Arid Zone Research ›› 2023, Vol. 40 ›› Issue (4): 636-646.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2023.04.12

• Plant Ecology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Evaluation of the degree of degradation of Xinjiang Tianshan Bayinbuluk grassland in 35 years

ZHAO Jian1,2,3(),DENG Chengjun4,LI Wenli4,ZHAO Jin1,GONG Yanming1,2,LI Kaihui1,2()   

  1. 1. Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China
    2. Bayinbuluk Grassland Ecosystem Research, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography Chinese Academy of Sciences, Bayinbuluk 841314, Xinjiang, China
    3. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    4. Grassland Workstation of Bayinguoleng Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Kuerle 841000, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2022-06-06 Revised:2023-01-28 Online:2023-04-15 Published:2023-04-28

Abstract:

Many studies on grassland ecosystem degradation have been performed using vegetation coverage or productivity indexes for evaluation. However, it is difficult to comprehensively evaluate different degrees of grassland degradation using a single evaluation index. Taking Bayinbuluk grassland in the Xinjiang Tianshan Mountains as a research object, a remote sensing method for evaluating grassland degradation based on standardized processing sub-index coupling was proposed. The grassland vegetation coverage, average grass layer height, and total grass yield were selected to determine the weight of the three indexes by principal component analysis. The Min-Max standardized method was introduced to construct the grassland degradation index (GDI). Finally, the degree of degradation of Bayinbuluk grassland in the Xinjiang Tianshan Mountains was determined through Landsat image inversion and reasonable classification of the rate of change of grassland degradation index from 1986 to 2021. The results showed that GDIg has the best correlation with NDVI. In 2021, the proportion of undegraded area of Bayinbuluk grassland relative to the total area was 60.51%. The degree of degradation of different grassland types showed clear differences. The spatial distribution showed a trend of basin to mountain degradation. The GDIrs model could be applied to other years through the radiation registration method. The degree of degradation of Bayinbuluk grassland significantly improved from 2000 to 2009 and slightly fluctuated from 2009 to 2021. The results of this research provide robust data support and a theoretical basis for guiding evaluation of the degree of degradation of Bayinbuluk grassland and protecting the grassland ecosystem.

Key words: grassland degradation, Landsat image, Min-Max standardization, grassland degradation index, regression model, Bayinbuluk grassland