Characteristics of Greening along Altitudinal Gradients on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau Based on Time-Series Landsat Images

Abstract

The Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) is ecologically fragile and is especially sensitive to climate change. Previous studies have shown that the vegetation on the QTP is undergoing overall greening with variations along altitudinal gradients. However, the mechanisms that cause the differences in the spatiotemporal patterns of vegetation greening among different types of terrain and vegetation have not received sufficient attention. Therefore, in this study, we used a Landsat NDVI time-series for the period 1992–2020 and climate data to observe the effects of terrain and vegetation types on the spatiotemporal patterns in vegetation greening on the QTP and to analyze the factors driving this greening using the geographical detector and the velocity of the vertical movement of vegetation greenness isolines. The results showed the following: (1) The vertical movement of the vegetation greenness isolines was affected by the temperature and precipitation at all elevations. The precipitation had a more substantial effect than the temperature below 3000 m. In contrast, above 3000 m, the temperature had a greater effect than the precipitation. (2) The velocity of the vertical movement of the vegetation greenness isolines of woody plants was higher than that of herbaceous plants. (3) The influence of slope on the vertical movement of vegetation greenness isolines was more significant than that of the aspect. The results of this study provided details of the spatiotemporal differences in vegetation greening between different types of terrain and vegetation at a 30-m scale as well as of the underlying factors driving this greening. These results will help to support ecological protection policies on the QTP.