气候变化和人类活动对蒙古高原植被覆盖变化的影响

基于全球监测与模型研究组（GIMMS）归一化植被指数(NDVI),对蒙古高原地区1981-2006年植被覆盖的时空变化进行了研究,并从气候变化和人类活动的角度,分析了植被覆盖变化的原因。1981-2006年蒙古高原的植被覆盖时空分布具有明显的地带性特征,森林区及荒漠区植被覆盖呈现小幅下降趋势,草原区呈现上升趋势,蒙古高原NDVI分布从东北向西南、从高原南北边缘地带向中心地带呈明显的规律性变化：高原东北部的大兴安岭地区NDVI最高,蒙古国北部的杭爱山脉次之,西南部荒漠区的NDVI最低。研究表明: 植被覆盖变化是气候变化和人类活动共同作用的结果,蒙古高原地区的降水变化是植被覆盖变化的重要原因,森林砍伐、河套耕作及城镇化等人类活动则是导致具有相似气候条件的内蒙古与蒙古国植被覆盖变化区域差异的原因。     

Attribution analysis and multi-scenario prediction of NDVI drivers in the Xilin Gol grassland,China

Grassland degradation is influenced by climate change and human activities, and has become a major obstacle for the development of arid and semi-arid areas, posing a series of environmental and socio-economic problems. An in-depth understanding of the inner relations among grassland vegetation dynamics, climate change, and human activities is therefore greatly significant for understanding the variation in regional environmental conditions and predicting future developmental trends. Based on MODIS (moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer) NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) data from 2000 to 2020, our objective is to investigate the spatiotemporal changes of NDVI in the Xilin Gol grassland, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Combined with 12 natural factors and human activity factors in the same period, the dominant driving factors and their interactions were identified by using the geographic detector model, and multiple scenarios were also simulated to forecast the possible paths of future NDVI changes in this area. The results showed that: (1) in the past 21 a, vegetation cover in the Xilin Gol grassland exhibited an overall increasing trend, and the vegetation restoration (84.53%) area surpassed vegetation degradation area (7.43%); (2) precipitation, wind velocity, and livestock number were the dominant factors affecting NDVI (the explanatory power of these factors exceeded 0.4). The interaction between average annual wind velocity and average annual precipitation, and between average annual precipitation and livestock number greatly affected NDVI changes (the explanatory power of these factors exceeded 0.7). Moreover, the impact of climate change on NDVI was more significant than human activities; and (3) scenario analysis indicated that NDVI in the Xinlin Gol grassland increased under the scenarios of reduced wind velocity, increased precipitation, and ecological protection. In contrast, vegetation coverage restoration in this area was significantly reduced under the scenarios of unfavorable climate conditions and excessive human activities. This study provides a scientific basis for future vegetation restoration and management, ecological environmental construction, and sustainable natural resource utilization in this area.     

Spatial-temporal dynamics of desert vegetation and its responses to climatic variations over the last three decades:a case study of Hexi region in Northwest China

Analysis of spatial-temporal variations of desert vegetation under the background of climate changes can provide references for ecological restoration in arid and semi-arid areas.In this study,we used the Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies(GIMMS)NDVI data from 1982 to 2006 and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS)NDVI data from 2000 to 2013 to reveal the dynamics of desert vegetation in Hexi region of Northwest China over the past three decades.We also used the annual temperature and precipitation data acquired from the Chinese meteorological stations to analyze the response of desert vegetation to climatic variations.The average value of NDVImax(the maximum NDVI during the growing season)for desert vegetation in Hexi region increased at the rate of 0.65×10–3/a(P0.05)from 1982 to 2013,and the significant increases of NDVImax mainly appeared in the typical desert vegetation areas.Vegetation was significantly improved in the lower reaches of Shule and Shiyang river basins,and the weighted mean center of desert vegetation mainly shifted toward the lower reaches of the two basins.Almost 95.32% of the total desert vegetation area showed positive correlation between NDVImax and annual precipitation,indicating that precipitation is the key factor for desert vegetation growth in the entire study area.Moreover,the areas with non-significant positive correlation between NDVImax and annual precipitation mainly located in the lower reaches of Shiyang and Shule river basins,this may be due to human activities.Only 7.64% of the desert vegetation showed significant positive correlation between NDVImax and annual precipitation in the Shule River Basin(an extremely arid area),indicating that precipitation is not the most important factor for vegetation growth in this basin,and further studies are needed to investigate the mechanism for this phenomenon.     

