Explaining Landscape Levels and Drivers of Chinese Moso Bamboo Forests Based on the Plus Model

Abstract

China is the richest country in the world in terms of bamboo forest resources, with moso bamboo as the dominated landscape distribution. Analysis of its spatial distribution, landscape change, and its drivers is crucial for forest ecosystem management and sustainable development. However, investigations on the effects of multiple geographical and environmental factors on changes in the landscape of moso bamboo forests are still limited. In this study, Chinese moso bamboo forests in 2010, 2015 and 2020 were selected as the study objects, and 19 provinces (data for Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan are unavailable), where Chinese moso bamboo forests were actually distributed, were taken as the study areas. This paper aims to determine the spatial distribution and landscape level of moso bamboo forests in China, as well as to conduct a preliminary study on the natural and socioeconomic factors of landscape change within moso bamboo forests and their buffer zones through density analysis, landscape fragmentation analysis, and patch-generating land use simulation model. The analysis using ArcGIS kernel density analysis revealed significant variability in the spatial distribution of moso bamboo forests in China, expanding in both the north and southwest directions. China’s moso bamboo forests expanded fast between 2010 and 2020, with the landscape becoming more fragmented, landscape fragmentation increasing, aggregation diminishing, and overall landscape quality declining. Climate has the greatest influence on the shifting landscape distribution of moso bamboo forests, followed by locational factors and soil and terrain, and socioeconomic factors such as location, population density, and GDP also impact the shifting distribution and landscape of the moso bamboo forest.