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Pattern of NDVI-based vegetation greening along an altitudinal gradient in the eastern Himalayas and its response to global warming

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Abstract

The eastern Himalayas, especially the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon Nature Reserve (YNR), is a global hotspot of biodiversity because of a wide variety of climatic conditions and elevations ranging from 500 to > 7000 m above sea level (a.s.l.). The mountain ecosystems at different elevations are vulnerable to climate change; however, there has been little research into the patterns of vegetation greening and their response to global warming. The objective of this paper is to examine the pattern of vegetation greening in different altitudinal zones in the YNR and its relationship with vegetation types and climatic factors. Specifically, the inter-annual change of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and its variation along altitudinal gradient between 1999 and 2013 was investigated using SPOT-VGT NDVI data and ASTER global digital elevation model (GDEM) data. We found that annual NDVI increased by 17.58 % in the YNR from 1999 to 2013, especially in regions dominated by broad-leaved and coniferous forests at lower elevations. The vegetation greening rate decreased significantly as elevation increased, with a threshold elevation of approximately 3000 m. Rising temperature played a dominant role in driving the increase in NDVI, while precipitation has no statistical relationship with changes in NDVI in this region. This study provides useful information to develop an integrated management and conservation plan for climate change adaptation and promote biodiversity conservation in the YNR.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41301611 and 41328001), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, China (Grant No. BK20130103 and BK20130568), the State Scholarship Fund of China (Grant No. 201408320065), and the support from Department of Nature and Ecology Conservation, Ministry of Environmental Protection. The authors are grateful to the reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions for improving the manuscript. We also would like to thank the Flemish Institute for Technological Research (VITO) and China Meteorological Data Sharing Service Network for kindly providing both the NDVI and climate data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Environmental Protection, Nanjing, 210042, China

    Haidong Li, Bin Chen & Weishou Shen

  2. Key Laboratory of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Restoration in Jiangsu Province, Collaborative Innovation Center of Sustainable Forestry in Southern China of Jiangsu Province, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Jiang Jiang

  3. Department of Geography, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA

    Yingkui Li

  4. Jiangsu Provincial Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science and Technology, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210046, China

    Yuyue Xu

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  1. Haidong Li
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  2. Jiang Jiang
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  3. Bin Chen
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  6. Weishou Shen
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Correspondence to Weishou Shen.

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Li, H., Jiang, J., Chen, B. et al. Pattern of NDVI-based vegetation greening along an altitudinal gradient in the eastern Himalayas and its response to global warming. Environ Monit Assess 188, 186 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-016-5196-4

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