Modeling the Driving Forces of the Land Use and Land Cover Changes Along the Upper Yangtze River of China |
| |
Authors: | Run Sheng Yin Qing Xiang Jin Tao Xu Xiang Zheng Deng |
| |
Institution: | (1) Department of Forestry, Michigan State University, 126 Natural Resources Building, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA;(2) Department of Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China;(3) Institute of Geographic Science and Natural Resource Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China |
| |
Abstract: | Induced by high population density, rapid but uneven economic growth, and historic resource exploitation, China’s upper Yangtze
basin has witnessed remarkable changes in land use and cover, which have resulted in severe environmental consequences, such
as flooding, soil erosion, and habitat loss. This article examines the causes of land use and land cover change (LUCC) along
the Jinsha River, one primary section of the upper Yangtze, aiming to better understand the human impact on the dynamic LUCC
process and to support necessary policy actions for more sustainable land use and environmental protection. Using a repeated
cross-sectional dataset covering 31 counties over four time periods from 1975 to 2000, we develop a fractional logit model
to empirically determine the effects of socioeconomic and institutional factors on changes for cropland, forestland, and grassland.
It is shown that population expansion, food self-sufficiency, and better market access drove cropland expansion, while industrial
development contributed significantly to the increase of forestland and the decrease of other land uses. Similarly, stable
tenure had a positive effect on forest protection. Moreover, past land use decisions were less significantly influenced by
distorted market signals. We believe that these and other findings carry important policy implications. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|