3. Miyamoto, Motoe & Mohd Parid, Mamat & Noor Aini, Zakaria & Michinaka, Tetsuya, 2014. "Proximate and underlying causes of forest cover change in Peninsular Malaysia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 18-25.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Santiago, Anderson Ribeiro & Zarate do Couto, Hilton Thadeu, 2022. "Sampling plan for socioeconomic development indicators in Brazil: practical implications when considering precision and cost," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    2. Junmin Wei & Manhong Shen, 2022. "Analysis of the Efficiency of Forest Carbon Sinks and Its Influencing Factors—Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-17, September.
    3. Michael Nassl & Jörg Löffler, 2019. "How Societal Values Determine the Local Use of Forest Resources—Findings from the Rural Community Kegong (Northwest Yunnan, China)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-16, June.
    4. Tian, Xu & Bruckner, Martin & Geng, Yong & Bleischwitz, Raimund, 2019. "Trends and driving forces of China’s virtual land consumption and trade," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Li, Lingchao & Chhatre, Ashwini & Liu, Jinlong, 2019. "Multiple drivers and pathways to China's forest transition," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C), pages 1-1.
    6. Qi Cai & Yushi Cai & Yali Wen, 2018. "Spatially Differentiated Trends between Forest Pest-Induced Losses and Measures for Their Control in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, December.
    7. Zhang, Qian & Wang, Rong & Tang, Decai & Boamah, Valentina, 2023. "The role and transmission mechanism of forest resource abundance on low-carbon economic development in the Yangtze River Delta region: Insights from the COP26 targets," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PA).
    8. Hag Mo Kang & Dae Sung Lee & Soo Im Choi & Sohui Jeon & Chong Kyu Lee & Hyun Kim, 2020. "Problems and Challenges: A Private Forest Purchase Method for National Forest Expansion in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-13, October.
    9. Yang Ren & Jari Kuuluvainen & Anne Toppinen & Shunbo Yao & Sami Berghäll & Heimo Karppinen & Caixia Xue & Liu Yang, 2018. "The Effect of China’s New Circular Collective Forest Tenure Reform on Household Non-Timber Forest Product Production in Natural Forest Protection Project Regions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-17, April.
    10. Furdychko, Orest & Drebot, Oksana & Palianychko, Nina & Dankevych, Stepan & Okabe, Yoshihiko, 2021. "Ecological and economic reporting as an indicator of the state of forestry land use," Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, Agricultural and Resource Economics: International Scientific E-Journal, vol. 7(2), June.
    11. Valente, Donatella & Miglietta, Pier Paolo & Porrini, Donatella & Pasimeni, Maria Rita & Zurlini, Giovanni & Petrosillo, Irene, 2019. "A first analysis on the need to integrate ecological aspects into financial insurance," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 392(C), pages 117-127.
    12. Wang, Ying & Zhang, Qi & Bilsborrow, Richard & Tao, Shiqi & Chen, Xiaodong & Sullivan-Wiley, Kira & Huang, Qingfeng & Li, Jiangfeng & Song, Conghe, 2020. "Effects of payments for ecosystem services programs in China on rural household labor allocation and land use: Identifying complex pathways," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    13. Longhui Lu & An Huang & Yueqing Xu & Raymundo Marcos-Martinez & Yaming Duan & Zhengxin Ji, 2020. "The Influences of Livelihood and Land Use on the Variation of Forest Transition in a Typical Mountainous Area of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(22), pages 1-23, November.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jaza Folefack, Achille Jean & Ngo Njiki, Marie Gaelle & Darr, Dietrich, 2019. "Safeguarding forests from smallholder oil palm expansion by more intensive production? The case of Ngwei forest (Cameroon)," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 45-61.
    2. Miyamoto, Motoe, 2020. "Poverty reduction saves forests sustainably: Lessons for deforestation policies," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 127(C).
    3. Vicente Lopez‐Ibor Mayor & Fazlun Khalid & Nafeez Mosaddeq Ahmed, 2021. "EU–Asian–American Partnership for a Third Industrial Revolution: Transitioning to High Productivity, Sustainable Infrastructures in the Age of COVID‐19," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 12(3), pages 380-391, May.