基于CRU资料的中亚地区气候特征

基于中亚地区1971-2000年的CRU资料,利用一元线性回归法,分析中亚地区30 a的气候变化特征。结果表明：土库曼斯坦和乌兹别克斯坦的沙漠地区是中亚最为干旱的地区,也是气温最高的地区。塔吉克斯坦和吉尔吉斯斯坦冬季和春季降水多,夏季和秋季降水少,气温变化幅度相对较小。哈萨克斯坦的降水呈现西多东少,且主要集中在夏季,气温变化幅度较大,且西暖东冷。中亚地区气温年较差较小。新疆与中亚五国的气候有明显差异,新疆降水主要集中在夏季的天山山区,气温增暖明显,最高和最低气温与中亚西部的变化趋势相反。     

Vegetation cover change and the driving factors over northwest China

In this paper the spatio-temporal variation of vegetation cover in northwest China during the period of 1982-2006 and its driving factors were analyzed using GIMMS/NDVI data. The annual average NDVI was increased with a rate of 0.0005/a in northwest China and there was an obvious difference between regions. The trend line slopes of NDVI were higher than 0.0005 in the Tianshan Moutains and Altay Mountains of Xinjiang,the Qilian Mountains of Gansu and the eastern part of Qinghai,which indicated the vegetation cover was significantly increased in these areas. The trend line slopes of NDVI were lower than 0.0005 in the southern region of Qinghai,the border regions of Shaanxi and Ningxia,the parts of Gansu and Tarim Basin,Turpan and Tuoli in Xinjiang,which indicated the vegetation cover was declined in these areas. The NDVI of woodland,grassland and cultivated land had an ascending tendency during the study period. The study shows that the vegetation cover change was caused by both natural factors and human activities in northwest China. The natural vegetation change,such as forests was influenced by climate change,while human activities were the main reason to the change of planting vegetation. The changes of vegetation covers for different elevations,slopes and slope aspects were quite different. When the elevation is exceeded to 4,000 m,the NDVI increasing trend was very low;the NDVI at the slope of less than 25° was increased by the ecological construction;the variation of NDVI on sunny slope was stronger than that on shady slope. The temperature rose significantly in recent 25 years in northwest China by an average rate of 0.67oC/10a,and precipitation increased by an average rate of 8.15 mm/10a after 1986. There was positive correlation between vegetation cover and temperature and annual precipitation changes. Rising temperature increased the evaporation and drought of soils,which is not conducive to plant growth,and the irrigation in agricultural areas reduced the correlation between agricultural vegetation NDVI and precipitation. The improvement of agricultural production level and the projects of ecological construction are very important causes for the NDVI increase in northwest China,and the ecological effect of large-scale ecological construction projects has appeared.     

Potential responses of vegetation to atmospheric aerosols in arid and semi-arid regions of Asia

