Classification and evaluation of rocky desertification and evolution process in South Taihang Area

Taking the southern Taihang Mountains area as an example， remote sensing interpretation technology was adopted， three evaluation factors （vegetation， soil cover， and bedrock exposure rate） were selected， a rocky desertification classification standard suitable for this region was established， and research on the rocky desertification issue in the area was carried out. The results showed that：（1） Verification was conducted using the second component （greenness index） of the tasseled cap transformation， which confirmed that the rocky desertification classification standard for northern China constructed based on the three factors （vegetation， soil cover， and bedrock exposure rate） was reasonable and feasible； （2） From 1995 to 2020， the rocky desertification in the study area showed a trend where it deteriorated rapidly in the first 8 years and improved slowly in the subsequent 25 years； The rocky desertification areas were highly concentrated in the southeast， south， and northwest parts of the study area. Most of these areas were adjacent to farmland， towns， and mining areas， and were strongly disturbed by human production and construction activities； In contrast， areas without rocky desertification were mostly concentrated in the northwest part of the study area and some local areas along the northern border； （3） The geological environment and human activities interacted with and promoted each other， which led to the degradation of land productivity， the deterioration of the vegetation living environment， and the decline of water and soil conservation capacity in the area. In turn， this promoted a vicious cycle of soil erosion， carbonate rock dissolution， and erosion， driving the continuous development of the rocky desertification problem.