Quantifying the Compound Factors of Forest Land Changes in the Pearl River Delta, China

Xinchuang Chen,Xiaoqian Li,Panpan Hu,Feng Li,Yinhong Hu

doi:10.3390/rs13101911

Abstract

Forestland has been a focus of urbanization research, yet the effect of urbanization on forest land change on an urban agglomeration scale still remains unclear. Screening and quantifying the main factors affecting forest land changes have practical significance for land planning and management. Considering the characteristics of the region and referring to related studies, 26 natural, social, and economic factors were screened in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), where land-use changes are intense. Geographically weighted regression and the relative importance were used to quantify the spatial heterogeneity of these main factors. There was still a large area of deforestation evident in the PRD with its afforestation area of 604.3 km2 (mainly converted from cropland) and a deforestation area of 1544.6 km2 (mainly converted from built-up land). The effects of socio-economic factors were the main factors for these forest land changes, especially the rural population and migration. Deforestation mainly occurs in urban growth boundaries, which will be the focus area for further land management. These main factors have the potential to provide a methodological contribution to land-use changes, and the results of this study can provide a solid theoretical basis for forest land management and urban planning (e.g., balancing expansion of built-up land and ecological protection that advances forest land protection and restoration).

Highlights

Urbanization has been an increasing global phenomenon during the past century [1].China, in particular, is experiencing an important stage of urbanization, with its urban population rapidly increasing from 17% in 1978 to 61% in 2019
Afforestation was distributed in a scattered pattern and was mainly concentrated in the west and south of the urban agglomeration
The findings of this study will help reveal the mechanism of forest land changes under different urbanization factors in urban agglomeration

Summary

Introduction

In particular, is experiencing an important stage of urbanization, with its urban population rapidly increasing from 17% in 1978 to 61% in 2019. This rapid urbanization has caused dramatic changes in regional land use, the most significant of which are the increase in urban built-up land and the significant decrease in forest land and grassland [2,3]. The area of forest land and grassland in China had decreased by nearly 16.4 × 103 km from 2010 to 2015 [4]. The reduction and degradation of forest land directly affected the composition of ecosystems’ species, increased ecological risks, and decreased the quality of human settlements [5].

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Results

Discussion

Conclusion