Peri-urbanization may vary with vegetation restoration: A large scale regional analysis

Over that past decade, ecological restoration practices have expanded globally. However, the effectiveness of ecological restoration depends on the complex interactions of various natural and socioeconomic factors, about which there is limited scientific understanding and thus provides an important research frontier. This paper analyzed the relationship between regional scale vegetation restoration and the process of urbanization using the Loess Plateau of China as a case study. This region has experienced both rapid urbanization and a high number of vegetation restoration activities. Urbanization and vegetation restoration can be considered as extremes on the spectrum of environment preservation activities. Three separate spatial correlation analyses between urbanization and vegetation restoration were identified, resulting in: 1) insignificant correlations in saturated urban areas; 2) significant negative correlations in peri-urban areas; and 3) significant positive correlations in undeveloped areas. The relationship between urbanization and vegetation restoration is thus stage-dependent. Impacts of urbanization on vegetation degradation has improved but has not been fully addressed by large scale vegetation restoration. Regardless of whether the county or grid scale is used, peri-urbanization was found to be the critical factor affecting the effectiveness of vegetation restoration over both time and space. Therefore, peri-urbanized areas are viewed as priorities for improving the coupling of urban development and vegetation restoration.