Assessment of the effectiveness of desertification rehabilitation measures in Yulin,north-western China using remote sensing |
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| Authors: | J. Gao Y. Zha |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Geography , University of Auckland , Private Bag 92019, Auckland , New Zealand;2. Jiangsu Provisional Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science, College of Geographic Sciences , Nanjing Normal University , Nanjing , People's Republic of China |
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| Abstract: | In China tremendous efforts have gone into the rehabilitation of desertified land for productive use such as grazing, crop cultivation and afforestation. In this study the effectiveness of these agro-ecological measures to combat desertification in Yulin, Shaanxi Province of north-western China, is evaluated from multi-temporal aerial photographs in a geographical information system (GIS). The trend of desertification between 1960 and 1987 is modelled from changes in other land covers. It is found that desertified areas have decreased by 717.91 ha during the study period as a result of rehabilitation efforts. Plantation of grass is the least effective measure for halting sand dune encroachment whereas the planting of shrubs is the most effective. The trend of desertification is most accurately modelled from the changes in grassland and farmland at an R 2 value of 0.90. |
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