標題:
Human Activity in China and India Dominates the Greening of Earth, NASA Study
Shows (NASA研究顯示，中國和印度的人為活動主導地球綠化)
新聞來源: 原文 https://goo.gl/dhe1aS
(括弧內為我的翻譯)
The world is literally a greener place than it was 20 years ago, and data
from NASA satellites has revealed a counterintuitive source for much of this
new foliage: China and India. A new study shows that the two emerging
countries with the world’s biggest populations are leading the increase in
greening on land. The effect stems mainly from ambitious tree planting
programs in China and intensive agriculture in both countries.
(這個世界實際上比20年前更加綠色，而NASA衛星的數據顯示，大部分這種新增的葉綠色
有個違反直覺的來源：中國和印度。一項新的研究表明，世界上人口最多的兩個新興國家
正在引領土地綠化的增加。其影響主要來自中國雄心勃勃的植樹計劃和兩國的集約化農業
。)
The greening phenomenon was first detected using satellite data in the
mid-1990s by Ranga Myneni of Boston University and colleagues, but they did
not know whether human activity was one of its chief, direct causes. This new
insight was made possible by a nearly 20-year-long data record from a NASA
instrument orbiting the Earth on two satellites. It’s called the Moderate
Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, or MODIS, and its high-resolution data
provides very accurate information, helping researchers work out details of
what’s happening with Earth’s vegetation, down to the level of 500 meters,
or about 1,600 feet, on the ground.
(20世紀90年代中期，波士頓大學的Ranga Myneni及其同事首次使用衛星數據檢測到綠化
現象，但他們不知道人類活動是否是其主要的直接原因之一。這項新的見解得益於NASA的
兩顆衛星繞地球運行的近20年的儀器數據記錄。它被稱為中分辨率成像光譜儀，或MODIS
，其高分辨率數據提供非常準確的信息，幫助研究人員詳細了解地球植被發生的細節，至
地面上500公尺，或約1,600英尺解析度的水準。)
Taken all together, the greening of the planet over the last two decades
represents an increase in leaf area on plants and trees equivalent to the
area covered by all the Amazon rainforests. There are now more than two
million square miles of extra green leaf area per year, compared to the early
2000s – a 5% increase.
(總而言之，過去二十年來地球的綠化代表了植物和樹木葉面積的增加，相當於所有亞馬
遜熱帶雨林覆蓋的面積。與21世紀初相比，現在每年有超過200萬平方英里的額外綠葉面
積 - 增加了5％。)
“China and India account for one-third of the greening, but contain only 9%
of the planet’s land area covered in vegetation – a surprising finding,
considering the general notion of land degradation in populous countries from
overexploitation,” said Chi Chen of the Department of Earth and Environment
at Boston University, in Massachusetts, and lead author of the study.
(“中國和印度只包含植被覆蓋的地球面積的9％，卻佔新增綠化面積的三分之一。考慮到
人口眾多的國家中，土地一般因過度開發退化， 這是一個令人驚訝的發現。”麻州波士
頓大學地球與環境系，該研究的主要作者 Chi Chen 說。)
An advantage of the MODIS satellite sensor is the intensive coverage it
provides, both in space and time: MODIS has captured as many as four shots of
every place on Earth, every day for the last 20 years.
( MODIS衛星傳感器的一個優點是它在空間和時間上提供了密集的覆蓋：MODIS在過去20年
中，每天在地球上每個地方拍攝多達四張照片。)
“This long-term data lets us dig deeper,” said Rama Nemani, a research
scientist at NASA’s Ames Research Center, in California’s Silicon Valley,
and a co-author of the new work. “When the greening of the Earth was first
observed, we thought it was due to a warmer, wetter climate and fertilization
from the added carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, leading to more leaf growth
in northern forests, for instance. Now, with the MODIS data that lets us
understand the phenomenon at really small scales, we see that humans are also
contributing.”
