Is land degradation worsening in Northern China? Quantitative evidence and enlightenment from satellites

Abstract Land degradation has become an urgent environmental issue globally. The complexity of land degradation hinders its quantification and monitoring, which is needed to realize the sustainable development of land resources. This study constructed a comprehensive index—land degradation status index (LDSI), which integrates in fractional vegetation cover (FVC), net primary productivity (NPP), albedo, and modified temperature vegetation drought index (MTVDI) based on spatial principal component analysis (SPCA). Land degradation was then identified by the dynamics of land degradation status during 2001–2018. This study investigated the spatio‐temporal process and driving mechanism of land degradation in Northern China. The result indicates that: (1) LDSI had a better monitoring performance compared with normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), (2) although some degraded land had been effectively rehabilitated (17.11%), a highly clustered spatial distribution of land degradation status remained, challenging to break, (3) localized land degradation had expanded (1.063%), mainly in semiarid (0.481%), dry sub‐humid (0.289%), and humid (0.187%) regions, and (4) differences in climate, environmental backgrounds, and human activities were driven land degradation status and process. This study also assessed the effectiveness of ecological projects implemented by the Chinese government. The in‐depth understanding of the change regularity and influencing mechanism in land degradation status and process can provide a scientific basis for formulating ecological policies based on local conditions.