Identification of Vegetation Coverage Variation and Quantitative the Impact of Environmental Factors on Its Spatial Distribution in the Pisha Sandstone Area

Abstract

Over the past few decades, global vegetation cover has obviously changed, particularly in the Loess Plateau, due to vegetation restoration projects in China. This study focuses on the Pisha Sandstone area (PSA) and uses various statistical analysis methods to study the spatiotemporal changes in vegetation coverage (VEC) at different time scales. The effects of topographical and climatic factors on VEC were also quantitatively evaluated using the GeoDetector in the spatial distribution. The results of the study confirm that, on an annual scale, the area with a significant increase in VEC has reached 63.89% (p < 0.05). Change points were diagnosed to have occurred mainly between 2002 and 2012 at different time scales, with the percentage of significant change points in VEC accounting for more than 20% from April to October (p < 0.05). Temporal and spatial changes in precipitation mainly caused VEC changes. In 45.35% of the region, precipitation was significantly and positively correlated with VEC at an annual scale (p < 0.05). Moreover, VEC was most conducive to growth and increase at 1050–1500 m above sea level and 0–21° slope, respectively. In most areas, there was an enhanced interaction relationship between various factors on VEC. Converting farmland to forests in suitable areas, selecting appropriate tree species, and improving soil is conducive to ecological restoration in the PSA in the future.