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Spatially Explicit Reconstruction of Anthropogenic Grassland Cover Change in China from 1700 to 2000

Author

Listed:
  • Fan Yang

    (Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China)

  • Fanneng He

    (Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China)

  • Shicheng Li

    (School of Public Administration, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China)

Abstract

Long-term anthropogenic land use and land cover changes (LULCCs) are regarded as an important component of past global change. The past 300 years have witnessed dramatic changes in LULCC in China, and this has resulted in the large-scale conversion of natural vegetation to agricultural landscapes. Studies of past LULCC in China have mainly focused on cropland and forest; however, estimates of grassland cover remain rare due to the scarcity of grassland-related historical documents. Based on a qualitative analysis of trends in grassland cover in China and their driving forces, we devised different reconstruction methods for grassland cover in eastern and western China and then developed a 10 km database of grassland cover in China for the past 300 years. The grassland area in western China decreased from 295.54 × 10 6 ha in 1700 to 269.78 × 10 6 ha in 2000 due to the increase in population and cropland, especially in northeastern China (Heilongjiang, Jilin, and Liaoning), Gan-Ning, and Xinjiang. In eastern China, grassland is degraded secondary vegetation characterized by shrub grassland and meadow grassland, which is scattered in the hills and mountains; its area increased from 7.30 × 10 6 ha in 1700 to 16.43 × 10 6 ha in 1950 due to the increase in the degraded land caused by deforestation.

Suggested Citation

  • Fan Yang & Fanneng He & Shicheng Li, 2020. "Spatially Explicit Reconstruction of Anthropogenic Grassland Cover Change in China from 1700 to 2000," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-15, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jlands:v:9:y:2020:i:8:p:270-:d:398128
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Ryan E. Hughes & Erika Weiberg & Anton Bonnier & Martin Finné & Jed O. Kaplan, 2018. "Quantifying Land Use in Past Societies from Cultural Practice and Archaeological Data," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(1), pages 1-21, January.
    2. Jed O. Kaplan & Kristen M. Krumhardt & Marie-José Gaillard & Shinya Sugita & Anna-Kari Trondman & Ralph Fyfe & Laurent Marquer & Florence Mazier & Anne Birgitte Nielsen, 2017. "Constraining the Deforestation History of Europe: Evaluation of Historical Land Use Scenarios with Pollen-Based Land Cover Reconstructions," Land, MDPI, vol. 6(4), pages 1-20, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Fan Yang & Shicheng Li & Yang Gao & Meijiao Li & Pengfei Wu, 2022. "Inconsistent Carbon Budget Estimation Using Dynamic/Static Carbon Density under Land Use and Land Cover Change: A Case Study in Henan Province, China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-14, December.

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