( NASA位於加州矽谷的Ames研究中心的研究科學家Rama Nemani說：“這一長期數據讓我
們能夠深入挖掘。”他是這項新工作的合著者。 “當首次觀察到地球的綠化時，我們認
為這是由於氣候變暖，潮濕和大氣中二氧化碳的施肥，導致北方森林的葉片生長更多。現
在，通過MODIS數據讓我們能夠在非常小的尺度上理解這種現象，我們發現人類也在做出
貢獻。”)
China’s outsized contribution to the global greening trend comes in large
part (42%) from programs to conserve and expand forests. These were developed
in an effort to reduce the effects of soil erosion, air pollution and climate
change. Another 32% there – and 82% of the greening seen in India – comes
from intensive cultivation of food crops.
(中國對全球綠化趨勢的巨大貢獻在很大程度上（42％）來自保護和擴大森林的計劃。這
些是為了減少土壤侵蝕，空氣污染和氣候變化的影響而開發的。另外的32％，和在印度看
到的82％的綠化 一起，是來自糧食作物的集約化種植。)
Land area used to grow crops is comparable in China and India – more than
770,000 square miles – and has not changed much since the early 2000s. Yet
these regions have greatly increased both their annual total green leaf area
and their food production. This was achieved through multiple cropping
practices, where a field is replanted to produce another harvest several
times a year. Production of grains, vegetables, fruits and more have
increased by about 35-40% since 2000 to feed their large populations.
(用於種植農作物的土地面積在中國和印度差不多，超過770,000平方英里 ，並且自21世
紀初以來沒有太大變化。然而，這些地區的年綠葉總面積和糧食產量都大大增加。這是通
過多種作物實踐來實現的，田地被重新種植而產生另一次收穫，一年裡重覆多次。自2000
年以來，糧食，蔬菜，水果等的產量增加了約35-40％，以滿足其大量人口的需求。)
How the greening trend may change in the future depends on numerous factors,
both on a global scale and the local human level. For example, increased food
production in India is facilitated by groundwater irrigation. If the
groundwater is depleted, this trend may change.
(未來綠化趨勢如何變化取決於眾多因素，無論是在全球範圍內還是在當地的人類社會層
面。例如，地下水灌溉促進了印度糧食產量的增加。如果地下水耗盡，這種趨勢可能會改
變。)
“But, now that we know direct human influence is a key driver of the
greening Earth, we need to factor this into our climate models,” Nemani
said. “This will help scientists make better predictions about the behavior
of different Earth systems, which will help countries make better decisions
about how and when to take action.”
(“但是，既然我們知道人類的直接影響是綠化地球的關鍵驅動因素，我們需要將其納入
我們的氣候模型。” Nemani說，“這將有助於科學家更好地預測不同地球系統的行為，
這將有助於各國更好地決定如何以及何時採取行動。”)
The researchers point out that the gain in greenness seen around the world
and dominated by India and China does not offset the damage from loss of
natural vegetation in tropical regions, such as Brazil and Indonesia. The
consequences for sustainability and biodiversity in those ecosystems remain.
(研究人員指出，世界各地以及印度和中國占主導地位的綠色增益並未抵消巴西和印尼等
熱帶地區自然植被喪失造成的損害。這些生態系統對可持續性和生物多樣性的影響依舊。
)
Overall, Nemani sees a positive message in the new findings. “Once people
realize there’s a problem, they tend to fix it,” he said. “In the 70s and
80s in India and China, the situation around vegetation loss wasn’t good; in
the 90s, people realized it; and today things have improved. Humans are
incredibly resilient. That’s what we see in the satellite data.”
(總體而言，Nemani在新發現中看到了積極的信息。 “一旦人們意識到存在問題，他們就
會解決這個問題，”他說。 “在70年代和80年代的印度和中國，植被損失的情況糟糕。
在90年代，人們意識到了這一點。今天情況有所改善。人類非常有彈性。這就是我們在衛
星數據中看到的情況。”)
This research was published online, Feb. 11, 2019, in the journal Nature
Sustainability.
該研究於2019年2月11日在線發表在Nature Sustainability期刊上。
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-019-0220-7
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