Identification of the key ecological factors influencing vegetation degradation in semi-arid agro-pastoral ecotone considering spatial scales |
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| Institution: | 1. Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, General Botany, University of Potsdam, Maulbeerallee 3, 14469 Potsdam, Germany;2. Department of Biodiversity and Landscape Ecology, Faculty of Biology and Chemistry, Osnabrück University, Barbarastraße 13, 49076 Osnabrück, Germany;3. Institute of Biodiversity and Landscape Ecology (IBL), Hafenweg 31, 48155 Münster, Germany;1. Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation, Taizhou University, Taizhou 318000, Zhejiang Province, China;2. School of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China;1. Unidad de Recursos Naturales, Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A. C., Calle 43 Núm. 130, Colonia Chuburná de Hidalgo, Mérida, 97205, Yucatán, Mexico;2. Instituto de Ecología Aplicada, Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas, Avenida División del Golfo Núm. 356, Colonia Libertad, Ciudad Victoria, 87019, Tamaulipas, Mexico;3. Functional Ecology Group, Institute of Biology and Environmental Sciences, University of Oldenburg, Box 2503, 26111 Oldenburg, Germany;1. Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic;2. Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Branišovská 31, 370 05 České Budějovice, Czech Republic;1. School of Biology & Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland;2. University of Latvia, Institute of Biology, 3 Miera Str., LV-2169, Salaspils, Latvia;3. University of Natural Resources & Applied Life Sciences, Institute of Zoology, Department of Integrative Biology, Gregor-Mendel-Str. 33, A-1180, Vienna, Austria |
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| Abstract: | When assessing re-vegetation project performance and optimizing land management, identification of the key ecological factors inducing vegetation degradation has crucial implications. Rainfall, temperature, elevation, slope, aspect, land use type, and human disturbance are ecological factors affecting the status of vegetation index. However, at different spatial scales, the key factors may vary. Using Helin County, Inner-Mongolia, China as the study site and combining remote sensing image interpretation, field surveying, and mathematical methods, this study assesses key ecological factors affecting vegetation degradation under different spatial scales in a semi-arid agro-pastoral ecotone. It indicates that the key factors are different at various spatial scales. Elevation, rainfall, and temperature are identified as crucial for all spatial extents. Elevation, rainfall and human disturbance are key factors for small-scale quadrats of 300 m × 300 m and 600 m × 600 m, temperature and land use type are key factors for a medium-scale quadrat of 1 km × 1 km, and rainfall, temperature, and land use are key factors for large-scale quadrats of 2 km × 2 km and 5 km × 5 km. For this region, human disturbance is not the key factor for vegetation degradation across spatial scales. It is necessary to consider spatial scale for the identification of key factors determining vegetation characteristics. The eco-restoration programs at various spatial scales should identify key influencing factors according their scales so as to take effective measurements. The new understanding obtained in this study may help to explore the forces which driving vegetation degradation in the degraded regions in the world. |
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| Keywords: | Vegetation index Ecological factor Correlation analysis Spatial scale effect Semi-arid area Ecotone |
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