Spatio-Temporal Development Evolution of Forestry in China

Abstract

Since 1949, China's forestry development has made remarkable achievements. To summarize "China's Experience", the paper built a logical analysis framework aided by the literature review; adopted the qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis methods to systematically study the evolution of the spatial and temporal pattern of China's forestry development in the past 70 years (1949-2020) and the next 30 years (2021-2050). The results show that the development evolution of forestry can be divided into three stages consisting of nine sub-stages from 1949 to 2050. The first stage is focusing on timber production during 1949-1998, the second stage is focusing on ecological conservation during 1998-2018, and the third stage is focusing on high-quality development during 2018-2050. The faced situations, main signs, evolution process, basic characteristics, and target effects vary by stage. The four drivers of the spatio-temporal development evolution of forestry in China are the 'administrative system', 'laws and policies', 'investment', and 'science and technology'. The "China's Experience" is of great significance for the forestry development of other developing countries in the world.