(1) Title: Detection and attribution of vegetation greening trend across distinct local landscapes under China’s Grain to Green Program: a case study in Shaanxi province

Speaker: Dr. Chen Haibin    

Time: 14:30-15:30 pm, Dec 8, 2017

Venue: Meeting Room C304, The Building of Economics, Management and Landscape Architecture

Abstract: Vegetation is an important component of terrestrial ecosystem, and plays important roles in climatic regulation, flood prevention, soil erosion mitigation, desertification control, freshwater supply, etc. However, to accommodate rapid economic growth and a growing population, China has reclaimed massive natural vegetation for the expansion of farmland and built-up areas over last three decades of 20th century, which directly heighten the risks of climatic anomaly, flooding as well as landslide. Aroused by the severe droughts in 1997 and the massive floods in 1998, Chinese government has launched a number of nation-wide programs of payments for ecosystem services, the largest of which was the Grain to Green Program. An unambiguous vegetation greening trend is evidenced by both government documents and academic researches, especially in the northern part of the country. Nevertheless, many aspects of the program effects still remain poorly understood. A critical gap in our understanding pertains to the spatial heterogeneity and temporal variations as well as the attribution of vegetation dynamics under the GTGP. The primary objectives of current study are to: (1) detect the vegetation greening trend across three distinct landscapes in Shaanxi Province after the introduction of the GTGP; (2) disentangle and quantify the individual effects of each driving factors including the GTGP, demographic change, economic growth, and climate change at county level.

Title: Which is the main influencing factor of forestry investment in China, Reform or Market?

Reporter: Yu Yanli

Time: 14:30-15:30 pm, Dec 8, 2017

Venue: Meeting Room C304, The Building of Economics, Management and Landscape Architecture

Abstract: This article aims to find main influencing factor of households’ investment in forestry by the contrast between Southern Collective Forest Region (SCFR) and North Plain Forest Region (NPFR) in China. Evidence from surveys of households’ attitudes toward collective forestry reform would support our model and confirm our view that market is more important than reform to influence households’ forestry investment. Facing with the same trends of afforestation numbers in both regions, we can confirm that the main influence factor must be the common factors, market environment instead of forestry tenure reform. Moreover, estimated results of the model also demonstrate the dominant role of forestry investment is market environment and households’ behavior. The influencing factors was classified into two inspects: incentive factors and cost factors. Additionally, timber price as an incentive factor, has a positive effect on households’ investment in both regions. Forestry labor price as a cost factor, on the other hand, has a significant effect on households’ investment.