Spatial change of grassland ecosystem in Gansu Province

Grasslands are one of the main types of terrestrial ecosystems and they play an important role in the global carbon cycle, carbon storage, and climate regulation, and are closely related to regional economic development and ecological security. The spatial change in grassland ecosystems in Gansu Province was studied from 2000 to 2010 using the analysis method of change hotspots and coefficient of variation. The results showed that the spatial distribution of grassland vegetation coverage varied in Gansu Province. The coverage of grassland vegetation in the Hexi Corridor was relatively low, and the coverage of grassland in the Gannan Plateau was relatively high, which indicated that the degradation of grassland ecosystems mainly resulted in severe degradation. The results showed that the change hotspot and the variation coefficient could be used to analyze the spatial change pattern of grassland ecosystems and provide a basis for the management and protection of degraded grasslands.