Vegetation Dynamics in the “Three Water Lines” Region of Northwest China: The Role of Climate Change and Human Activities
The northwest region of China is a vital ecological security barrier, with a fragile and highly sensitive environment. Understanding the dynamics of fractional vegetation coverage (FVC) and the driving factors influenced by climate change and human activities is crucial. This study extracts FVC from...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Ecosystem Health and Sustainability |
| Online Access: | https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/ehs.0396 |
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| author | Xifeng Zhang Zhongjun Li Qiang Wang Libang Ma |
| author_facet | Xifeng Zhang Zhongjun Li Qiang Wang Libang Ma |
| author_sort | Xifeng Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The northwest region of China is a vital ecological security barrier, with a fragile and highly sensitive environment. Understanding the dynamics of fractional vegetation coverage (FVC) and the driving factors influenced by climate change and human activities is crucial. This study extracts FVC from the normalized difference vegetation index and analyzes its spatiotemporal dynamics using the Sen + Mann–Kendall test, coefficient of variation, and Hurst index. The study also evaluates the impact of climate change and human activities on FVC using geographical detectors, correlation analysis, and multiple regression residual analysis. Results show that from 1982 to 2022, FVC in the northwest region exhibited a fluctuating upward trend (0.028%·year−1). FVC values were higher in the eastern and southern regions and lower in the western and northern regions. Areas with marked FVC fluctuations were mainly concentrated in the eastern Hu-Yang and northern Qi-North, with areas (44.15%) expected to show an anti-persistent trend. Evapotranspiration, precipitation, land use, and soil moisture were the primary factors driving FVC changes (q>0.6), and FVC showed a significant positive correlation with precipitation, temperature, evapotranspiration, and soil moisture while being negatively correlated with solar radiation and vapor pressure deficit. FVC changes in the northwest region (83.44%) were jointly driven by climate change and human activities, with climate change (54.20%) having a greater impact. This research lays a scientific foundation for a deeper understanding of FVC dynamics due to the combined effects of climate change and human activities, opening new pathways for ecological conservation and sustainable development in the region. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-225cc8ad7abe4c1db58f1624a1c0ea5e |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2332-8878 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecosystem Health and Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj-art-225cc8ad7abe4c1db58f1624a1c0ea5e2025-08-20T03:05:46ZengAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)Ecosystem Health and Sustainability2332-88782025-01-011110.34133/ehs.0396Vegetation Dynamics in the “Three Water Lines” Region of Northwest China: The Role of Climate Change and Human ActivitiesXifeng Zhang0Zhongjun Li1Qiang Wang2Libang Ma3College of Geography and Environmental Science, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, China.College of Geography and Environmental Science, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, China.Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.College of Geography and Environmental Science, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, China.The northwest region of China is a vital ecological security barrier, with a fragile and highly sensitive environment. Understanding the dynamics of fractional vegetation coverage (FVC) and the driving factors influenced by climate change and human activities is crucial. This study extracts FVC from the normalized difference vegetation index and analyzes its spatiotemporal dynamics using the Sen + Mann–Kendall test, coefficient of variation, and Hurst index. The study also evaluates the impact of climate change and human activities on FVC using geographical detectors, correlation analysis, and multiple regression residual analysis. Results show that from 1982 to 2022, FVC in the northwest region exhibited a fluctuating upward trend (0.028%·year−1). FVC values were higher in the eastern and southern regions and lower in the western and northern regions. Areas with marked FVC fluctuations were mainly concentrated in the eastern Hu-Yang and northern Qi-North, with areas (44.15%) expected to show an anti-persistent trend. Evapotranspiration, precipitation, land use, and soil moisture were the primary factors driving FVC changes (q>0.6), and FVC showed a significant positive correlation with precipitation, temperature, evapotranspiration, and soil moisture while being negatively correlated with solar radiation and vapor pressure deficit. FVC changes in the northwest region (83.44%) were jointly driven by climate change and human activities, with climate change (54.20%) having a greater impact. This research lays a scientific foundation for a deeper understanding of FVC dynamics due to the combined effects of climate change and human activities, opening new pathways for ecological conservation and sustainable development in the region.https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/ehs.0396 |
| spellingShingle | Xifeng Zhang Zhongjun Li Qiang Wang Libang Ma Vegetation Dynamics in the “Three Water Lines” Region of Northwest China: The Role of Climate Change and Human Activities Ecosystem Health and Sustainability |
| title | Vegetation Dynamics in the “Three Water Lines” Region of Northwest China: The Role of Climate Change and Human Activities |
| title_full | Vegetation Dynamics in the “Three Water Lines” Region of Northwest China: The Role of Climate Change and Human Activities |
| title_fullStr | Vegetation Dynamics in the “Three Water Lines” Region of Northwest China: The Role of Climate Change and Human Activities |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vegetation Dynamics in the “Three Water Lines” Region of Northwest China: The Role of Climate Change and Human Activities |
| title_short | Vegetation Dynamics in the “Three Water Lines” Region of Northwest China: The Role of Climate Change and Human Activities |
| title_sort | vegetation dynamics in the three water lines region of northwest china the role of climate change and human activities |
| url | https://spj.science.org/doi/10.34133/ehs.0396 |
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