NDVI Variation and Its Responses to Climate Change on the Northern Loess Plateau of China from 1998 to 2012

Abstract

This study analyzed temporal and spatial changes of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) on the northern Loess Plateau and their correlation with climatic factors from 1998 to 2012. The possible impacts of human activities on the NDVI changes were also explored. The results showed that (1) the annual maximum NDVI showed an upward trend. The significantly increased NDVI and decreasing severe desertification areas demonstrate that the vegetation condition improved in this area. (2) Over the past decades, climate tended to be warmer and drier. However, the mean temperature significantly decreased and precipitation slightly increased from 1998 to 2012, especially in spring and summer, which was one of the major reasons for the increase in the annual maximum NDVI. Compared to temperature, vegetation was more sensitive to precipitation changes in this area. The NDVI and annual precipitation changes were highly synchronous over the first half of the year, while a 1-month time lag existed between the two variables during the second half of the year. (3) Positive human activities, including the “Grain for Green” program and successful environmental treatments at coal mining bases, were some of the other factors that improved the vegetation condition.

Vegetation Response to Recent Trends in Climate and Landuse Dynamics in a Typical Humid and Dry Tropical Region under Global Change

“…e remotely sensed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), which is generally used as a proxy for terrestrial vegetation productivity-allowing for continuous and long-term monitoring of information on the relationship between vegetation and climate-is now one of the most widely used indicators in studies involving vegetation dynamics and ecosystem health [6][7][8]. A large number of studies have been carried out to assess the vegetation patterns around the world based on NDVI time series data [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. Many scholars have explored the relationship between NDVI and climate at varying scales; however, our understanding of these processes and interactions is still limited in many areas [14,15].…”

Vegetation dynamics and responses to climate anomalies in East Africa

“…Terrestrial vegetation depends on and affects land surface-atmosphere interactions as the primary link for moisture (evapotranspiration) and energy (latent) exchange through its physiological properties (Leaf Area Index (LAI), rooting depth and stomatal resistance), and its influence on surface roughness, and albedo (Arora, 2002;Bao et al, 2014;Ning et al, 2015). 25 For instance, recent studies have reported a strong land-atmosphere coupling in West Africa, whereby vegetation dynamics play a significant role in regulating the West African monsoon and therefore rainfall distribution (Hales et al, 2006;Xue et al, 2012;Zheng and Eltahir, 1998).…”

The Driving Force Analysis of NDVI Dynamics in the Trans-Boundary Tumen River Basin between 2000 and 2015

“…The land cover type is sensitive to environmental changes that result mainly from climatic fluctuations and human activities. As a result, understanding the factors underlying vegetation dynamics has been identified as a key issue in global climate variability [2], particularly in terrestrial ecosystems [3].…”

“…Temperature and precipitation are the most significant factors influencing changes in the NDVI [13]; trends in this index in northern mid and high latitudes are controlled by increasing temperature while fluctuations in the semi-arid regions of the Southern Hemisphere are due to decreasing precipitation [5]. Precipitation is known to be more important than temperature as a climatic variable influencing changes in vegetation cover in arid and semi-arid regions [2,9,14], and it has also been suggested that the relationship between the NDVI and temperature is more marked than that between this index and precipitation in temperate monsoonal climate regions [15].…”