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Sandy desertification change and its driving forces in western Jilin Province, North China

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Abstract

This paper investigates the sandy desertification change between 1986 and 2000 in the western Jilin province, North China. Land use and land cover data were obtained from Landsat TM data by using a supervised classification approach. We summarized the total area of desertified land by each county, as well as the area for each of the four categories of desertified land. The changes of different types of land use and land cover between 1986 and 2000 were calculated and analyzed. Taking Tongyu and Qianan as examples, both human and natural driving forces of the sandy desertification were analyzed. Our analyses indicate that the material sources and windy, warm and dry climate are the immanent causes of potential land desertification, while the irrational human activities, such as deforestation, reclaiming and grazing in the grassland, are the external causes of potential land desertification. However, rational human activities, such as planting trees and restoring grassland can reverse the land desertification process. Furthermore, the countermeasures and suggestions for the sustainable development in ecotone between agriculture and animal husbandry in North China are put forward.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of RS and GIS, Northeast Institute of Geography and Agricultural Ecology, Chinese Academy of Science, 3195 Weishan Road, 130012, Changchun, China

    Li Fang, Zhang Bai, Su Wei, He Yanfen, Wang Zongming, Song Kaishan & Liu Dianwei

  2. The Graduated School of Chinese Academy of Science, Yuquan Road, 180001, Beijing, China

    Li Fang & Su Wei

  3. Department of Urban and Environment, Northeast Normal University, Renmin Road, 130001, Changchun, China

    Liu Zhiming

Authors
  1. Li Fang
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  2. Zhang Bai
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  3. Su Wei
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  4. He Yanfen
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  5. Wang Zongming
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  6. Song Kaishan
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  7. Liu Dianwei
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  8. Liu Zhiming
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Correspondence to Li Fang.

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Fang, L., Bai, Z., Wei, S. et al. Sandy desertification change and its driving forces in western Jilin Province, North China. Environ Monit Assess 136, 379–390 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-007-9693-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-007-9693-3

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