Abstract
The Eastern Sichuan Region (ESR) is one of the key pilot regions for Grain for Green Program (GGP) implementation in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River basin in China. Therefore, monitoring the effect of the GGP on the ecosystem in the ESR is important. In this study, the Mann–Kendall Trend Test Model was used to ascertain the changes in vegetation coverage. The transfer matrix was used to explore the changes in Land Use/Land Cover (LULC). LULC change direction model (LCDM) was used to preliminarily assess the impact of LULC changes on the ecosystem. The Pressure–State–Response model (PSR), reflecting the human pressure and the ecosystem state, was applied to analyze the spatial–temporal characteristics of the ecosystem health index (EHI). The time span of this study was from 1990 to 2015. The results show that the vegetation coverage changed significantly (p < 0.05), and ecosystem function developed towards positive because of the increase in the coverage of forestland and water land and decrease in the coverage of farmland. The spatial distribution of the EHI was influenced by the pattern of land use. The eastern region, associated with a large area of forestland and grassland, has a low population density and a low degree of land use exploitation, resulting in a high EHI value. The situation was completely opposite in the western region. Regarding the temporal scale, in spite of the decreasing pressure indicator, most counties had experienced an increase in the EHI. There was a clear correlation between the increased EHI values and the restored areas at the third stage (2000–2005) (p < 0.05, r2 = 0.164), but this correlation disappeared at the latter stage (2005–2015) (p > 0.05). The changes showed significant variations in time and area because of differences in the process and the intensity of the implication of the GGP.
Highlights
In recent decades, the poor management of ecosystems has caused many serious ecological problems throughout the world [1,2]
The results show that the LULC change direction model (LCDM) value increased significantly after 2000, implying changes in LULC had a beneficial impact on ecosystem function in the study area since 2000
The Mann–Kendall Trend Test Model was used to ascertain the changes in vegetation coverage
Summary
The poor management of ecosystems has caused many serious ecological problems throughout the world [1,2]. In China, the world’s largest developing country, protecting the ecological environment and maintaining ecosystem health has always been a governmental concern [3]. The Grain for Green Program (GGP) was launched by the Chinese government in 1999 and implemented in 25 provinces in 2002 to mitigate the effect of soil erosion and restore ecosystems by planting trees on former steep areas of cropland or uncultivated barren land [4,5,6]. From 1999 to 2014, 29.8 million hectares of steep sloping cropland and barren land was afforested, and a further 5.33 million hectares. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 2112; doi:10.3390/ijerph16122112 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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