Quantitative Analysis of Driving Factors of Grassland Degradation: A Case Study in Xilin River Basin, Inner Mongolia
Current literature suggests that grassland degradation occurs in areas with poor soil conditions or noticeable environmental changes and is often a result of overgrazing or human disturbances. However, these views are questioned in our analyses. Based on the analysis of satellite vegetation maps fro...
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| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2012-01-01
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| Series: | The Scientific World Journal |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/2012/169724 |
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| author | Yichun Xie Zongyao Sha |
| author_facet | Yichun Xie Zongyao Sha |
| author_sort | Yichun Xie |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Current literature suggests that grassland degradation occurs in areas with poor soil conditions or noticeable environmental changes and is often a result of overgrazing or human disturbances. However, these views are questioned in our analyses. Based on the analysis of satellite vegetation maps from 1984, 1998, and 2004 for the Xilin River Basin, Inner Mongolia, China, and binary logistic regression (BLR) analysis, we observe the following: (1) grassland degradation is positively correlated with the growth density of climax communities; (2) our findings do not support a common notion that a decrease of biological productivity is a direct indicator of grassland degradation; (3) a causal relationship between grazing intensity and grassland degradation was not found; (4) degradation severity increased steadily towards roads but showed different trends near human settlements. This study found complex relationships between vegetation degradation and various microhabitat conditions, for example, elevation, slope, aspect, and proximity to water. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3dee03085b1548d0b2c9dede398c4b4d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1537-744X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2012-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Scientific World Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-3dee03085b1548d0b2c9dede398c4b4d2025-02-03T01:12:51ZengWileyThe Scientific World Journal1537-744X2012-01-01201210.1100/2012/169724169724Quantitative Analysis of Driving Factors of Grassland Degradation: A Case Study in Xilin River Basin, Inner MongoliaYichun Xie0Zongyao Sha1Department of Geography and Geology, Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, MI 48197, USAInternational School of Software, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, ChinaCurrent literature suggests that grassland degradation occurs in areas with poor soil conditions or noticeable environmental changes and is often a result of overgrazing or human disturbances. However, these views are questioned in our analyses. Based on the analysis of satellite vegetation maps from 1984, 1998, and 2004 for the Xilin River Basin, Inner Mongolia, China, and binary logistic regression (BLR) analysis, we observe the following: (1) grassland degradation is positively correlated with the growth density of climax communities; (2) our findings do not support a common notion that a decrease of biological productivity is a direct indicator of grassland degradation; (3) a causal relationship between grazing intensity and grassland degradation was not found; (4) degradation severity increased steadily towards roads but showed different trends near human settlements. This study found complex relationships between vegetation degradation and various microhabitat conditions, for example, elevation, slope, aspect, and proximity to water.http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/2012/169724 |
| spellingShingle | Yichun Xie Zongyao Sha Quantitative Analysis of Driving Factors of Grassland Degradation: A Case Study in Xilin River Basin, Inner Mongolia The Scientific World Journal |
| title | Quantitative Analysis of Driving Factors of Grassland Degradation: A Case Study in Xilin River Basin, Inner Mongolia |
| title_full | Quantitative Analysis of Driving Factors of Grassland Degradation: A Case Study in Xilin River Basin, Inner Mongolia |
| title_fullStr | Quantitative Analysis of Driving Factors of Grassland Degradation: A Case Study in Xilin River Basin, Inner Mongolia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Quantitative Analysis of Driving Factors of Grassland Degradation: A Case Study in Xilin River Basin, Inner Mongolia |
| title_short | Quantitative Analysis of Driving Factors of Grassland Degradation: A Case Study in Xilin River Basin, Inner Mongolia |
| title_sort | quantitative analysis of driving factors of grassland degradation a case study in xilin river basin inner mongolia |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1100/2012/169724 |
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