Changes in atmospheric aerosols have profound effects on ecosystem productivity, vegetation growth and activity by directly and indirectly influencing climate and environment conditions. However, few studies have focused on the effects of atmospheric aerosols on vegetation growth and activity in the vulnerable arid and semi-arid regions, which are also the source areas of aerosols. Using the datasets of aerosol optical depth(AOD), normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI) and multiple climatic variables including photosynthetically active radiation(PAR), surface solar radiation(SSR), surface air temperature(TEM) and total precipitation(PRE), we analyzed the potential responses of vegetation activity to atmospheric aerosols and their associated climatic factors in arid and semi-arid regions of Asia from 2005 to 2015. Our results suggested that areas with decreasing growing-season NDVI were mainly observed in regions with relatively sparse vegetation coverage, while AOD tended to increase as NDVI decreased in these regions. Upon further analysis, we found that aerosols might exert a negative influence on vegetation activity by reducing SSR, PAR and TEM, as well as suppressing PRE in most arid and semi-arid regions of Asia. Moreover, the responses of atmospheric aerosols on vegetation activity varied among different growing stages. At the early growing stage, higher concentration of aerosol was accompanied with suppressed vegetation growth by enhancing cooling effects and reducing SSR and PAR. At the middle growing stage, aerosols tended to alter microphysical properties of clouds with suppressed PRE, thereby restricting vegetation growth. At the late growing stage, aerosols exerted significantly positive influences on vegetation activity by increasing SSR, PAR and TEM in regions with high anthropogenic aerosols. Overall, at different growing stages, aerosols could influence vegetation activity by changing different climatic factors including SSR, PAR, TEM and PRE in arid and semi-arid regions of Asia. This study not only clarifies the impacts of aerosols on vegetation activity in source areas, but also explains the roles of aerosols in climate.     

榆林地区植被指数动态变化及其对气候和人类活动的响应

榆林地区是中国典型生态脆弱区,植被生态系统对气候变化和人类活动影响较为敏感。以榆林地区2000—2015年MODIS NDVI为基础,结合气温、降水数据,利用线性趋势法、相关系数、偏相关系数及缓冲区方法,分析了区域NDVI(归一化差异植被指数)动态变化及其对气候和人类活动的响应,结果表明:(1)榆林地区总体上NDVI较小,植被覆盖水平较低。2000—2015年NDVI以每年0.009 6的线性速率递增,空间上主要表现出线性增加趋势,占总面积的97.06%,减少趋势面积较小且主要与人类活动有关,分布在区域西南部山区、城镇附近及中、东部的河流谷地。(2)相关分析表明,榆林地区NDVI与气温以负相关为主,而与降水以正相关为主,反映出干旱、半干旱地区水分是植物生长的主导因子。(3)NDVI变化过程反映出人类活动范围中,市级行政中心缓冲区人类活动强度高于县级行政中心缓冲区。市级行政中心缓冲区范围可划分为5 km以内受人类活动剧烈影响区域、5~9km受人类活动影响递减区域和9 km以外未受人类活动影响区域。     

1982-2006年华北植被指数时空变化特征

利用1982-2006年GIMMS/NDVI数据,研究华北近25 a来植被指数在时间和空间上的变化。结果表明:①植被指数的年内变化呈单峰型,最大值出现在夏季,其中北京市NDVI最大,森林NDVI比农田和草地NDVI大;②华北年平均NDVI呈增加趋势,河北省植被指数增加最快,北京市次之,不同土地覆盖类型中,农田NDVI增加最快,草地次之,森林最小;③空间趋势分析结果显示,华北植被指数改善的面积占整个地区面积的15.96%,退化面积占11.86%,其中,河北省改善面积最大,内蒙古退化较明显,不同土地覆盖类型中,农田植被改善最明显;④基于华北近年暖干化发展趋势下,人类活动对该区域NDVI变化起到了重要作用。     

黑河中游植被覆盖率变化趋势及其驱动因子分析

利用2002~2011年的黑河干流中游归一化值被指数数据获得植被覆盖率变化趋势,选取合适的NDVI阈值将整个区域划分为"绿洲区"和"荒漠区",并分别探讨了地下水埋深、中游耗水量及累积降水量对两种区域面积和植被覆盖率变化的影响。结果表明:黑河干流中游植被覆盖率整体呈增长趋势,由2002年的32%增长到了2011年的36%,对植被覆盖率增长贡献最大的因素为绿洲区扩张,10年间绿洲区面积占比增长了10%;影响绿洲扩张的主要因素为地下水位埋深和中游耗水量,绿洲区植被覆盖率变化较小,可忽略其影响。荒漠区植被覆盖率的变化主要受累积降水量影响。利用地下水位埋深、中游耗水量、累积降水量可预测区域植被覆盖率的变化趋势,区分人类活动和气候变化对区域植被覆盖率的影响是可行的。     

