MODIS normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and vegetation phenology dynamics in the Inner Mongolia grassland

The Inner Mongolia grassland, one of the most important grazing regions in China, has long been threatened by land degradation and desertification, mainly due to overgrazing. To understand vegetation responses over the last decade, this study evaluated trends in vegetation cover and phenology dynami...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSolid earth (Göttingen) Vol. 6; no. 4; pp. 1185 - 1194
Main Authors Gong, Z, Kawamura, K, Ishikawa, N, Goto, M, Wulan, T, Alateng, D, Yin, T, Ito, Y
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Gottingen Copernicus GmbH 01.01.2015
Copernicus Publications
Subjects
Climate change
Degradation
Desertification
Dynamics
Earth science
Environmental degradation
Global warming
Grasslands
Grazing
Imaging techniques
Land
Land degradation
MODIS
Normalized difference vegetative index
Phenology
Plant cover
Productivity
Seasons
Vegetation
Vegetation cover
China
Inner Mongolia China
China, People's Rep., Inner Mongolia
China, People's Rep
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Summary:The Inner Mongolia grassland, one of the most important grazing regions in China, has long been threatened by land degradation and desertification, mainly due to overgrazing. To understand vegetation responses over the last decade, this study evaluated trends in vegetation cover and phenology dynamics in the Inner Mongolia grassland by applying a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) time series obtained by the Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) during 2002–2014. The results showed that the cumulative annual NDVI increased to over 77.10 % in the permanent grassland region (2002–2014). The mean value of the total change showed that the start of season (SOS) date and the peak vegetation productivity date of the season (POS) had advanced by 5.79 and 2.43 days, respectively. The end of season (EOS) was delayed by 5.07 days. These changes lengthened the season by 10.86 days. Our results also confirmed that grassland changes are closely related to spring precipitation and increasing temperature at the early growing period because of global warming. Overall, productivity in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region tends to increase, but in some grassland areas with grazing, land degradation is ongoing.
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ISSN:1869-9529
1869-9510
1869-9529
DOI:10.5194/se-6-1185-2015