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China’s Land-Use Changes during the Past 300 Years: A Historical Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Lijuan Miao

    (College of Remote Sensing and Geography, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China)

  • Feng Zhu

    (State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Zhanli Sun

    (Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO), Halle (Saale) 06120, Germany)

  • John C. Moore

    (State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China)

  • Xuefeng Cui

    (College of System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
    School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland)

Abstract

Understanding the processes of historical land-use change is crucial to the research of global environmental sustainability. Here we examine and attempt to disentangle the evolutionary interactions between land-use change and its underlying causes through a historical lens. We compiled and synthesized historical land-use change and various biophysical, political, socioeconomic, and technical datasets, from the Qing dynasty to modern China. The analysis reveals a clear transition period between the 1950s and the 1980s. Before the 1950s, cropland expanded while forested land diminished, which was also accompanied by increasing population; after the 1980s land-use change exhibited new characteristics: changes in cropland, and decoupling of forest from population as a result of agricultural intensification and globalization. Chinese political policies also played an important and complex role, especially during the 1950s–1980s transition periods. Overall, climate change plays an indirect but fundamental role in the dynamics of land use via a series of various cascading effects such as shrinking agricultural production proceeding to population collapse and outbreaks of war. The expected continuation of agricultural intensification this century should be able to support increasing domestic demand for richer diets, but may not be compatible with long-term environmental sustainability.

Suggested Citation

  • Lijuan Miao & Feng Zhu & Zhanli Sun & John C. Moore & Xuefeng Cui, 2016. "China’s Land-Use Changes during the Past 300 Years: A Historical Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-16, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:13:y:2016:i:9:p:847-:d:76725
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    Cited by:

    1. Fan Yang & Fanneng He & Shicheng Li & Meijiao Li, 2019. "Exploring Spatiotemporal Pattern of Grassland Cover in Western China from 1661 to 1996," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(17), pages 1-17, August.
    2. Yunfeng Hu & Batu Nacun, 2018. "An Analysis of Land-Use Change and Grassland Degradation from a Policy Perspective in Inner Mongolia, China, 1990–2015," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-22, November.
    3. Raju Rai & Yili Zhang & Basanta Paudel & Bipin Kumar Acharya & Laxmi Basnet, 2018. "Land Use and Land Cover Dynamics and Assessing the Ecosystem Service Values in the Trans-Boundary Gandaki River Basin, Central Himalayas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-22, August.
    4. Simon Odawa & Yongwon Seo, 2019. "Water Tower Ecosystems under the Influence of Land Cover Change and Population Growth: Focus on Mau Water Tower in Kenya," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(13), pages 1-17, June.
    5. Roberta Fontan Pereira Galvão & Andrea Yuri Flores Urushima & Shoichiro Hara & Wil De Jong, 2020. "Analysis of Land Transition Features and Mechanisms in Peripheral Areas of Kyoto (1950–1960)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-22, June.
    6. Eshetu Shifaw & Jinming Sha & Xiaomei Li, 2020. "Detection of spatiotemporal dynamics of land cover and its drivers using remote sensing and landscape metrics (Pingtan Island, China)," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 22(2), pages 1269-1298, February.
    7. Bingshun He & Xianlong Huang & Meihong Ma & Qingrui Chang & Yong Tu & Qing Li & Ke Zhang & Yang Hong, 2018. "Analysis of flash flood disaster characteristics in China from 2011 to 2015," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 90(1), pages 407-420, January.

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