Rapid greening response of China’s 2020 spring vegetation to COVID-19 restrictions: Implications for climate change | Zendy

Fenzhen Su | Zendy; Dongjie Fu | Zendy; Fengqin Yan | Zendy; Han Xiao | Zendy; Tingting Pan | Zendy; Yang Xiao | Zendy; Lu Kang | Zendy; Chenghu Zhou | Zendy; Michael E. Meadows | Zendy; Vincent Lyne | Zendy; John P. Wilson | Zendy; Na Zhao | Zendy; Xiaomei Yang | Zendy; Gaohuan Liu | Zendy

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Rapid greening response of China’s 2020 spring vegetation to COVID-19 restrictions: Implications for climate change

Author(s) -

Fenzhen Su,

Dongjie Fu,

Fengqin Yan,

Han Xiao,

Tingting Pan,

Yang Xiao,

Lu Kang,

Chenghu Zhou,

Michael E. Meadows,

Vincent Lyne,

John P. Wilson,

Na Zhao,

Xiaomei Yang,

Gaohuan Liu

Publication year - 2021

Publication title -

science advances

Language(s) - English

Resource type - Journals

SCImago Journal Rank - 5.928

H-Index - 146

ISSN - 2375-2548

DOI - 10.1126/sciadv.abe8044

Subject(s) - greening , covid-19 , climate change , vegetation (pathology) , spring (device) , china , environmental science , pandemic , geography , physical geography , outbreak , virology , ecology , biology , medicine , engineering , mechanical engineering , disease , archaeology , pathology , infectious disease (medical specialty)

The 2019 novel coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) negatively affected global public health and socioeconomic development. Lockdowns and travel restrictions to contain COVID-19 resulted in reduced human activity and decreased anthropogenic emissions. However, the secondary effects of these restrictions on the biophysical environment are uncertain. Using remotely sensed big data, we investigated how lockdowns and traffic restrictions affected China's spring vegetation in 2020. Our analyses show that travel decreased by 58% in the first 18 days following implementation of the restrictions across China. Subsequently, atmospheric optical clarity increased and radiation levels on the vegetation canopy were augmented. Furthermore, the spring of 2020 arrived 8.4 days earlier and vegetation 17.45% greener compared to 2015-2019. Reduced human activity resulting from COVID-19 restrictions contributed to a brighter, earlier, and greener 2020 spring season in China. This study shows that short-term changes in human activity can have a relatively rapid ecological impact at the regional scale.

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