Quantitative distinction of the relative actions of climate change and human activities on vegetation evolution in the Yellow River Basin of China during 1981-2019

Under the combined influence of climate change and human activities, vegetation ecosystem has undergone profound changes. It can be seen that there are obvious differences in the evolution patterns and driving mechanisms of vegetation ecosystem in different historical periods. Therefore, it is urgent to identify and reveal the dominant factors and their contribution rates in the vegetation change cycle. Based on the data of climate elements (sunshine hours, precipitation and temperature), human activities (population intensity and GDP intensity) and other natural factors (altitude, slope and aspect), this study explored the spatial and temporal evolution patterns of vegetation NDVI in the Yellow River Basin of China from 1989 to 2019 through a residual method, a trend analysis, and a gravity center model, and quantitatively distinguished the relative actions of climate change and human activities on vegetation evolution based on Geodetector model. The results showed that the spatial distribution of vegetation NDVI in the Yellow River Basin showed a decreasing trend from southeast to northwest. During 1981-2019, the temporal variation of vegetation NDVI showed an overall increasing trend. The gravity centers of average vegetation NDVI during the study period was distributed in Zhenyuan County, Gansu Province, and the center moved northeastwards from 1981 to 2019. During 1981-2000 and 2001-2019, the proportion of vegetation restoration areas promoted by the combined action of climate change and human activities was the largest. During the study period (1981-2019), the dominant factors influencing vegetation NDVI shifted from natural factors to human activities. These results could provide decision support for the protection and restoration of vegetation ecosystem in the Yellow River Basin.     

1982—2015年中国北方生长季NDVI变化及其对气温极值的响应

基于GIMMS NDVI 3g v1. 0数据集和日值气象数据,结合极端气温指数,辅以极点对称模态分解、趋势分析、Mann-Kendall趋势检验、相关分析等方法,探讨中国北方生长季植被覆盖及极端气温的变化特征,研究植被覆盖对气温极值的响应状况。结果表明:①1982-2015年中国北方生长季NDVI以0. 002·(10a)^-1的速率上升(P <0. 05),ESMD(极点对称模态分解方法)显示生长季NDVI波动上升;针叶林、灌丛、荒漠植被、草地以及栽培植被呈增长趋势,栽培植被增速最快,针阔混交林、落叶阔叶林和高山植被呈不显著减少趋势。②空间上,NDVI显著增加区域超过全区的33%,主要分布在天山、塔里木盆地北部、祁连山、陇南山区、黄土高原、河套平原、吕梁山和太行山、大别山以及辽西丘陵地区;显著下降区域仅占12%,主要分布在大兴安岭、小兴安岭和长白山区。③极端气温指数中,除TNmean(日最低气温平均值)和TNn(日最低气温极低值)呈上升趋势外,其余冷极值指数均呈下降趋势;所有暖极值指数均呈上升趋势;其他指数中,DTR(气温日较差)呈减小趋势,GSL(生长季日数)呈增加趋势。④中国北方NDVI与极端气温指数的相关性表明,冷极值指数中NDVI与FD0(霜冻日数)、TN10p(冷夜日数)、TX10p(冷昼日数)呈显著负相关(P <0.05),与TNmean呈显著正相关(P <0.01);NDVI与所有暖极值指数呈正相关,与TR20(热夜日数)、TXmean(日最高气温平均值)、TX90p(暖昼日数)以及TN90p(暖夜日数)存在显著相关性(P <0. 05);NDVI与GSL呈显著正相关(P <0.05)。⑤天山、塔里木盆地北缘、祁连山区、河套平原、黄土高原、太行山和吕梁山区等NDVI显著增加区域对极端气温指数的响应强烈。NDVI显著增加区主要对FD0、TNmean、TN90p、GSL等指数响应较强。NDVI显著减少区域对指数的响应各异,主要与SU25(夏季日数)呈显著负相关(P <0.05)。     

