Comprehensive Analysis of the Driving Forces Behind NDVI Variability in China Under Climate Change Conditions and Future Scenario Projections

Climate change has a significant impact on vegetation development. While existing studies provide some insights, long-term trend analysis and multifactor driver assessments for China are still lacking. At the same time, research on the future vegetation development under different climate change sce...

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Main Authors: Ao Li, Shuai Yin, Nan Li, Chong Shi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Atmosphere
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/16/6/738
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author Ao Li
Shuai Yin
Nan Li
Chong Shi
author_facet Ao Li
Shuai Yin
Nan Li
Chong Shi
author_sort Ao Li
collection DOAJ
description Climate change has a significant impact on vegetation development. While existing studies provide some insights, long-term trend analysis and multifactor driver assessments for China are still lacking. At the same time, research on the future vegetation development under different climate change scenarios needs further strengthening. In response to these issues, this study analyzed China’s normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data from 2001 to 2023, exploring vegetation cover trends, driving factors, and predicting the impact of future climate change. Firstly, this study decomposed the time series data into seasonal, trend, and residual components using the Seasonal–Trend decomposition using Loess (STL) decomposition method, quantifying vegetation changes across different climate zones. Partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis was then used to examine the relationship between NDVI and driving factors, and the contribution of these factors to NDVI variation was determined through the variable importance in projection (VIP) score. The results show that NDVI has significantly increased over the past two decades, especially since 2010. Further analysis revealed that vegetation growth is primarily influenced by soil moisture, shortwave radiation, and total precipitation (VIP scores > 0.8). Utilizing machine learning with Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) multimodel data, this study predicts NDVI trends from 2023 to 2100 under four emission scenarios (SSP126, SSP245, SSP370, SSP585), quantifying future meteorological factors such as temperature, precipitation, and radiation to NDVI. Findings indicate that under high-emission scenarios, the vegetation greenness in some regions may experience improved vegetation conditions despite global warming challenges. Future land management strategies must consider climate change impacts on ecosystems to ensure sustainability and enhance ecosystem services.
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spelling doaj-art-6e70bb16ba314e70b77d30eb4e7960992025-08-20T03:26:21ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332025-06-0116673810.3390/atmos16060738Comprehensive Analysis of the Driving Forces Behind NDVI Variability in China Under Climate Change Conditions and Future Scenario ProjectionsAo Li0Shuai Yin1Nan Li2Chong Shi3Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, ChinaJiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center of Atmospheric Environment and Equipment Technology, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, ChinaClimate change has a significant impact on vegetation development. While existing studies provide some insights, long-term trend analysis and multifactor driver assessments for China are still lacking. At the same time, research on the future vegetation development under different climate change scenarios needs further strengthening. In response to these issues, this study analyzed China’s normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data from 2001 to 2023, exploring vegetation cover trends, driving factors, and predicting the impact of future climate change. Firstly, this study decomposed the time series data into seasonal, trend, and residual components using the Seasonal–Trend decomposition using Loess (STL) decomposition method, quantifying vegetation changes across different climate zones. Partial least squares (PLS) regression analysis was then used to examine the relationship between NDVI and driving factors, and the contribution of these factors to NDVI variation was determined through the variable importance in projection (VIP) score. The results show that NDVI has significantly increased over the past two decades, especially since 2010. Further analysis revealed that vegetation growth is primarily influenced by soil moisture, shortwave radiation, and total precipitation (VIP scores > 0.8). Utilizing machine learning with Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) multimodel data, this study predicts NDVI trends from 2023 to 2100 under four emission scenarios (SSP126, SSP245, SSP370, SSP585), quantifying future meteorological factors such as temperature, precipitation, and radiation to NDVI. Findings indicate that under high-emission scenarios, the vegetation greenness in some regions may experience improved vegetation conditions despite global warming challenges. Future land management strategies must consider climate change impacts on ecosystems to ensure sustainability and enhance ecosystem services.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/16/6/738NDVIclimate change impactPLS regression modelsCMIP6
spellingShingle Ao Li
Shuai Yin
Nan Li
Chong Shi
Comprehensive Analysis of the Driving Forces Behind NDVI Variability in China Under Climate Change Conditions and Future Scenario Projections
Atmosphere
NDVI
climate change impact
PLS regression models
CMIP6
title Comprehensive Analysis of the Driving Forces Behind NDVI Variability in China Under Climate Change Conditions and Future Scenario Projections
title_full Comprehensive Analysis of the Driving Forces Behind NDVI Variability in China Under Climate Change Conditions and Future Scenario Projections
title_fullStr Comprehensive Analysis of the Driving Forces Behind NDVI Variability in China Under Climate Change Conditions and Future Scenario Projections
title_full_unstemmed Comprehensive Analysis of the Driving Forces Behind NDVI Variability in China Under Climate Change Conditions and Future Scenario Projections
title_short Comprehensive Analysis of the Driving Forces Behind NDVI Variability in China Under Climate Change Conditions and Future Scenario Projections
title_sort comprehensive analysis of the driving forces behind ndvi variability in china under climate change conditions and future scenario projections
topic NDVI
climate change impact
PLS regression models
CMIP6
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/16/6/738
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AT nanli comprehensiveanalysisofthedrivingforcesbehindndvivariabilityinchinaunderclimatechangeconditionsandfuturescenarioprojections
AT chongshi comprehensiveanalysisofthedrivingforcesbehindndvivariabilityinchinaunderclimatechangeconditionsandfuturescenarioprojections