    4. Li, Dongmei & Yang, Yuanyuan & Du, Guoming & Huang, Shanlin, 2021. "Understanding the contradiction between rural poverty and rich cultivated land resources: A case study of Heilongjiang Province in Northeast China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    5. Varkkey, Helena & Tyson, Adam & Choiruzzad, Shofwan Al Banna, 2018. "Palm oil intensification and expansion in Indonesia and Malaysia: Environmental and socio-political factors influencing policy," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 148-159.
    6. Shapiro, Aurélie C. & Bernhard, Katie P. & Zenobi, Stefano & Müller, Daniel & Aguilar-Amuchastegui, Naikoa & d'Annunzio, Rémi, 2021. "Proximate causes of forest degradation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo vary in space and time," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 2.
    7. Britta Rude & Bennet Niederhöfer & Fabio Ferrara, 2020. "ifo Migrationsmonitor: Entwaldung und Migration," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 73(09), pages 66-74, September.
    8. Prokop, Paweł, 2018. "Tea plantations as a driving force of long-term land use and population changes in the Eastern Himalayan piedmont," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 51-62.
    9. Handavu, Ferdinand & Chirwa, Paxie W.C. & Syampungani, Stephen, 2019. "Socio-economic factors influencing land-use and land-cover changes in the miombo woodlands of the Copperbelt province in Zambia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 75-94.
    10. Tetsuya Michinaka, 2018. "Approximating Forest Resource Dynamics in Peninsular Malaysia Using Parametric and Nonparametric Models, and Its Implications for Establishing Forest Reference (Emission) Levels under REDD+," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-16, June.
    11. Wei Kit Phang & Mohd Hafizi Abdul Hamid & Jenarun Jelip & Rose Nani Mudin & Ting-Wu Chuang & Yee Ling Lau & Mun Yik Fong, 2020. "Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Plasmodium knowlesi Infection in Peninsular Malaysia, 2011 to 2018," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-21, December.
    12. Nobuo Imai & Takuya Furukawa & Riyou Tsujino & Shumpei Kitamura & Takakazu Yumoto, 2018. "Factors affecting forest area change in Southeast Asia during 1980-2010," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(5), pages 1-14, May.
    13. Mili Ghosh & Bhaskar Sinha, 2016. "Impact of forest policies on timber production in India: a review," Natural Resources Forum, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 40(1-2), pages 62-76, February.
    14. Onur Selcuk & Hatice Karakas & Beykan Cizel & Emre Ipekci Cetin, 2023. "How does tourism affect protected areas?: A multi-criteria decision making application in UNESCO natural heritage sites," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 117(2), pages 1923-1944, June.
    15. Deng, Dandan & Dong, Jiayun & Zhang, Yiwen & Liang, Wenyuan & Liu, Kun & Li, Lingchao, 2023. "Analysis of the environmental Kuznets curve for forest fragmentation: The case of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in China," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    16. Eskinder Gidey & Oagile Dikinya & Reuben Sebego & Eagilwe Segosebe & Amanuel Zenebe & Said Mussa & Paidamwoyo Mhangara & Emiru Birhane, 2023. "Land Use and Land Cover Change Determinants in Raya Valley, Tigray, Northern Ethiopian Highlands," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-15, February.
    17. Séverin Biaou & Gerard Nounagnon Gouwakinnou & Honoré Samadori Sorotori Biaou & Marc Sèwanou Tovihessi & Beranger Kohomlan Awessou & Fiacre Codjo Ahononga & Felix Ogoubiyi Houéto, 2022. "Identifying the land use and land cover change drivers: methods and case studies of two forest reserves in Northern Benin," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(8), pages 9885-9905, August.
    18. Valente, Donatella & Miglietta, Pier Paolo & Porrini, Donatella & Pasimeni, Maria Rita & Zurlini, Giovanni & Petrosillo, Irene, 2019. "A first analysis on the need to integrate ecological aspects into financial insurance," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 392(C), pages 117-127.
    19. Masheli Chakma & Umer Hayat & Jinghui Meng & Mohammed A Hassan, 2023. "An Assessment of Landscape and Land Use/Cover Change and Its Implications for Sustainable Landscape Management in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-20, August.
    20. Leblond, Jean-Philippe, 2019. "Revisiting forest transition explanations: The role of “push” factors and adaptation strategies in forest expansion in northern Phetchabun, Thailand," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 195-214.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:forpol:v:76:y:2017:i:c:p:56-64. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/forpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.