Vegetation Dynamics Due to Urbanization in the Coastal Cities along the Maritime Silk Road

Abstract

Substantial research indicates the effects of urbanization on vegetation cover; however, a view of this scenario from a regional scale is absent. Nowadays, coastal cities have become the new engine for the development of countries in coastal areas. To capture the effects of rapid urbanization on vegetation dynamics, 35 coastal cities along the Maritime Silk Road (MSR) were selected to study the related research using quantitative tools. We calculated spatiotemporal trends of vegetation dynamics along an urban development intensity (UDI) gradient using the MODISenhanced vegetation index (EVI) during the period of 2000–2015. We found a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in the EVI in the core area against that in the rural area (DEVI) of 14 cities and an insignificantchange in vegetation in the peri-urban areas or urban outskirts. EVI decreased significantly along the UDI gradients in 12 coastal cities with a linear pattern and in seven coastal cities with a concave pattern; only Bangkok exhibited a convex pattern. The nonlinear pattern between the EVI and UDI reflected the fact that vegetation dynamics were affected by complicated factors, including climate change and human interventions, over a long period of time. In conclusion, our work provided a scientific reference for the sustainable development of coastal cities along the MSR; further work is necessary to explore the mechanic details of the positive and negative influences of urban factors and related policies on vegetation conditions.