Relationship between the growing season maximum enhanced vegetation index and climatic factors on the Tibetan Plateau

Abstract

Temperature and water conditions affect vegetation growth dynamics and associated spectral measures. We examined the response of the growing season maximum enhanced vegetation index (MEVI) to the growing season temperature, precipitation, vapor pressure and relative humidity on the Tibetan Plateau. The responses of the MEVI to climatic factors changed with the vegetation type, which may be attributed to the finding that the background values and climatic factor changes varied with the type of vegetation. The spatially averaged MEVI over the entire plateau exhibited a non-significant decreasing trend. Approximately 5% and 12% of the vegetation area exhibited significant MEVI decreasing and increasing trends, respectively. Both vapor pressure and relative humidity significantly affected the MEVI, whereas the temperature and precipitation did not significantly correlate with the MEVI over the entire plateau. Specifically, the environmental humidity dominated the MEVI variation over the entire plateau. © 2014 by the authors.