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Arid Land Geography ›› 2025, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (1): 63-74.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2024.029

• Plant Ecology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Quantitative analysis of NDVI changes in Mu Us Sandy Land by climate change and human activities

CHANG Wenjing1(), CONG Shixiang1, WANG Rongrong1, DING Xudong1, YU Hailong1(), HUANG Juying2   

  1. 1. School of Geography and Planning, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, Ningxia, China
    2. School of Ecology and Environment, Ningxia University, Yinchuan 750021, Ningxia, China
  • Received:2024-01-05 Revised:2024-02-22 Online:2025-01-25 Published:2025-01-21
  • Contact: YU Hailong E-mail:Cwj15695019609@163.com;yhl@nxu.edu.cn

Abstract:

Climate change and human activities are the primary factors influencing vegetation dynamics. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) serves as an effective indicator for assessing vegetation changes, enabling evaluation of ecosystem dynamics and sustainability. Using SPOT/VEGETATION NDVI time series data, meteorological data, and land cover data, this study investigates the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and driving mechanisms of NDVI in the Mu Us Sandy Land, China, from 1998 to 2019. Employing GIS spatial analysis, correlation analysis, and residual analysis, the study quantifies the relative contributions of climate change and human activities to NDVI variations. The findings reveal the following: (1) From 1998 to 2019, interannual NDVI in the Mu Us Sandy Land exhibited a significant upward trend, with a growth rate of 0.0067·a-1. Spatially, NDVI displayed a gradual increase from northwest to southeast. However, the overall sustainability of NDVI growth was weak, indicating potential future fluctuations. (2) Both climate change and human activities jointly contributed to NDVI growth. NDVI changes were significantly positively correlated with precipitation, while correlations with temperature were weaker. Large-scale ecological projects and the interplay of climatic factors accounted for 86.30% of the observed vegetation improvement, aligning with existing studies on the impact of ecological projects. (3) Attribution analysis demonstrated that human activities contributed to 83.20% of NDVI growth, while precipitation accounted for 73.14%. The coupling effect of precipitation and human activities had a more pronounced influence on NDVI.

Key words: Mu Us Sandy Land, vegetation NDVI, climatic change, human activities, relative contribution rate