Forest disturbances in the South China hilly and mountainous belt based on long time-series Landsat data
PEI Du1(), YUAN Wubin2, LI Hengkai1()
1. Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, School of Civil and Surveying & Mapping Engineering, Ganzhou 341000, China 2. Jiangxi Provincial Natural Resources Development Center, Nanchang 330025, China
The South China hilly and mountainous belt is one of the “three regions and four belts” involved in China's major ecosystem conservation and restoration program. This belt hosts the largest and most well-preserved middle subtropical forest ecosystem at the same latitudes globally, playing a crucial role in ensuring the ecological security in South and Southwest China. Based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, this study conducted preliminary monitoring of disturbances in this belt using the LandTrendr algorithm and the Jeffries-Matusita (JM) distance. It further applied the random forest algorithm to relevant disturbance outputs, enabling the monitoring and analysis of forest disturbances in this belt from 1985 to 2022. The results indicate that the total forest disturbance area in this belt reached 38 564.62 km2 during the study period. Specifically, the disturbance areas of four ecological restoration projects decreased in the following order: Wuyi Mountains forests (12 040.27 km2), Nanling Mountains forests (11 820.79 km2), Hunan and Guangxi karst areas (8 228.97 km2), and mining areas (6 474.59 km2). Based on the 38-year forest loss dataset, this study analyzed the spatiotemporal variations in forest disturbances within this belt, revealing significant spatiotemporal forest disturbances. Spatially, forest disturbances were characterized by distinct geographic clustering. Temporally, the forest loss areas under four ecological restoration projects experienced several stages of change. Despite similar critical transition points and interannual variation patterns, differences in forest resources, climate, and economic conditions led to variations in the areas and trends of forest loss. Besides, the implementation of forestry policies somewhat influenced the forest loss trend. Overall, this study provides a scientific basis and decision-making reference for the management of forest ecosystems within this belt.
裴度, 袁武彬, 李恒凯. 基于长时序Landsat的南方丘陵山地带森林扰动分析[J]. 自然资源遥感, 2025, 37(6): 241-250.
PEI Du, YUAN Wubin, LI Hengkai. Forest disturbances in the South China hilly and mountainous belt based on long time-series Landsat data. Remote Sensing for Natural Resources, 2025, 37(6): 241-250.
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2025, Vol. 37 
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