School of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China; Key Laboratory of Sustainable Forest Ecosystem Management-Ministry of Education, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China.
School of Forestry, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, China.
Sci Total Environ. 2023 Jan 20;857(Pt 1):159354. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159354. Epub 2022 Oct 12.
Forests provide vital ecosystem services such as soil and water conservation, climate regulation, and carbon storage. Large-scale afforestation programs are being attempted in many countries to improve environmental conditions in deteriorated or unfavorable locations. China's Three Northern Protected Forest Program (TNSFP), accounting for 42.40 % of China's total land area, is the world's largest afforestation program to date. The TNSFP has continued providing critical ecosystem services to humans over 73 years (1978-2050) with a total investment of CNY 93.3 billion. To facilitate understanding of the TNSFP's contribution, the effects of the TNSFP for last 43 years were comprehensively evaluated by using integrated review of structured literature, bibliometric analysis, and thematic analysis. We incorporated and expanded the direct ecosystem services evidence of the TNSFP from wind and sand control, soil erosion control and carbon sequestration to indirect economic benefits, e.g. increasing crop yield and promoting economic development. We found that over the past 40 years of TNSFP construction, wind and sand hazards and soil erosion in China's Three-North areas have been effectively controlled, and forest carbon sequestration, grain production and economic output have steadily increased. The ecosystem services provided by the TNSFP are highly consistent with the thrust of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and the TNSFP has contributed to the realization of SDG2, SDG8, SDG13, and SDG15. Although achieving tremendous ecological, economic, and social benefits, the TNSFP still has knowledge gaps in its scientific basis. And the limited local engagement and insufficient investment highly hinder the TNSFP from playing its multiple functions. We suggest several urgent actions and directions to address these limitations. This review could help researchers gain insight into key areas of ecological restoration in the TNSFP, providing a reference for future research in the TNSFP construction in China and other regions of the world embarking on similar journeys.
森林提供了重要的生态系统服务，如水土保持、气候调节和碳储存。许多国家正在尝试大规模的造林计划，以改善恶化或不利地区的环境条件。中国的三北防护林工程（TNSFP），占中国总面积的 42.40%，是迄今为止世界上最大的造林计划。TNSFP 在 73 年（1978-2050 年）的时间里，共投资 933 亿元人民币，持续为人类提供关键的生态系统服务。为了便于理解 TNSFP 的贡献，我们综合审查了结构化文献、文献计量分析和主题分析，全面评估了 TNSFP 在过去 43 年的影响。我们将 TNSFP 的直接生态系统服务证据从防风固沙、水土流失控制和碳固存纳入并扩展到间接经济效益，例如增加作物产量和促进经济发展。我们发现，在过去 40 年的 TNSFP 建设中，中国三北地区的风沙和水土流失得到了有效控制，森林碳固存、粮食产量和经济产出稳步增加。TNSFP 提供的生态系统服务与联合国可持续发展目标的重点高度一致，TNSFP 为实现可持续发展目标 2、8、13 和 15 做出了贡献。尽管取得了巨大的生态、经济和社会效益，但 TNSFP 在科学基础方面仍存在知识差距。而且，有限的地方参与和投资不足严重阻碍了 TNSFP 发挥其多种功能。我们提出了一些紧急行动和方向来解决这些限制。本综述可以帮助研究人员深入了解 TNSFP 生态恢复的关键领域，为未来在中国和世界其他地区开展类似项目的 TNSFP 建设研究提供参考。
