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Topographic controls on vegetation index in a hilly landscape: a case study in the Jiaodong Peninsula, eastern China

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Abstract

This study examined topographic influence on spatial and temporal variability in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) derived from the Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre-Vegetation at the regional and landscape scales in the Jiaodong Peninsula. The generalized additive models were used to quantify the spatial variation of NDVI attributable to local terrain and topographically related variables including altitude, exposure to incoming solar radiation, topographic wetness index, distance to the nearest stream and distance from the coast. NDVI distribution shows significant dependence on topography. The variables explained 38.3 % of variance in NDVI at the peninsula, and 30–45.3 % of variance in NDVI at the woodland, cropland, and grassland landscapes. At the Jiaodong Peninsula scale, NDVI is influenced primarily by distance from the coast. However, topographic wetness index has the most explanatory power for NDVI at the woodland, cropland, and grassland landscapes. Through a statistical nonparametric correlation analysis (Spearman’s r), the study indicates that spatial distribution of NDVI changes during the period 1998–2009 and future change trend of persistence determined by Hurst exponent is closely associated with topography and topography-based attribution. These results highlight the importance of topographic changes at landscape and regional scales as an important control factor on NDVI patterns.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Scientific Research Encouragement Foundation for Outstanding Young and Middle Scientist of Shandong Province (No. BS2010HZ018), Public Science and Technology Research Funds Projects of Ocean (No. 201205001), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40801016), the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. kzcx2-yw-224), and Taishan Scholar Position (No. TS200651036).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Ecological Restoration, Shandong Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Yantai, 264006, China

    Yetang Wang, Maojian Wang & Yinyin Feng

  2. Yantai Institute of Coastal Zone Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Yantai, 264003, China

    Xiyong Hou, Li Wu & Lanlan Ying

  3. State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, CAS, Lanzhou, 73000, China

    Yetang Wang

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  1. Yetang Wang
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Correspondence to Yetang Wang.

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Wang, Y., Hou, X., Wang, M. et al. Topographic controls on vegetation index in a hilly landscape: a case study in the Jiaodong Peninsula, eastern China. Environ Earth Sci 70, 625–634 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-012-2146-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-012-2146-5

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