J.Geogr.Sci.2023,33(3):483-507DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-023-2093-y©2023SciencePressSpringer-VerlagImpactsofclimatechangeandanthropogenicactivitiesonthenormalizeddifferencevegetationindexofdesertifiedareasinnorthernChinaMENGNan,*WANGNai’ang,CHENGHongyi,LIUXiao,NIUZhenminCollegeofEarthandEnvironmentalSciences,CenterforGlacierandDesertResearch,ScientificObservingStationforDesertandGlacier,Lanzhouuniversity,Lanzhou730000,ChinaAbstract:Vegetationplaysakeyroleinmaintainingecosystemstability,promotingbiodiver-sityconservation,servingaswindbreaks,andfacilitatingsandfixationindeserts.BasedontheModerateResolutionImagingSpectroradiometerNormalizedDifferenceVegetationIndex(MODISNDVI)andclimatedata,aTheil–SenmediantrendanalysiscombinedwiththeMann–KendalltestandpartialcorrelationandresidualanalyseswereemployedtoexplorespatiotemporalpatternsofvegetationdynamicsandkeydriversintheBadainJaranandTenggerdesertsandMuUsSandyLand.Datawerecollectedduringthegrowingseasonbetween2001and2020.Furtheranalysesquantifiedtherelativecontributionofclimatevari-ationandanthropogenicactivitiestoNDVIchanges.Resultsrevealedapredominantlyin-creasingtrendforaverageNDVI.ThespreadofaverageannualNDVIandgrowthtrendsofthevegetationweredeterminedtobeinfluencedbyspatialdifferences.Theareawithim-provedvegetationwasgreaterthanthatofthedegradedregion.Climatevariabilityandhu-manactivitiesweredrivingforcescontrollingvegetationcoverchanges,andtheireffectsonvegetationdynamicsvariedbyregion.Theresponseofvegetationdynamicswasstrongerforprecipitationthantemperature,indicatingthatprecipitationwasthemainclimatevariableinfluencingtheNDVIchanges.Therelativeroleofhumanactivitieswasresponsiblefor>70%ofthechanges,demonstratingthathumanactivitieswerethemaindrivingfactoroftheNDVIchanges.Theimplementationofecologicalengineeringisakeydriverofincreasedvegeta-tioncoverageandhasimprovedregionalenvironmentalquality.TheseresultsenhanceourknowledgeregardingNDVIchangeaffectedbyclimatevariationandhumanactivitiesandcanprovidefu...
