Temporal and Spatial Variation of Vegetation Coverage in Tarim River Basin

Abstract

Tarim River Basin is located at the core area of The Belt and The Road at present and it once has been an essential transportation hub of the ancient Silk Road. However, Tarim River Basin belongs to arid and semi-arid region where water resource and vegetation cover are scarce, leading to soil erosion, desertification, and environmental degradation. So it is meaningful to study the variation of fractional vegetation cover (FVC) in Tarim River Basin. MODIS13Q1 data of Tarim River Basin from 2000 to 2018 were collected, and then, the pixel dichotomy model and Sen Mann-Kendall were applied in this research.The results were as follows: (1) The area ratio of different FVC types fluctuated with time, but the overall trend showed a slow growth trend. (2) In the trend analysis results, Significant improvement was concentrated in the low hills and oasis areas where the water resources in the basin are sufficient. In contrast, Severe degradation presented a feature of plaque-like sporadic distribution. (3)There are obvious seasonal differences FVC change. More specifically, FVC in spring and winter was considerably low, and yet FVC in summer and autumn was improved dramatically. Severe degradation and Significant improvement mainly occur in summer and autumn, and remain basically unchanged in spring and winter.