GE L L, JIAO Y H, ZHANG X F,et al. Characteristics and attribution of vegetation change in the Loess Plateau based on climate change and human factors[J].Journal of Henan Polytechnic University(Natural Science) ,2025,44(6):137-146.

doi:10.16186/j.cnki.1673-9787.2024030039

Received: 2024/03/13

Revised: 2024/05/20

Published: 2025/10/14

Characteristics and attribution of vegetation change in the Loess Plateau based on climate change and human factors

Ge Liling1, Jiao Yiheng2, Zhang Xufei2, Fang Shijun1

1.Henan Provincial Territorial Spatial Survey and Planning Institute， Zhengzhou  450000， Henan， China；2.School of Surveying and Land Information Engineering， Henan Polytechnic University， Jiaozuo  454000， Henan， China

Abstract: Objectives The Loess Plateau is an important part of China’s ecological security. Understanding the spatiotemporal dynamics of vegetation and its climate controls provides a robust theoretical basis for ecological protection and restoration. Methods The kernel-based Normalized Difference Vegetation Index （kNDVI） was employed in this study to characterize vegetation cover across the Loess Plateau of China from 2000 to 2022. Spatialtemporal patterns were examined using trend analysis， stability analysis， and Hurst exponent-based prediction. In addition， meteorological observations were leveraged， and partial-derivative-based attribution was applied to quantify the respective contribution of climate change and anthropogenic activities to interannual kNDVI changes. Results showed that： （1） Over the past 23 years， the vegetation cover increased at a rate of 0.0057/a， and slope-driven spatiotemporal heterogeneity in vegetation cover was significant； （2） The Hurst-based projections indicate that in the mining areas， the vegetation growth shows an upward trendency across 79.04% of the region， while 3.74% exhibits a downward tendency. （3） The results of attribution show that the average contributions of precipitation and temperature to kNDVI changes in the Loess Plateau were 0.000 81/a and 0.001 31/a， respectively. Anthropogenic activities dominated， accounting for a 62.33% relative contribution to kNDVI change， compared with 37.67% from climate variability. （4） Land-use dynamics featured expansion of forest area， scaled ecological afforestation projects and vegetation cover. On the contrary， urbanization exerted an adverse effect on vegetation growth.  Conclusions This study provides theoretical and technical support for ecological restoration and environmental quality improvement.

Key words: vegetation dynamics; climate change; anthropogenic activity; attribution analysis; Loess Plateau of China