Land degradation neutrality in mountainous region: dynamics, driving factors, and management implications

Abstract

Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN), as a critical target of Sustainable Development Goal, faces significant temporal constraints with only a 15-year implementation window from its conception in 2015 to the target year of 2030. This urgency necessitates comprehensive assessment of land degradation, particularly in ecologically fragile mountainous regions characterized by complex ecosystem interactions and multiple disturbance factors. Based on the scientific conceptual framework for LDN indicator system, this study proposes a novel dominant-recessive assessment methodology and implements a multi-scale land degradation evaluation. Focusing on the northern Qinling Mountains as a case study, we employed trend analysis to systematically examine land degradation status and LDN implementation across multiple spatial scales. Our findings reveal substantial areas failing to meet LDN goals at both administrative district and grid scales. Our findings reveal substantial areas failing to meet LDN goals at both administrative district and grid scales. Through the Geodetector analysis, we investigated the relationships between land degradation patterns and 12 natural and socio-economic factors. The results demonstrate that mean annual temperature, normalized difference vegetation index and altitude emerge as primary drivers of land degradation in the northern Qinling Mountains, collectively explaining over 9 % of the variability. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that the interaction between any two factors exhibits a non-linear enhancement effect on land degradation processes. These findings provide valuable insights into the mechanisms understanding of land degradation dynamics, offer scientific foundations for mountain ecosystem conservation strategies, and contribute to the theoretical advancement of LDN frameworks.