Abstract
Ecological degradation impedes sustainable development in Southwest China, and artificial afforestation has been a key strategy of the Government of China to effectively curb it. However, the water consumed by large-scale afforestation has a huge impact on water supply in Southwest China, which also arise a new challenge causing severe drought here recently. In order to determine the impact of artificial afforestation on the region, this study conducts spatiotemporal, abrupt change, and correlation and regression analyses. Results show that although water resources fluctuate, they exhibit a general declining trend. Especially after 2000, water resources showed a significant downward trend. In terms of spatial tendency, there has been an obvious decrease in water resources in the Sichuan Basin, the mountainous region of eastern Chongqing, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau. Due to extensive afforestation and vegetation cover growth, there has been an increase in most trends of forest-shrub ecosystems, resulting in substantially enhanced evapotranspiration effects. The uptake of water by afforestation in Southwest China could reach 40.42 billion m3, which is equivalent to 10.69% of its annul available water supply (1980–2015). Generally, afforestation disrupts the water balance of the region. This study recommends substituting afforestation for natural restoration or, at the very least, selecting vegetation that requires less water for the restoration of the ecological environment of Southwest China, which provide scientific method for regional sustainable development.
Highlights
The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report on climate change stated that global surface temperatures rose by 0.85 °C from 1880 to 2012
We found that there was a close relationship between water resources and precipitation anomalies
We find that the water consumption of plantation since 2000 in Southwest China is 40.42 billion m3, which is equivalent to 10.69% (Fig. 3b) of water supply in the whole year
Summary
The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report on climate change stated that global surface temperatures rose by 0.85 °C from 1880 to 2012 (from 0.65 °C to 1.06 °C, respectively). Severe droughts are caused by a decrease in precipitation, which leads to shortages in water supplies, and such droughts are harmful to life, production, and ecology Events such as these have dual attributes, that is, natural attributes and social attributes. The climate change theory states that the El Niño phenomenon causes insufficient water distribution in Southwest China, and, coupled with high local www.nature.com/scientificreports temperatures and high evaporation rates, drought will result. The area as an eco-fragile region is known for its severe soil erosion and the tendency to develop rocky desertification This is due to carbonate rocks being exposed to the environment in combination with high solubility and low physical weathering rate. Due to the combination of man-made and natural factors, the Plateau has suffered serious ecological degradation To alleviate this phenomenon and protect regional water resources, the Chinese government has implemented large-scale afforestation in Southwest China. Artificial and natural forests are both widely distributed in Southwest China; this region is the ideal place to study differences in natural and artificial forests in response to drought
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