Search Results (15)

Changes in grassland vegetation coverage (GVC) and their causes in the China–Mongolia–Russia Economic Corridor (CMREC) region have been a hot button issue regarding the ecological environment and sustainable development. In this paper, multi-source remote sensing (RS) data were used to obtain GVC from 2000 to 2023 based on random forest (RF) regression inversion. The nonlinear characteristics such as the number of mutations, magnitude of mutations, and time of mutations were detected and analyzed using the BFAST model. Driving factors such as climatic factors were introduced to quantitatively explain the driving mechanism of GVC changes. The results showed that: (1) RF model is the optimal model for the inversion of GVC in this region. The R² of the RF training set reached 0.94, the RMSE of the test set was 12.86%, the correlation coefficient between the predicted and actual values was 0.76, and the CVRMSE was 18.07%. (2) During the period of 2000–2023, the number of mutations in GVC ranged from 0 to 5, and there were at least 1 mutation in 58.83% of the study area. The years with the largest proportion of mutations was 2010, followed by 2016, accounting for 14.57% and 11.60% of all mutations, respectively. The month with the highest percentage of mutations was October, and followed by June, accounting for 31.73% and 22.19% of all mutations, respectively. (3) The sustained and stable positive effect was shown by precipitation on GVC before and after the maximum mutation. Wind speed was a negative effect on GVC in areas with more severe desertification, such as Inner Mongolia, China and parts of Mongolia. On the other hand, GVC was reduced by the wind speed before and after the maximum mutations. Therefore, to guarantee the ecological security of the CMREC, governments should formulate new countermeasures to prevent desertification in the region according to the laws of nature and strengthen international cooperation. Full article

This study analyzed the spatiotemporal changes in grassland NDVI from 2000 to 2020 in the eastern route of the China–Mongolia–Russia Economic Corridor, a region with frequent ecological–economic interactions, and explained the main driving factors, influencing patterns, and degrees of grassland NDVI changes in different regions. Based on MODIS NDVI data, the study employs emerging spatiotemporal hotspot analysis, Maximum Relevance Minimum Redundancy (mRMR) feature selection, and Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) to reveal the spatiotemporal variation characteristics of grassland NDVI, while identifying long-term stable trends, and to select the most relevant and non-redundant factors to analyze the main driving factors of grassland NDVI change. Partial dependence plots were used to visualize the response and sensitivity of grassland NDVI to various factors. The results show the following: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the NDVI of grassland in the study area showed an overall upward trend, from 0.61 to 0.65, with significant improvement observed in northeastern China and northeastern Russia. (2) Spatiotemporal hotspot analysis indicates that 51% of the area is classified as persistent hotspots for grassland NDVI, mainly distributed in Russia, whereas 12% of the area is identified as persistent cold spots, predominantly located in Mongolia. (3) The analysis of key drivers reveals that precipitation and land surface temperature are the dominant climatic factors shaping grassland NDVI trends, while the effects of soil conditions and human activity vary regionally. In China, NDVI is primarily driven by land surface temperature (LST), GDP, and population density; in Mongolia, precipitation, LST, and GDP exert the strongest influence; whereas in Russia, livestock density and soil organic carbon play the most significant roles. (4) For the whole study area, in persistent cold spot areas of grassland NDVI, the negative effects of rising land surface temperature were most pronounced, reducing NDVI by 36% in the 25–40 °C range. The positive effects of precipitation on NDVI were most evident under low to moderate precipitation conditions, with the effects diminishing as precipitation increased. Soil moisture and soil pH have stronger effects in persistent hotspot areas. Regarding human activity factors, the livestock factor in Mongolia shows an inverted U-shaped relationship with NDVI, and increasing population density contributed to grassland degradation in persistent cold spots. Proper grazing intensity regulation strategy is crucial in these areas with inappropriate grazing intensity, while social and economic activities promoted vegetation cover improvement in persistent hotspots in China and Russia. These findings provide practical insights to guide grassland ecosystem restoration and ensure sustainable development along the eastern route of the China–Mongolia–Russia Economic Corridor. China should prioritize ecological compensation policies. Mongolia needs to integrate traditional nomadic grazing with modern practices. Russia should focus on strengthening regulatory frameworks to prevent the over-exploitation of grasslands. Especially for persistent cold spot areas of grassland NDVI in Mongolia and Russia that are prone to grassland degradation, attention should be paid to the significant negative impact of livestock on grassland. Full article

