CollectHomepage AdvertisementContact usMessage

Arid Land Geography ›› 2021, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (6): 1763-1771.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000–6060.2021.06.24

• Biology and Environment • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Effects of topographical factors on tree species distribution of shelter forest in Loess hilly region of northern Shaanxi

JIANG Li1,2(),WEI Tianxing1,2(),LI Yiran1,2,WEI Anqi3   

  1. 1. Key Laboratory of State Forestry Administration on Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
    2. Engineering Research Center of Forestry Ecological Engineering of Ministry of Education, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
    3. Qinhuangdao Meteorological Disaster Prevention Center, Qinhuangdao 066000, Hebei, China
  • Received:2020-11-02 Revised:2021-07-19 Online:2021-11-25 Published:2021-12-03
  • Contact: Tianxing WEI E-mail:jiangli@bjfu.edu.cn;weitx@bjfu.edu.cn

Abstract:

As an important part of various ecosystems, forests play an important role in intercepting rainfall, maintaining runoff, regulating climate, preventing desertification, and soil and water conservation. The construction of shelterbelts has also gradually become an important means of solving the ecological and environmental problems in several countries. However, because of the excessive pursuit of increased green area in the early stages of afforestation and the failure to follow the “suitable site and suitable tree” principle, the quality of protective forests formed in the early stages of afforestation in China has not been high overall. Thus, it is of great significance to study how topographic factors affect the distribution of tree species to realize sustainable development in shelterbelt system construction projects, promote the optimization of shelterbelt structures, and improve the quality of shelterbelts. In this study, digital elevation model data, forest resource survey results, and tree species distribution data from Wuqi County, Shaanxi Province, China were collected to investigate the influence of topographical factors on vegetation distribution and promote ecological restoration and shelter forest construction. The relationships between typical afforestation tree species (Pinus tabuliformis, Robinia pseudoacacia, Armeniaca sibiric, and Hippophae rhamnoides) and topographic factors (elevation, aspect, slope, curvature, recursive damped least squares, and topographic roughness index) were analyzed using Pearson analysis and a random forest model. The results demonstrated the following: (1) The distribution area of R. pseudoacacia, A. sibiric, and P. tabuliformis exhibited an upward trend from 2007 to 2019, increasing by 83.373%, 73.271%, and 72.415%, respectively. The distribution area of H. rhamnoides exhibited a declining trend, decreasing by 61.737%. (2) On the local scale, the influence of terrain factors on the distribution of tree species cannot be ignored, with the most important being altitude and aspect. Hence, different afforestation tree species should be selected according to altitudes and directions. (3) Specifically, the altitude ranges suitable for R. pseudoacacia, A. sibiric, P. tabuliformis, and H. rhamnoides were found to be 1410.105-1510.215 m, 1444.873-1553.210 m, 1380.132-1451.762 m, and 1365.621-1562.348 m, respectively. The aspects suitable for R. pseudoacacia include 0-20.520°, 50.280°-62.310°, 82.440°-95.280°, and 277.280°-360.000°, whereas those for A. sibiric are 0-81.270° and 265.310°-360.000°. The suitable range for P. tabulaeformis is 0-100.180°, whereas those for H. rhamnoides are 0-74.540° and 280.820°-360.000°.

Key words: distribution of tree species, topographical factors, random forest model, Loess Plateau