Impact of climate and human activity on NDVI of various vegetation types in the Three-River Source Region, China

The Three-River Source Region (TRSR) in China holds a vital position and exhibits an irreplaceable strategic importance in ecological preservation at the national level. On the basis of an in-depth study of the vegetation evolution in the TRSR from 2000 to 2022, we conducted a detailed analysis of the feedback mechanism of vegetation growth to climate change and human activity for different vegetation types. During the growing season, the spatiotemporal variations of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) for different vegetation types in the TRSR were analyzed using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-NDVI data and meteorological data from 2000 to 2022. In addition, the response characteristics of vegetation to temperature, precipitation, and human activity were assessed using trend analysis, partial correlation analysis, and residual analysis. Results indicated that, after in-depth research, from 2000 to 2022, the TRSR’s average NDVI during the growing season was 0.3482. The preliminary ranking of the average NDVI for different vegetation types was as follows: shrubland (0.5762)>forest (0.5443)>meadow (0.4219)>highland vegetation (0.2223)>steppe (0.2159). The NDVI during the growing season exhibited a fluctuating growth trend, with an average growth rate of 0.0018/10a (P<0.01). Notably, forests displayed a significant development trend throughout the growing season, possessing the fastest rate of change in NDVI (0.0028/10a). Moreover, the upward trends in NDVI for forests and steppes exhibited extensive spatial distributions, with significant increases accounting for 95.23% and 93.80%, respectively. The sensitivity to precipitation was significantly enhanced in other vegetation types other than highland vegetation. By contrast, steppes, meadows, and highland vegetation demonstrated relatively high vulnerability to temperature fluctuations. A further detailed analysis revealed that climate change had a significant positive impact on the TRSR from 2000 to 2022, particularly in its northwestern areas, accounting for 85.05% of the total area. Meanwhile, human activity played a notable positive role in the southwestern and southeastern areas of the TRSR, covering 62.65% of the total area. Therefore, climate change had a significantly higher impact on NDVI during the growing season in the TRSR than human activity.