Collect | Homepage Advertisement | Contact us | Message

Arid Land Geography ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (10): 2094-2106.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2025.668

• Ecology and Environment • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Spatiotemporal variations and driving forces of vegetation coverage in the Ten Tributaries region

YUAN Weicheng1(), ZHANG Huilan1,2(), GAO Huiru1, GU Fangzheng1   

  1. 1 School of Soil and Water Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
    2 Three Gorges Reservoir Area Forest Ecosystem Research Station in Jinyun of Chongqing, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
  • Received:2025-10-23 Revised:2025-12-19 Online:2026-10-25 Published:2026-10-26
  • Contact: ZHANG Huilan E-mail:WeichengYuan2001@bjfu.edu.cn;zhanghl@bjfu.edu.cn

Abstract:

Understanding the dynamics of vegetation cover and their driving mechanisms in arid and semiarid regions are crucial for ecological restoration, land management, and sustainable development, as vegetation in these areas is highly sensitive to both natural environmental changes and human disturbances. This study focuses on the Ten Tributaries region in the Jiziwan area of the Yellow River Basin, investigating long-term changes in vegetation cover and their driving factors from 2001 to 2022 using MODIS 13Q1 normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data. By integrating trend analysis with the Geodetector model, we examined the spatiotemporal dynamics of vegetation cover across three ecological zones: The upper silty gully region, the middle desert-crossing region, and the lower plain region. We selected a range of natural factors (temperature, precipitation, digital elevation model, slope, soil moisture, soil type, and land-use type) and human activity factors (gross regional production, population density, and nighttime light intensity) to assess the mechanisms behind vegetation changes, evaluating their individual explanatory power and interactive effects on NDVI variation. The results reveal the following: (1) NDVI in the Ten Tributaries region exhibited clear interannual fluctuations but exhibited an overall increasing trend during the study period, with an average annual growth rate of 0.0085·a-1, indicating a general improvement in vegetation cover. Among the ecological zones, the middle desert-crossing region experienced the most significant recovery, achieving the highest annual increase rate of 0.012·a-1, even though NDVI values there were lower than in the lower plain region, which maintained relatively high and stable vegetation cover. (2) Single-factor Geodetector analysis indicated that land-use type and soil type were the dominant factors influencing NDVI variation, with explanatory powers (q values) of 0.612 and 0.569, respectively, highlighting their critical role in regulating vegetation dynamics in the Ten Tributaries region. By contrast, human activity factors exhibited relatively weaker explanatory power, although land-use type had a stronger influence than other anthropogenic indicators, reflecting the effects of human-induced land-use changes on vegetation patterns. (3) Interaction analysis revealed that the explanatory power of most factor combinations was enhanced compared to individual factors, suggesting significant synergistic effects between natural and human drivers. Notably, the interaction between soil type and land-use type had the highest explanatory power (q=0.732), with the enhancement effect of factor interactions particularly pronounced in the middle desert-crossing region. Overall, changes in vegetation cover in the Ten Tributaries region were primarily driven by natural environmental factors, with human activities acting as secondary regulators. The dominant driving mechanisms varied among ecological zones, highlighting the importance of region-specific strategies for vegetation restoration and ecological management.

Key words: Ten Tributaries region, vegetation coverage, spatiotemporal variation, Geodetector, driving factors