Abstract: Based on the fraction of vegetation cover （FC） derived from 16-day composite MODIS NDVI data， using linear regression approach，the trend of the vegetation cover evolution in the Loess Plateau during 2000-2008 was quantified. The topographic variation of and the effect of land use/cover change has on the FC change rate were quantitatively analyzed. The results show as follows：（1） the FC generally increased in most parts of the Loess Plateau， accompanied by decrease in some patchy areas； （2） there is apparent topographic variation in change rate of FC， characterized by high increase rate in key areas for vegetation restoration and conservation； （3） the land use/cover change dramatically impacts vegetation cover evolution， compared with areas with consistent land use/cover types， the FC change rate is particularly higher in areas with shifted land use/cove types， especially in Green for Grain Project areas； （4） for areas with consistent land use/cover types during the assessed period， partly due to the higher FC baseline， the mean vegetation cover also increased， however， at a lower rate. It can be concluded that the vegetation restoration and conservation significantly promoted FC in the Loess Plateau during 2000-2008.

Key words: vegetation cover, topographic variation, land use/cover change, Loess Plateau