Vegetation cover plays a key role in terrestrial ecosystem; therefore, it is important for researchers to investigate the variation and influencing factors of vegetation cover. China has experienced a large-scale vegetation cover change in recent years. We summarized the literature of vegetation cover change and revealed how large-scale anthropogenic activities influence vegetation cover change in China. Afforestation and intensification of cropland played a key role in large-scale greening. Urbanization showed a “U” shape to influence vegetation cover change. Mining and reclamation, land abandonment and land consolidation, and regional natural protection all had a unique influence on the change of vegetation cover. Indeed, the large-scale vegetation cover change was caused by interaction of anthropogenic factors and part human-driven climate change. Anthropogenic factors influenced climate change to indirectly alter the condition of plant growth. Interaction between climate change and human activities influence on vegetation cover still needs to be further investigated in the future.

Land use change plays a key role in terrestrial systems and drives the process of ecological pattern change. It is important to investigate the process of land use change, predict land use patterns, and reveal the characteristics of land use dynamics. In this study, we adopted the Markov model and future land use (FLUS) model to predict the future land use conditions in Xi’an city. Furthermore, we investigated the characteristics of land use change from a novel perspective, i.e., via establishment of a complex network model. This model captured the characteristics of the land use system during different periods. The results indicated that urban expansion and cropland loss played an important role in land use pattern change. The future gravity center of urban development moved along the opposite direction to that from 2000 to 2015 in Xi’an city. Although the rate of urban expansion declined in the future, urban expansion remained the primary driver of land use change. The primary urban development directions were east-southeast (ENE), north-northeast (NNE) and west-southwest (WSW) from 1990 to 2000, 2000 to 2015, and 2015 to 2030, respectively. In fact, cropland played a vital role in land use dynamics regarding all land use types, and the stability of the land use system decreased in the future. Our study provides future land use patterns and a novel perspective to better understand land use change.

Vegetation plays a key role in ecosystem regulation and influences our capacity for sustainable development. Global vegetation cover has changed dramatically over the past decades in response to both natural and anthropogenic factors; therefore, it is necessary to analyze the spatiotemporal changes in vegetation cover and its influencing factors. Moreover, ecological engineering projects, such as the “Grain for Green” project implemented in 1999, have been introduced to improve the ecological environment by enhancing forest coverage. In our study, we analyzed the changes in vegetation cover across the Loess Plateau of China and the impacts of influencing factors. First, we analyzed the latitudinal and longitudinal changes in vegetation coverage. Second, we displayed the spatiotemporal changes in vegetation cover based on Theil-Sen slope analysis and the Mann-Kendall test. Third, the Hurst exponent was used to predict future changes in vegetation coverage. Fourth, we assessed the relationship between vegetation cover and the influence of individual factors. Finally, ordinary least squares regression and the geographically weighted regression model were used to investigate the influence of various factors on vegetation cover. We found that the Loess Plateau showed large-scale greening from 2000 to 2015, though some regions showed decreasing vegetation cover. Latitudinal and longitudinal changes in vegetation coverage presented a net increase. Moreover, some areas of the Loess Plateau are at risk of degradation in the future, but most areas showed a sustainable increase in vegetation cover. Temperature, precipitation, gross domestic product (GDP), slope, cropland percentage, forest percentage, and built-up land percentage displayed different relationships with vegetation cover. Geographically weighted regression model revealed that GDP, temperature, precipitation, forest percentage, cropland percentage, built-up land percentage, and slope significantly influenced (p < 0.05) vegetation cover in 2000. In comparison, precipitation, forest percentage, cropland percentage, and built-up land percentage significantly affected (p < 0.05) vegetation cover in 2015. Our results enhance our understanding of the ecological and environmental changes in the Loess Plateau.

The supply and demand of ecosystem services are affected by land use. Only a few studies have conducted in-depth quantitative analyses. This study adopted the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region as the research area. The CLUMondo model was adopted to infer the land-use pattern under protection, development, and natural scenarios in 2035. Moreover, the InVEST model was utilized to evaluate carbon sequestration, water yield, and soil conservation under multiple land-use patterns. The production possibility frontier was drawn to visualize the trade-off relationship further. The trade-off intensity index was calculated to quantify the magnitude of the trade-off. (1) Under the development scenario, the accelerated expansion of urbanized land will occupy a large amount of arable and forest land, which should be planned and controlled. (2) The trade-off and synergistic relationships could be transformed under the different land-use scenarios. (3) The production possibility frontier curve for each ecosystem service trade-off and the optimal value of the trade-off configuration were plotted for the different scenarios. The trade-off intensity of ecosystem services was also calculated. This study combined ecosystem services with land-use regulations and revealed the link between ecosystem services and regional land-use pattern change. The aim is to provide a reference for the synergistic progress of the ecological economy in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region.