PROGRESS IN GEOGRAPHY ›› 2018, Vol. 37 ›› Issue (10): 1352-1361.doi: 10.18306/dlkxjz.2018.10.005

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Coordinating the development of urbanization and vegetation coverage based on precipitation

Xiaojie WEN1(), Shunbo YAO2,*(), Minjuan ZHAO3   

  1. 1. College of Economics and Management, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China;
    2. Research Center for Resource Economics and Environment Management, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China;
    3. Research Center for Applied Economics, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi, China;
  • Received:2018-01-09 Revised:2018-08-01 Online:2018-10-28 Published:2018-10-28
  • Contact: Shunbo YAO E-mail:wenxiaojie3990@163.com;yaoshunbo@163.com
  • Supported by:
    Special Fund for Forest Scientific Research in the Public Welfare, No.201504424;The MOE Project of Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences in Universities, No.14JJD790031;National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.71473195;National Social Science Foundation of China, No.15ZDA052

Abstract:

In order to explore the coordinated development of urbanization and vegetation coverage, this study used the economic development and MODIS-NDVI data of 144 counties in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River Basin for 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015 and the threshold regression model to analyze the influence of urbanization on vegetation coverage under different precipitation conditions. Precipitation was taken as the threshold variable that exerts the most significant impact on vegetation coverage. The results show that: (1) Along with the advancement of urbanization, vegetation covers are damaged, but precipitation during the process can play an important role in adjusting the relationship positively and promote the joint development of urbanization and the vegetation coverage. (2) The coordinated development of urbanization and vegetation coverage depends not only on precipitation, but also on local ecological construction, optimization and upgrading of industrial structure, and so on. The implementation of the Sloping Land Conversion Program on the Loess Plateau can accelerate the restoration of the vegetation cover, improve the ecological carrying capacity of the regional environment, and effectively alleviate the negative impact of urbanization development on vegetation coverage. (3) The increase of the proportion of the secondary industry in economic development poses a serious threat to the vegetation, which may halt the coordinated development of urbanization and vegetation coverage, especially in areas with low annual rainfall.

Key words: precipitation, urbanization, vegetation coverage, NDVI, threshold effect, middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River Basin