1982—2015年中国北方生长季NDVI变化及其对气温极值的响应

基于GIMMS NDVI 3g v1.0数据集和日值气象数据，结合极端气温指数，辅以极点对称模态分解、趋势分析、Mann-Kendall趋势检验、相关分析等方法，探讨中国北方生长季植被覆盖及极端气温的变化特征，研究植被覆盖对气温极值的响应状况。结果表明：① 1982—2015年中国北方生长季NDVI以0.002·（10a）^-1的速率上升（P<0.05），ESMD（极点对称模态分解方法）显示生长季NDVI波动上升；针叶林、灌丛、荒漠植被、草地以及栽培植被呈增长趋势，栽培植被增速最快，针阔混交林、落叶阔叶林和高山植被呈不显著减少趋势。② 空间上，NDVI显著增加区域超过全区的33%，主要分布在天山、塔里木盆地北部、祁连山、陇南山区、黄土高原、河套平原、吕梁山和太行山、大别山以及辽西丘陵地区；显著下降区域仅占12%，主要分布在大兴安岭、小兴安岭和长白山区。③ 极端气温指数中，除TNmean（日最低气温平均值）和TNn（日最低气温极低值）呈上升趋势外，其余冷极值指数均呈下降趋势；所有暖极值指数均呈上升趋势；其他指数中，DTR（气温日较差）呈减小趋势，GSL（生长季日数）呈增加趋势。④ 中国北方NDVI与极端气温指数的相关性表明，冷极值指数中NDVI与FD0（霜冻日数）、TN10p（冷夜日数）、TX10p（冷昼日数）呈显著负相关（P＜0.05），与TNmean呈显著正相关（P＜0.01）；NDVI与所有暖极值指数呈正相关，与TR20（热夜日数）、TXmean（日最高气温平均值）、TX90p（暖昼日数）以及TN90p（暖夜日数）存在显著相关性（P＜0.05）；NDVI与GSL呈显著正相关（P＜0.05）。⑤ 天山、塔里木盆地北缘、祁连山区、河套平原、黄土高原、太行山和吕梁山区等NDVI显著增加区域对极端气温指数的响应强烈。NDVI显著增加区主要对FD0、TNmean、TN90p、GSL等指数响应较强。NDVI显著减少区域对指数的响应各异，主要与SU25（夏季日数）呈显著负相关（P＜0.05）。     

石羊河上游地区树轮年表与NDVI关系分析

在石羊河上游地区选择4个样点,采集160余根青海云杉样芯,经过固定、打磨、交叉定年和测量等工作,建立研究区的树轮宽度年表。利用美国NASA戈达德航天中心的GIMMS/NDVI数据,建立研究区1982-2006年逐月标准化植被指数（NDVI）序列。发现研究区NDVI年内变化为单峰型,5-8月为生长季,年际间变化则有波动减少的趋势。经过相关性分析后发现,树轮年表与非生长季（上一年9月到当年4月）降水呈显著正相关,非生长季[WTBX]NDVI[WTBZ]与非生长季的降水呈较明显负相关。分析NDVI与年表关系后发现,生长季[WTBX]NDVI[WTBZ]与树轮年表相关性较差,而非生长季NDVI与年表相关性较好且为负相关（r=-0.667,p<0.01）。     

Monitoring the impact of climate change andhuman activities on grassland vegetation dynamics in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateauof China during 2000-2015