The desertification of the China–Mongolia–Russia Economic Corridor (CMREC), one of the six major economic corridors in the Belt and Road Initiative, has posed a great challenge to the ecological environment protection and sustainable economic development of the region. In this work, two categories of feature space models based on point–point mode and point–line mode were constructed. The optimal feature space model was used to establish the spatial–temporal change patterns of desertification in the CMREC from 2001 to 2020, and then the dominant driving factors were quantitatively determined. The conclusions demonstrated the following: (1) the monitoring accuracy of the Albedo–MSAVI desertification model based on point–point mode was the highest, at 86.47%, followed by that of the TGSI–MSAVI model based on point–line mode, at 85.71%; (2) from 2001 to 2020, the spatial distribution of desertification in the China–Mongolia–Russia Economic Corridor region showed a decreasing trend radiating outwards from the Inner Mongolia Plateau and Gobi Desert; (3) the gravity center of desertification in Chinese parts in the CMREC migrated toward the northeast, while the Mongolia and Russia parts migrated toward the southwest and southeast, respectively; and (4) from 2001 to 2020, precipitation and land use change had the greatest impacts on the evolution patterns of desertification in China and Mongolia, while topography and land use contributed greatly to the change process of desertification in Russia. The research results could provide data support for desertification control in the CMREC. Full article

Russia has considerable experience in the development of winter sports and ski resorts. The region around Lake Baikal possesses unique landscapes and cultural unity, making it a hot spot for winter tourism in Russia. The ski resorts around Lake Baikal are among the most attractive tourist destinations during the winter season, attracting a large number of domestic and international tourists. Based on the experience of the Northeast Asia Sustainable Development Research Centre, this study includes a survey of experts from China and Russia. The study focuses on five major ski resorts near Lake Baikal. A comprehensive competitiveness assessment index system and a quantitative evaluation model for winter tourism resorts have been established, which enable a scientific evaluation of the level of comprehensive competitiveness of winter tourism regions near Lake Baikal. The study showed that the Sobolinaya ski resort has excellent competitiveness among the resorts studied, while Bychya and Istland have average competitiveness and Davan and Mamai have low competitiveness. Local natural resources and the level of infrastructure development make the most significant contributions to the overall competitiveness of a resort. The study proposes development measures, such as the creation of a winter tourism complex with the Sobolinaya resort as its core and the establishment of an international special zone for winter tourism along the China–Mongolia–Russia economic corridor. The research results can serve as a basis for decision making to improve the overall competitiveness of the winter tourism industry around Lake Baikal and provide scientific and technical support for cross-border international cooperation in the winter tourism industry between China and Russia. Full article

This article discusses the efficiency of transport infrastructure and cooperation of neighboring regions located in Asian Russia, China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan in the context of creating new international economic corridors from the Silk Road and trans-Eurasian transport corridors. This study aims to highlight the possible ways of strengthening cross-border cooperation in the field of transport infrastructure. We evaluated the current state of the transport infrastructure, the dynamics of its development, and its influence on the territorial–production complex. Using quantitative data and the unified indicator for the efficiency of transport infrastructure, we also characterized the territorial differentiation, its causes, and prerequisites for further economic and trade cooperation between these countries. The main results are as follows: (1) The lowest levels of the efficiency of transport infrastructure are typical for the northeast of Asian Russia, as well as for the border regions of China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan. (2) For Asian Russia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia, the highest levels of the unified indicator are typical for regions located along the main transport routes and for regions with a developed mining industry. This is due to the strong unevenness of the socio-economic development of the territories. (3) The largest industrial and economic centers have been developing along the main transport corridors primarily due to the accumulated potential of equivalent freight turnover and export potential. This study can be useful for authorities and business, as well as for other users of transport infrastructure to improve its regulation and efficiency. Full article

Under the background of “the Belt and Road” and “China, Mongolia and Russia economic corridor” initiatives, this paper studied the spatial distribution pattern evolution of population and economy in Russia since the 21st century, which could provide implications for the regional development planning, economic optimization layout, energy resource development, transportation infrastructure construction between China and Russia. Combined with the panel data of population, GDP, land area, etc., we used the gravity center analysis, geographic concentration degree, and inconsistency index to study Russia’s population pattern evolution trend, economic pattern evolution trend, spatial inconsistency types of population distribution and economic development. The results and conclusions are as follows. Russia’s population and economic gravity centers have migrated towards the northwest direction. Russia’s population and economic distribution pattern presents the unbalanced development trend, which could be characterized by the differentiation pattern of “High West, Low East” and “High South, Low North” divided by the Ural Federal District. In the southwest areas of Russia, the population concentration degree is higher than the economic concentration degree in most federal subjects. In the northeast areas of Russia, the economic concentration degree is higher than the population concentration degree in most federal subjects. Full article

