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Arid Land Geography ›› 2026, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (2): 316-331.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2025.148

• Ecology and Environment • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Simulation of vegetation growth dynamics and climatic driving mechanisms in the Qinling-Daba Mountains under climate scenarios

GAO Jintao(), ZHANG Chong, JING Jing(), ZHONG Chunxia, YANG Ruixia   

  1. Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Disaster Monitoring and Mechanism Modeling, School of Geography and Environment, Baoji University of Arts and Sciences, Baoji 721013, Shaanxi, China
  • Received:2025-03-20 Revised:2025-04-24 Online:2026-02-25 Published:2026-02-27
  • Contact: JING Jing E-mail:gjt1010@163.com;xiaoxin0728@163.com

Abstract:

The Qinling-Daba Mountains are located at the convergence of the climatic transition zone between northern and southern China and the ecotone between warm-temperate and subtropical regions. As a climate-sensitive area, investigating the coupling relationships between vegetation and climate in this area is critical for understanding the evolutionary mechanisms of ecosystems under climate change. This study employs a multiple linear regression model to predict kernel normalized difference vegetation index (kNDVI) values under three Shared Socioeconomic Pathways scenarios from 2024 to 2100, based on MODIS data and climatic factor datasets from 2001 to 2023. The Theil Sen Median estimator and Mann-Kendall test were used to analyze spatiotemporal trends of vegetation changes, and path analysis was applied to dissect the driving mechanisms of key climatic factors. The results reveal that (1) Temperature is the dominant factor driving vegetation changes, spatially covering 67.27% of the study area, with its positive effects concentrated in the Qinling-Daba Mountain region, whereas the impacts of evapotranspiration and precipitation exhibit significant spatial heterogeneity. (2) The vegetation kNDVI increased by 0.1 from 2001 to 2023, demonstrating a “rapid initial growth followed by a gradual slowdown” trend, with degradation areas concentrated in low-altitude urbanized zones and high-altitude regions constrained by water-heat limitations. (3) Future scenario simulations reveal that vegetation dynamics stabilize under SSP119, whereas SSP585 demonstrates divergent trends, with the direct inhibitory effects of evapotranspiration coexisting with indirect facilitative effects driven by increased temperatures. (4) The replenishment efficiency of precipitation for vegetation diminishes with increasing climate extremes, whereas the direct climatic forcing of temperature significantly intensifies under elevated emission scenarios. (5) Regional vegetation responses indicate significant spatial heterogeneity, requiring differentiated ecological restoration strategies. These strategies should prioritize high-altitude vulnerable zones, low-altitude areas disturbed by human activities, and evapotranspiration-sensitive regions in the central-eastern sectors. This study reveals the nonlinear response of vegetation to climate change in the Qinling-Daba Mountains, thereby confirming the ecological stability advantages of the low-carbon pathway (SSP119) and providing spatially optimized strategies for vegetation conservation and carbon sequestration enhancement under regional carbon neutrality goals.

Key words: kNDVI, SSPs, the Qinling-Daba Mountains, climate factors, multiple linear regression analysis, trend analysis