Migration of Rural Residents to Urban Areas Drives Grassland Vegetation Increase in China’s Loess Plateau

Jian-Zhou Wei, Kai Zheng, Feng Zhang, Chao Fang, Yu-Yu Zhou, Xue-Cao Li, Feng-Min Li and Jian-Sheng Ye
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Jian-Zhou Wei: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, No. 222, South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou 730000, China
Kai Zheng: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, No. 222, South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou 730000, China
Feng Zhang: Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Wetland Ecosystem Protection and Restoration, School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China
Chao Fang: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, No. 222, South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou 730000, China
Yu-Yu Zhou: Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
Xue-Cao Li: Department of Geological and Atmospheric Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011, USA
Feng-Min Li: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, No. 222, South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou 730000, China
Jian-Sheng Ye: State Key Laboratory of Grassland Agro-Ecosystems, School of Life Sciences, Lanzhou University, No. 222, South Tianshui Road, Lanzhou 730000, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 23, 1-18

Abstract: Human activities are critical factors influencing ecosystem sustainability. However, knowledge on regarding the mechanisms underlying the response of vegetation dynamics to human activities remains limited. To detect the driving factors and their individual contribution to the grassland vegetation dynamics in China’s Loess Plateau, a structural equation model (SEM) and a principal component regression model were built. The SEM showed that population change and urbanization, temperature and humidity, and agriculture and economy accounted for 62.5%, 31.2%, and 7.7%, respectively, of the overall impact directly affecting grassland vegetation dynamics. Furthermore, the principal component regression model demonstrated that the effects of the urbanization rate on the grassland above-ground biomass exceeded those of the other factors. The agriculture population had the maximum negative effect on grassland area. The higher the urbanization rate means the higher the number of residents migrates from rural to urban areas. Following this argument, the disturbances of human activities to grassland vegetation were expected to gradually decrease in rural areas, where the vast majority of the Loess Plateau is located. The migration of rural residents to urban areas promoted the increase in biomass and areas of grassland vegetation. Our findings suggest that the effect of urbanization should be considered when assessing vegetation change.

Keywords: grassland vegetation dynamics; urbanization; structural equation model; Loess Plateau; human activity; climate change (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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