The role of human activity in decreasing ecologically sound land use in China

Abstract

AbstractEcologically sound land (ESL) represents a meaningful geographical spatial unit that provides ecological goods and services at various scales. However, few studies focusing on national‐ or regional‐scale changes in ESL use and the degradation of the land ecosystem in China have been based on reliable and up‐to‐date land survey data. The study aimed to analyze the relationship between the changes in ESL use and human activities and regional policies, as well as land ecosystem degradation. The results indicated that land capitalization, resulting from rapid industrialization, urbanization, and the effects of regional land policies and large land projects, caused a clear decrease in grassland and wetland ecosystems, and an increase in forest ecosystem, varying in extent during different periods. Land ecosystem degradation, according to the decreased ecosystem service provision index (ESPI), was concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta, the southwestern regions, and the Inner Mongolia Plateau, where human activity was concentrated. From 2009 to 2015, such degraded land amounted to 9.51% of the Counties. The degradation in ESL use caused a decrease in the ecological goods and services provided by the ecosystems. Land ecosystem degradation resulting from the abandonment of natural grassland and farmland is a prominent and complex problem in China. Optimizing the regional spatial patterns of ESL use was critical for sustainable ecosystem management. Balancing compromises and synergies between providing ecological goods or socioeconomic benefits and ecological costs at a regional or national scale was found crucial for land policy making.