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The relative role of climate change and human activities in the desertification process in Yulin region of northwest China

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Abstract

To overcome the shortcoming of existing studies, this paper put forward a statistical vegetation–climate relationship model with integrated temporal and spatial characteristics. Based on this model, we quantitatively discriminated on the grid scale the relative role of climate change and human activities in the desertification dynamics from 1986 to 2000 in Yulin region. Yulin region’s desertification development occurred mainly in the southern hilly and gully area and its reverse in the northwest sand and marsh area. This spatial pattern was especially evident and has never changed thoroughly. From the first time section (1986–1990) to the second (1991–1995), the desertification was developing as a whole, and either in the desertification development district or in the reverse district human activities’ role was always occupying an overwhelmingly dominant position (they were 98.7% and 101.4%, respectively), the role of climate change was extremely slight. From the second time section (1991–1995) to the third (1996–2000), the desertification process was reaching a state of stability, in the desertification development district the role of climate change was nearly equivalent to that of human activities (they were 46.2% and 53.8% separately), and yet in the desertification reverse district, the role of human activities came up to 119.0%, the role of climate change amounted to −19.0%. In addition, the relative role of climate change and human activities possessed great spatial heterogeneity. The above conclusion rather coincides with the qualitative analysis in many literatures, which indicates that this method has certain rationality and can be utilized as a reference for the monitoring and studying of desertification in other areas.

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Acknowledgments

This paper was supported by State Key Development Program for Basic Research of China (2009CB421308), Open Research Fund Program of Key Laboratory of Digital Mapping and Land Information Application Engineering,State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (GCWD200905), and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (20110490861).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, No.320 Donggang West Road, Lanzhou, 730000, Gansu Province, China

    Tao Wang, Jian-guo Sun & Chang-zhen Yan

  2. Mathematics, Physics and Software Engineering School, Lanzhou Jiaotong University, No.88 Anning West Road, Lanzhou, 730070, Gansu Province, China

    Jian-guo Sun & Hui Han

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  1. Tao Wang
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  2. Jian-guo Sun
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  3. Hui Han
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Correspondence to Jian-guo Sun.

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Wang, T., Sun, Jg., Han, H. et al. The relative role of climate change and human activities in the desertification process in Yulin region of northwest China. Environ Monit Assess 184, 7165–7173 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2488-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2488-6

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