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Vegetation dynamics in northwest China under climate Warming: Spatiotemporal heterogeneity and climate drivers
Shuangying Li1, Yanyan Zhou2, Dongxia Yue3
1School of Geographical Sciences/Hebei Key Laboratory of Environmental Change and Ecological Construction/Hebei Technology Innovation Center for Remote Sensing Identification of Environmental Change, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, Hebei, 050024, China; MOE Key Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China.
Abstract:
As a region vulnerable to global climate change, Northwest China's (NWC) vegetation ecosystem has undergone complex evolution. However, the dynamics of vegetation transitions and their climatic responses remain underexplored. We investigated the spatiotemporal evolution of NWC vegetation (2000-2022) using kNDVI and the BFAST algorithm, further exploring climatic drivers of these patterns. Our research found a significant greening trend in NWC vegetation, accounting for 51.10 % of the region. This trend was primarily manifested as monotonic increases (36.42 %) and interrupted increases (14.68 %). Conversely, vegetation decline was observed in 23.78 % of the region, predominantly through reversals from increase to decrease (17.59 %). NWC's humidifying climate correlated with expanding kNDVI-increasing areas. Temperature was the primary driver of vegetation improvement, yet precipitation exerted a greater overall influence, which diminished with increased moisture. Solar radiation's influence on vegetation significantly expanded and intensified after identified turn points. These insights clarify the spatial and temporal shifts in dominant climatic drivers of vegetation change. This aids in more accurate projections of vegetation dynamics under ongoing climate change by accounting for these shifting controls.
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