Climate change and human activities can influence vegetation net primary productivity (NPP), a key component of natural ecosystems. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China, in spite of its significant natural and cultural values, is one of the most susceptible regions to climate change and human disturbancesin the world. To assess the impact of climate change and human activities on vegetation dynamics in the grassland ecosystems ofthe northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, we applied a time-series trend analysis to normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) datasets from 2000 to 2015 and compared these spatiotemporal variations with trends in climatic variables over the same time period. The constrained ordination approach (redundancy analysis) was used to determine which climatic variables or human-related factors mostly in?uenced the variation of NDVI. Furthermore, in order to determine whether current conservation measures and programs are effectivein ecological protection and reconstruction, we divided the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau into two parts: the Three-River Headwater conservation area (TRH zone) in the south and the non-conservation area (NTRH zone) in the north. The results indicatedan overall (73.32%)increasing trend of vegetation NPP in grasslands throughout the study area. During the period 2000-2015, NDVI in the TRH and NTRH zones increased at the rates of 0.0015/aand 0.0020/a, respectively.Specifically, precipitation accounted for 9.2% of the total variation in NDVI, while temperature accounted for 13.4%. In addition, variation in vegetation NPP of grasslands responded not only to long- and short-term changes in climate, as conceptualized in non-equilibrium theory, but also to the impact of human activities and their associated perturbations. The redundancy analysis successfully separated the relative contributions of climate change and human activities, of whichvillage populationand agricultural gross domestic product were the two most important contributors to the NDVI changes, explaining 17.8% and 17.1% of the total variationof NDVI (with the total contribution >30.0%), respectively. The total contributionpercentages of climate change and human activitiesto the NDVI variation were27.5% and 34.9%, respectively, inthe northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Finally, our study shows that the grassland restoration in the study area was enhanced by protection measures and programs in the TRH zone, which explained 7.6% of the total variation in NDVI.     

Spatial and temporal variations of vegetation cover and the relationships with climate factors in Inner Mongolia based on GIMMS NDVI3g data

Variation in vegetation cover in Inner Mongolia has been previously studied by the remote sensing data spanning only one decade. However, spatial and temporal variations in vegetation cover based on the newly released GIMMS NDVI3g data spanning nearly thirty years have yet to be analyzed. In this study, we applied the methods of the maximum value composite(MVC) and Pearson's correlation coefficient to analyze the variations of vegetation cover in Inner Mongolia based on GIMMS NDVI3g data spanning from 1982 to 2013. Our results indicate that the normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI) increased at a rate of 0.0003/a during the growing seasons despite of the drier and hotter climate in Inner Mongolia during the past three decades. We also found that vegetation cover in the southern agro-pastoral zone significantly increased, while it significantly decreased in the central Alxa. The variations in vegetation cover were not significant in the eastern and central regions. NDVI is positively correlated with precipitation(r=0.617, P=0.000) and also with air temperature(r=0.425, P=0.015), but the precipitation had a greater effect than the air temperature on the vegetation variations in Inner Mongolia.     

诺敏河流域植被覆盖时空演变及其与径流的关系研究

基于GIMMS/NDVI数据对诺敏河流域1982-2006年间植被覆盖的时空演变特征进行了研究,并结合SCS模型模拟地表径流,在流域和像元尺度分析植被NDVI变化与径流的关系。研究表明:诺敏河流域植被NDVI值较高,但25a间整体呈下降趋势,NDVI减少的区域占总面积的82.5%,植被覆盖有所降低;NDVI空间差异明显,NDVI的高值区主要分布在中上游林区,而耕地分布较多的下游地区NDVI值相对较低。流域尺度上植被NDVI与径流不具有明显的相关性。但从像元尺度来看,植被NDVI和径流的正相关和负相关共存,流域不同空间位置的植被变化与径流的关系并不一致。     

近50 a中国降水变化的准周期性特征及未来的变化趋势

通过分区分析了1961-2006年近50 a中国降水周期分量的年际变化特征,并对未来20 a（2006-2026年）降水的可能变化趋势做了预测。结果表明：就年际变化而言,大部分气候区的降水年际变化存在着显著的周期变化,并以高频（准3～4 a）变化为主,且具有相对的稳定性。过去的50 a,各气候区的降水呈现出下降趋势。周期叠加外推的结果表明,未来20 a,除西部干旱（半干旱）区的降水会出现少许的增多外,其余各气候区的降水量会出现弱的减少趋势。     

