Forest Quality Dynamic Change and Its Driving Factors Accompanied by Forest Transition in China

Li Gu,Zhiwen Gong,Yuankun Bu

doi:10.3390/f12060733

Li Gu, Zhiwen Gong + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/f12060733

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Abstract

As ecological and environmental issues have received continuous attention, forest transition has gradually become the frontier and a hot issue, which have implications for biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. In this study, the spatial-temporal dynamics and the spatial determinants of forest quality were investigated using spatial econometric regression models at the province level, which contained 31 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in China. The results showed that forest area, forest volume, forest coverage, and forest quality have greatly increased as of 2018, but uneven forest distribution is an important feature of forest adaptation to the environment. The global Moran’s I value was greater than 0.3, and forest quality of the province level had a positive spatial correlation and exhibited obvious spatial clustering characteristics. In particular, the spatial expansion of forest quality had shown an accelerated concentration. The most suitable model for empirical analysis and interpretation was the Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) with fixed effects. The average annual precipitation and the area ratio of the collective forest were positively correlated with forested quality (significance level 1%). Ultimately, this framework could guide future research, describe actual and potential changes in forest quality associated with forest transitions, and promote management plans that incorporate forest area changes.

Highlights

Forest quality refers to the functions and values that reflect all the ecological, social, and economic benefits of the forest, which includes the inherent attributes of the forest itself, and the service efficiency provided by the forest [1]
In order to describe actual and potential changes in forest quality associated with forest transitions, the spatial-temporal dynamics and the spatial determinants of forest quality were used at the province level, and the results would enrich the research cases of forest transition and provide a theoretical basis for a more comprehensive and effective promotion of forest resource to high-quality transition in China
1a–c), which was the inflection point the end of the 1970s to the early 1980s in China (Figure 1a–c), which was the inflection of the forest transition

Summary

Introduction

Forest quality refers to the functions and values that reflect all the ecological, social, and economic benefits of the forest, which includes the inherent attributes of the forest itself, and the service efficiency provided by the forest [1]. Driving mechanisms of forest quality have become a frontier in international environmental and economic sustainable development [7], which are affected by natural environmental factors, but are significantly affected by the macro environment of social development [8]. They contain the role of economic growth mechanisms in the allocation of forest resources, the changes in forest management practices in response to climate change, demographic factors, and national policy [9]

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