Driving forces behind land use and cover change in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau: a case study of the source region of the Yellow River, Qinghai Province, China

Research on land use and cover change (LUCC) is an important aspect of the study of global change or global warming. The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau is a good place to study global change because of its unique natural conditions, so we chose the source region of China’s Yellow River for a case study of the driving forces behind LUCC. We used Landsat images obtained in 1989, 2000, and 2005 to establish databases of land use and cover at these times. We then derived LUCC information by overlaying these layers using GIS software. By studying the processes responsible for LUCC, we analyzed the driving forces, which included climatic change, human activities, animal and insect damage, and the influences of government policies. During the 16-year study period, LUCC occurred slowly in response to two groups of processes: natural and anthropogenic. The main driving forces included climate change (the region is becoming drier and warmer), human activities (especially overgrazing), and animal and insect damage. Although political measures such as key national projects to improve the ecological environment could help to restore the region’s vegetation and slow desertification, the region’s fragile ecosystems and harsh natural conditions will make it extremely difficult to rehabilitate the eco-environment.