Under the background of “the Belt and Road” and “China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor” initiatives, we studied the urban accessibility level and regional spatial effect of the west line and east line of China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor in the high-speed rail (HSR) environment. The results are as following. (1) The operation of China-Mongolia-Russia HSR will greatly improve the urban accessibility level, which will shorten the whole journey time to two days along China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor. The regional space-time convergence effect will be very strong in the China-Mongolia-Russia HSR environment. (2) The accessibility level and its improvement degree of the China-Mongolia-Russia east line are stronger than those of the west line. The accessibility level of different countries differs: China > Russia > Mongolia. The accessibility improvement degree of different countries also differs: Mongolia > Russia > China. Spatially, the accessibility improvement degree of the cities, which are located in the middle of the line is stronger than those cities at the beginning and end of the line. (3) Affected by the China-Mongolia-Russia HSR environment, the spatial polarization effect of China-Mongolia-Russia HSR axial belt will be further enhanced. The internal boundary effect of the China-Mongolia-Russia HSR axial belt will disappear. New HSR economic growth poles will occur, promoting the formation of point-axis system. China-Mongolia-Russia cross-border trade creation and transfer effects will be deepened. Full article

The China–Mongolia–Russia Economic Corridor (CMREC) region is part of the Silk Road Economic Belt and is critical to world food grain safety, and thus, developing its potential grain production will help counter any global food crisis. In this study, a grain production potential measurement system for the CMREC was designed and developed using spatial data to progressively correct environmental factor functions. The potential yield per unit area and potential area of four grain crops in 48 provinces were scientifically and systematically evaluated, and the grain production potential, development potential, and development potential range were calculated. The results show that the grain production potential and development potential of the corridor are significant. The yield of wheat and maize is mainly distributed in Siberia and the south of the Russian Far East. The development potential of soybean is very large and is mainly concentrated in the Russian Far East and northeast region of Mongolia. However, there is little room for paddy yield improvement, and its potential is mainly concentrated in northeast China. The grain production potential forms a high-value region with a low value from north to south, high value in the middle, extending from northwest to southeast. Grain and cereals in the whole region amounted to 8.45 × 10⁸ t (4.25 × 10⁸ t in Russia, 4.03 × 10⁸ t in China, and 0.12 × 10⁸ t in Mongolia). In terms of grain type, maize has the highest productivity potential with 1.96 × 10⁸ t, followed by wheat at 1.45 × 10⁸ t. The potential for paddy is 0.58 × 10⁴ t, whereas soybean has the lowest potential of 0.40 × 10⁸ t. The results of this study provide evidential support in the form of data for the development of the complementary advantages of agricultural resources, construction of the CMREC, and joint development of a food resource free trade zone. The CMREC will strengthen the development of modern, green, high-yield, high-quality, and efficient grain production zones for soybean and maize, and promote the diversification of grain resource cooperation. Full article

The Selenga River basin is an important section of the Sino-Mongolian Economic Corridor. It is an important connecting piece of the Eurasian Continental Bridge and an important part of Northeast Asia. Against the background of the evolution of the geopolitical pattern since the disintegration of the Soviet Union and global warming, based on the land cover data in the Selenga River basin from 1992, 2000, 2009, and 2015, this paper describes the dynamic changes in land use in the basin. Through a logistic model, the driving factors of land cover change were revealed, and the CA-Markov model was used to predict the land cover pattern of 2027. The results showed that (1) from 1992 to 2015, the agricultural population in the Selenga River basin continued to decrease, which led to a reduction in agricultural sown area. The intensification of climate warming and drying had a significant impact on the spatial distribution of crops. Grassland expansion mostly occurred in areas with relatively abundant rainfall, low temperature, and low human activity. (2) The simulation results showed that, according to the current development trend, the construction land area of the Selenga River basin will be slightly expanded in 2027, the area of arable land and grassland will be slightly reduced, and the areas of forest, water/wetland, and bare land will remain stable. In the future, human activities in the basin will increase in the process of the construction of the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor. Coupled with global warming, the land/cover of the basin will be affected by both man-made and natural disturbances, and attention should be paid to the possible risk of vegetation degradation. Full article

