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Human Impact on Vegetation Dynamics around Lhasa, Southern Tibetan Plateau, China

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  • Haidong Li

    (Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing 210042, China)

  • Yingkui Li

    (Department of Geography, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA)

  • Yuanyun Gao

    (Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing 210042, China)

  • Changxin Zou

    (Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing 210042, China)

  • Shouguang Yan

    (Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing 210042, China)

  • Jixi Gao

    (Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing 210042, China)

Abstract

Human impact plays an increasing role on vegetation change even on the Tibetan Plateau, an area that is commonly regarded as an ideal place to study climate change. We evaluate the nature and extent of human impact on vegetation dynamics by the comparison of two areas: the relative highly populated Lhasa area and a nearby less populated Lhari County. Our results indicate that human impact has mainly decreased vegetation greenness within 20 km of the urban area and major constructions during 1999–2013. However, the impact of human activities in a relatively large area is still minor and does not reverse the major trends of vegetation dynamics caused by the warming temperature in recent decades. It seems that the impact of anthropogenic factors on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) trend is more apparent in the Lhasa area than in Lhari County. The major anthropogenic driving factor for vegetation browning in the Lhasa area is livestock number, while the factors, including the number of rural laborers and artificial forest areas, are positively correlated with the annual NDVI increase. The similar relationship between the annual NDVI and driving factors appeared in Lhari County, except for artificial forest areas. The warming temperature and the change in precipitation played dominant roles on vegetation greening in Lhari County than that in the Lhasa area.

Suggested Citation

  • Haidong Li & Yingkui Li & Yuanyun Gao & Changxin Zou & Shouguang Yan & Jixi Gao, 2016. "Human Impact on Vegetation Dynamics around Lhasa, Southern Tibetan Plateau, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-16, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:8:y:2016:i:11:p:1146-:d:82406
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Jane Qiu, 2008. "China: The third pole," Nature, Nature, vol. 454(7203), pages 393-396, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jinghui Qi & Shuwen Niu & Yifang Zhao & Man Liang & Libang Ma & Yongxia Ding, 2017. "Responses of Vegetation Growth to Climatic Factors in Shule River Basin in Northwest China: A Panel Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(3), pages 1-22, March.
    2. CholHyok Kang & Yili Zhang & Zhaofeng Wang & Linshan Liu & Huamin Zhang & Yilgwang Jo, 2017. "The Driving Force Analysis of NDVI Dynamics in the Trans-Boundary Tumen River Basin between 2000 and 2015," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-19, December.
    3. Maurício Lamano Ferreira & Luciana Cantanhede De Souza & Diego De Melo Conti & Cristiano Capellani Quaresma & Armando Reis Tavares & Karina Gonçalves da Silva & Claudia Terezinha Kniess & Plínio Barbo, 2018. "Soil Biodiversity in Urban Forests as a Consequence of Litterfall Management: Implications for São Paulo’s Ecosystem Services," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-13, March.
    4. Kai Jin & Fei Wang & Pengfei Li, 2018. "Responses of Vegetation Cover to Environmental Change in Large Cities of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, January.

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