Forest fragmentation trends and modes in China: Implications for conservation and restoration

作者：Yaotong Cai, Peng Zhu, Xiaoping Liu, Yan Zhou · 发表于：International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1016/j.jag.2024.104094 · 被引用次数：16 · 研究领域：Forest, Soil, and Plant Ecology in China、Plant Ecology and Soil Science、Land Use and Ecosystem Services

• First comprehensive study of forest fragmentation trends in China. • 79 % of counties exhibit defragmentation, while 5 % are experiencing fragmentation. • 29.5 % of newly planted forests have transitioned to forest cores, with 70.5 % forming edges. • Agriculture and urbanization are responsible for 25 % of forest fragmentation in China. • Both agricultural expansion and urbanization are intensifying forest fragmentation. Forest fragmentation is a significant issue in China; however, a comprehensive understanding and assessment of the temporal trends and spatial modes of forest fragmentation remain lacking. For the first time, this study employs an object-based morphological image processing method to conduct multiscale spatiotemporal identification and analysis of China’s forest landscape from 1985 to 2023. Observations reveal an overall improvement in the integrity of China’s forest landscape from 1985 to 2023, with 79 % of counties showing a positive trend in forest landscape integrity and 5 % experiencing forest fragmentation. The forest core area in China has almost tripled from 1985 to 2023, expanding from 0.57 to 1.53 million km 2 . Nevertheless, 32.04 % of forests in China remain within 100 m of a non-forest edge, significantly higher than the global average (∼20 %). From 1985 to 2023, out of the 0.33 million km 2 of newly planted forests, 29.5 % became forest cores, while the remaining 70.5 % constituted forest edges. This underscores the need for government plannin...