Climate change and anthropogenic activities are widely considered the main factors affecting vegetation growth. However, their relative contributions are under debate. Within the non-climatic impact, detailed human activities, particularly government policy adjustments, are less investigated. In this study, we develop a fractional vegetation coverage (FVC) extraction method based on MODIS-EVI satellite data to analyze the spatiotemporal variation of vegetation and its attributions in the China–Mongolia–Russia Economic Corridor (CMREC). The average FVC has improved, with a general increase of 0.02/10a from 2000 to 2020. We construct a driving factor identification system for FVC change, based on partial and multiple correlation coefficients, and we divide the driving forces of FVC changes into seven climate-driven types and one non-climate-driven type. The results reveal that FVC changes caused by climatic factors account for 28.2% of CMREC. The most prominent greening (19.5%) is precipitation-driven, and is extensively distributed in Khentii Aimag, Mongolia; southeast Inner Mongolia; west Jilin Province; and southwest Heilongjiang Province, China. Moreover, we quantify the relative contribution of climatic and non-climatic factors to significant FVC change using the first-difference multivariate regression method. The results indicate that the effects of non-climatic factors on vegetation change outweigh those of climatic factors in most areas. According to the land cover change and regional policy adjustment, anthropogenic activities such as afforestation, reclamation, and planting structure adjustment explain most vegetation improvement in the Northeast Plain; eastern Inner Mongolia; and the Hetao Irrigation District, China. Meanwhile, both vegetation improvement and degradation disperse concurrently in the Mongolian and Russian parts of CMREC, where climate change and anthropogenic activities positively and negatively affect vegetation change, respectively. Despite the greening in most CMREC, it must be noted that human-induced greening is unsustainable to some degree. The overdevelopment of black soil area and sandy land, adverse effects of afforestation projects, and natural hazards related to weather and climate extremes altogether threaten the local ecological security in the long run. Therefore, governments should develop new desertification countermeasures in accordance with the laws of nature, and enhance international cooperation to guarantee the ecological safety of CMREC. Full article

Explicitly identifying the desertification changes and causes has been a hot issue of eco-environment sustainable development in the China–Mongolia–Russia Economic Corridor (CMREC) area. In this paper, the desertification change patterns between 2000 and 2015 were identified by operating the classification and regression tree (CART) method with multisource remote sensing datasets on Google Earth Engine (GEE), which has the higher overall accuracy (85%) than three other methods, namely support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF) and Albedo-normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) models. A contribution index of climate change and human activities on desertification was introduced to quantitatively explicate the driving mechanisms of desertification change based on the temporal datasets and net primary productivity (NPP). The results show that the area of slight desertification land had increased from 719,700 km² to 948,000 km² between 2000 and 2015. The area of severe desertification land decreased from 82,400 km² to 71,200 km². The area of desertification increased by 9.68%, in which 69.68% was mainly caused by human activities. Climate change and human activities accounted for 68.8% and 27.36%, respectively, in the area of desertification restoration. In general, the degree of desertification showed a decreasing trend, and climate change was the major driving factor in the CMREC area between 2000 and 2015. Full article

Vegetation phenology is a sensitive indicator of climate change. With the intensification of global warming, the changes in growing seasons of various vegetation types have been widely documented across the world. However, as one of the most vulnerable regions in response to the global climate change, the phenological responses and associated mechanisms in mid–high latitude forests are still not fully understood. In this study, long-term changes in forest phenology and the associated relationship with the temperature and snow water equivalent in the China–Mongolia–Russia International Economic Corridor were examined by analyzing the satellite-measured normalized difference vegetation index and the meteorological observation data during 1982 to 2015. The average start date of the growing season (SOS) of the forest ecosystem in our study area advanced at a rate of 2.5 days/decade, while the end date of the growing season (EOS) was delayed at a rate of 2.3 days/decade, contributing to a growing season that was approximately 15 days longer in the 2010s compared to that in 1980s. A higher April temperature is beneficial to the advance in the SOS, and a higher summer temperature has the potential to extend the EOS in the forest ecosystem. However, our results also suggest that a single temperature cannot fully explain the advance of the SOS, as well as the delay in the EOS. The preseason Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) is also an essential factor in influencing the growing season. A higher SWE in February and March and lower SWE in April tend to advance the SOS, while higher SWE in pre-year December and lower SWE in current year October are beneficial to the extension of the EOS. Full article