近20年中国植被时空变化研究

利用1982-1999年的全球AVHRR/NDVI数据,通过年次最大植被指数随时间的变化斜率、各种土地覆盖类型上植被指数的变化、绿波和褐波推移变化、典型地带植被时空序列变化分析,从遥感角度反映出近20年中国的植被时空动态变化规律.总体上看,中国大多数地区的 NDVI 呈不同程度的增加趋势,表明中国陆地生态系统植被生长状况没有发生显著恶化.生长季节的延长和生长加速是中国 NDVI 增加的主要原因,而温度上升和夏季降水量的增加以及农业生产活动的加强可能是其主要的驱动因子.中国 NDVI 变化趋势显示了较大的空间异质性,东部沿海地区、珠江三角洲、长江三角洲、京津唐等环渤海地区 NDVI 呈下降趋势或变化不明显;农业生产区和西部部分地区增加显著.这种空间异质性是由于城市化过程、农业生产活动、区域气候特征以及植被对气候变化的区域响应等综合因素作用的结果.     

Spatial and temporal variability in vegetation cover of Mongolia and its implications

In this paper, we attempted to determine the most stable or unstable regions of vegetation cover in Mongolia and their spatio-temporal dynamics using Terra/MODIS Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI) dataset, which had a 250-m spatial resolution and comprised 6 periods of 16-day composited temporal resolution data(from 10 June to 13 September) for summer seasons from 2000 to 2012. We also used precipitation data as well as biomass data from 12 meteorological stations located in 4 largest natural zones of Mongolia. Our study showed that taiga and forest steppe zones had relatively stable vegetation cover because of forest characteristics and relatively high precipitation. The highest coefficient of variation(CV) of vegetation cover occurred frequently in the steppe and desert steppe zones, mainly depending on variation of precipitation. Our results showed that spatial and temporal variability in vegetation cover(NDVI or plant biomass) of Mongolia was highly dependent on the amount, distribution and CV of precipitation. This suggests that the lowest inter-annual CV of NDVI can occur during wet periods of growing season or in high precipitation regions, while the highest inter-annual CV of NDVI can occur during dry periods and in low precipitation regions. Although the desert zone received less precipitation than other natural zones of the country, it had relatively low variation compared to the steppe and desert steppe, which could be attributed to the very sparse vegetation in the desert.     

Response of vegetation to temperature and precipitation in Xinjiang during the period of 1998-2009

In this paper,10-day spatio-temporal response of vegetation to the change of temperature and precipitation in spring,summer,autumn and whole year during the period of 1998―2009 was analyzed based on the data of SPOT VEGETATION-NDVI and 10-day average temperature or precipitation from 54 meteorological stations in Xinjiang.The results show that the response of 10-day NDVI to temperature was more significant than that to precipitation,and the maximal response of vegetation to temperature and precipitation lagged for two 10-day periods.Seasonally,the effect of temperature and precipitation on vegetation NDVI was most marked in autumn,then in spring,and it was not significant in summer.The response of vegetation to 10-day change of meteorological factors was positive with a long affecting duration in spring,and it had a relatively short affecting duration in autumn and summer.Spatially,the 10-day maximal response of NDVI to temperature in northern Xinjiang was higher than that in southern Xinjiang.The correlation between the 10-day NDVI in whole year and the temperature in the 0-8th 10-day period was significantly higher than that between the annual NDVI and the annual temperature at all meteorological stations;the interannual change of NDVI was accordant well with the change of annual precipitation.However,the effect of precipitation within a year on NDVI was not strong.The results indicated that interannual change of temperature was not the dominant factor affecting the change of vegetation NDVI in Xinjiang,but the decrease of annual precipitation was the main factor resulting in the fluctuation of vegetation coverage.Ten-day average temperature was an important factor to promote vegetation growth in Xinjiang within a year,but the effect of precipitation on vegetation growth within a year was not strong.