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Analyzing vegetation dynamic trend on the Mongolian Plateau based on the Hurst exponent and influencing factors from 1982–2013

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Abstract

This study analyzed the spatial and temporal variations in the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) on the Mongolian Plateau from 1982–2013 using Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) NDVI3g data and explored the effects of climate factors and human activities on vegetation. The results indicate that NDVI has slight upward trend in the Mongolian Plateau over the last 32 years. The area in which NDVI increased was much larger than that in which it decreased. Increased NDVI was primarily distributed in the southern part of the plateau, especially in the agro-pastoral ecotone of Inner Mongolia. Improvement in the vegetative cover is predicted for a larger area compared to that in which degradation is predicted based on Hurst exponent analysis. The NDVI-indicated vegetation growth in the Mongolian Plateau is a combined result of climate variations and human activities. Specifically, the precipitation has been the dominant factor and the recent human effort in protecting the ecological environments has left readily detectable imprints in the NDVI data series.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environment, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China

    Siqin Tong, Jiquan Zhang, Quan Lai, Na Li & Yongbin Bao

  2. Key Laboratory for Vegetation Ecology, Ministry of Education, Changchun, 130024, China

    Siqin Tong & Jiquan Zhang

  3. College of Geography, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot, 010022, China

    Siqin Tong, Yuhai Bao & Quan Lai

  4. Inner Mongolia Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems, Inner Mongolia Normal University, Hohhot, 010022, China

    Yuhai Bao & Quan Lai

  5. Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Tsukuba University, Ibaraki, 305, Japan

    Xiao Lian

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  1. Siqin Tong
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Correspondence to Jiquan Zhang.

Additional information

Foundation: National Key Technology R&D Program of China, No.2013BAK05B01, No.2013BAK05B02; National Natural Science Foundation of China, No.41571491, No.61631011; The Program of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities, No.B16011

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Tong, S., Zhang, J., Bao, Y. et al. Analyzing vegetation dynamic trend on the Mongolian Plateau based on the Hurst exponent and influencing factors from 1982–2013. J. Geogr. Sci. 28, 595–610 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-018-1493-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-018-1493-x

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