Infrastructure and tourism is gradually increasing along the China–Russia border with the development of the China–Mongolia–Russia economic corridor. Facing the issues of thermal comfort and rainstorm-flood risk in the neighborhood area between China and Russia, we constructed homologous evaluation models to analyze spatial regularity and internal variations of their effect. Among the results, approximately 55% of the area was classified into the categories of “comfort” and “high comfort” in summer. Oppositely, the situation of most areas in winter corresponds to physical discomfort. On the other hand, the high-risk area of rainstorm-flood in spring and summer is principally located in the northern and southern regions, respectively, while this is further expanded in autumn. After that, the risk level turns to medium and low. Subsequently, a comprehensive assessment coordinate system of the two results was constructed to identify the distribution pattern of a seasonal suitable area for traveling in binary ways. The evaluation shows that Great Khingan Range in the north-western Heilongjiang province is the preferable place among most of seasons, especially in summer. While on the Russian side, the corresponding area is mainly spread over its southern coastal cities. The study is expected to provide recommendations for reasonable year-round travel time, space selection, and risk decision support for millions of people traveling between China and Russia. Full article

Grassland biomass is the embodiment of grassland productivity, and the material basis for the maintenance of the grassland ecosystem. Grassland is the main vegetation type in the Mongolian Plateau. Grassland changes in the core region of the China–Mongolia–Russia Economic Corridor of the Belt and Road Initiative have an important impact on regional ecology, environmental conservation, and sustainable development. This study established three types of models for estimating grassland production through statistical analysis methods using NDVI, EVI, MSAVI, and PsnNet remote sensing indices retrieved from a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) dataset. This was combined with ground-measured grassland data and meteorological data. Based on model evaluation, the spatial and temporal distribution and variation characteristics of grassland along the Mongolia part of the China–Mongolia Railway were obtained through inversion for the period from 2006 to 2015. The results showed that all the models had good simulation effects. The optimal model was an exponential model based on MSAVI—with its simulation accuracy reaching 78%. Grassland production in the study area has increased slightly in the past ten years, with little change in the first five years and a fluctuating increase in the next five years. The average grassland production (per unit production) in the past ten years was 3400.39 kg/ha and the average total production was 9707.88 × 10⁴ t. Grassland production increased slightly in most areas along the railway, and in some areas it continued to decline. The regional spatial distribution of increased and decreased grassland production was significantly different. With better grassland resources in the northeastern part of the study area—the area around Chinggis City and the capital of Hentiy Province—had the most significant growth. However, the southern Gobi area—with its trend towards land degradation in the area where the southern Gobi and desert steppe transitions to steppe and dry steppe—had a significant decrease. This meant that the risk of grassland degradation still existed. There were also quantitative and spatial differences in the areas where grassland production decreased on both sides of the railway. The decrease in grassland production on the western side of the railway was more obvious than on the eastern side, and the reduction area was dispersed on the western side and relatively concentrated on the eastern side. In future research, the identification of key areas of grassland degradation along the China–Mongolia Railway as well as its driving forces should be investigated further. Full article

Lake Baikal is located on the southern tableland of East Siberian Russia. The west coast of the lake has vast forest resources and excellent ecological conditions, and this area and the Mongolian Plateau constitute an important ecological security barrier in northern China. Land-use/cover change is an important manifestation of regional human activities and ecosystem evolution. This paper uses Irkutsk city, a typical city on the West Bank of Lake Baikal, as a case study area. Based on three phases of Landsat remote-sensing image data, the land-use/cover change pattern and change process are analyzed and the natural factors and socioeconomic factors are combined to reveal driving forces through the partial least squares regression (PLSR) model. The results show the following: (1) From 2005 to 2015, construction land expanded, and forestland was converted into construction land and woodland. In addition, grass land, bare land, and cultivated land were converted into construction land, and the woodland area increased. The annual changes in land use from 2005 to 2010 were dramatic and then slowed down from 2010 to 2015. (2) The main reasons for the change in land-use types were urban expansion and nonagricultural development caused by population migration. The process of urbanization from external populations to urban agglomeration and the process of reverse urbanization from a central urban population to urban suburbs jointly expanded urban construction land area. As a result, forestland, grass land and bare land areas on the outskirts of cities were continuously reduced. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, land privatization led to a decline in the farm economy, the emergence of agricultural land reclamation and urban expansion; in addition, the implementation of the “one-hectare land policy” intensified development in suburban areas, resulting in a reduction of forestland and grass land areas. The process of constructing the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor has intensified human activities in the region, and the prevention of drastic changes in land cover, coordination of human-land relations, and green development are necessary. Full article