Abstract
Tracing the history of land use and vegetation change to the year 221 BC may help understand the environmental evolution of the Loess Plateau. Research has revealed that vegetation on the plateau maintained a natural state during the Zhou Dynasty and Warring States period. Natural vegetation still accounted for a large proportion during the Qin and Han Dynasties. In the Tang and Song Dynasties, natural forests disappeared from valleys and plains, and vegetation in hills and mountainous regions were also destroyed. The northern desert began to expand and the overall natural environment was in a state of deterioration. Serious deterioration of natural vegetation on the Loess Plateau mainly occurred during the Ming and Qing Dynasties (AD 1368–1911). Reasons for the drastic vegetation changes during this era are associated with both natural and human factors, for example forest cutting, land reclamation and overgrazing. In the last half of twentieth century, artificial plantations have been constructed as the primary means of ecosystem restoration on the plateau. A series of ecological projects implemented in recent decades significantly has changed vegetation cover and the environment there. These projects have eventually changed the trend of historical degradation to one of restoration.
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He, JF., Guan, JH., Zhang, WH. (2014). Land Use Change and Deforestation on the Loess Plateau. In: Tsunekawa, A., Liu, G., Yamanaka, N., Du, S. (eds) Restoration and Development of the Degraded Loess Plateau, China. Ecological Research Monographs. Springer, Tokyo. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54481-4_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-54481-4_8
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