Response of vegetation to multi-timescales drought in the Qinling Mountains of China

Content Provider	Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)
Author	Qi Li Hongying Bai Shanhong Zhang Dandong Cheng Jinxi Song Guizeng Qi Haotian Sun
Abstract	A deep understanding of the response characteristics of vegetation to drought is important for ecosystem and water resource management. In this study, we investigate spatiotemporal patterns of vegetation responses to droughts and their causes in the Qinling Mountains (QMs). The study showed that (1) there was a significant positive correlation (p < 0.05) between the Normalized Difference Degetation Index (NDVI) and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) in 80.98% of the QMs. The most sensitive period of vegetation growth in response to drought was May-July. The average timescale of the vegetation response to drought changes was 11.88 months, where the vegetation response timescale on the northern slope (10.67 months) was shorter than that on the southern slope (12.02 months). (2) A clear relationship was identified between the vegetation response to drought and vegetation type and elevation, indicating that the overall vegetation sensitivity in the QMs is relatively high, with grasses being the most sensitive to drought conditions. Vegetation drought management should be focused on extremely sensitive and severely sensitive areas in aridified regions in the future.
Related Links	http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X22000103
ISSN	1470160X
e-ISSN	18727034
DOI	10.1016/j.ecolind.2022.108539
Journal	Ecological Indicators
Volume Number	135
Language	English
Publisher	Elsevier
Publisher Date	2022-01-01
Publisher Place	United Kingdom
Access Restriction	Open
Subject Keyword	Ecology Ndvi Spei Different Time Scales Spatial Difference Qinling Mountains of China
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Ecology Decision Sciences Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics