2005-2009年浙江省不同土地类型上空对 流层NO2变化特征

利用OMI(Ozone Monitoring Instrument, OMI)2005年1月 2009年12月对流层NO₂柱浓度月平均值卫星遥感资料以及浙江省2005年1月 2008年3月由NO₂污染指数数据计算得出的地面NO₂日均值质量浓度,分析了浙江省对流层NO₂的时空分布特征和变化趋势;此外,结合由时间序列的MODIS-EVI数据所获取的浙江省土地利用图,分析不同土地利用类型上空对流层NO₂柱浓度的变化差异。研究发现在2005 2009年间,浙江省对流层NO₂柱浓度呈现显著的增长趋势和季节变化特征,其中NO₂柱浓度最高值出现在冬季,最低值出现在夏季。从区域分布来看,对流层NO₂柱浓度的最高值分布在靠近上海大都市的杭州-嘉兴-湖州平原和宁波地区以及人口密集的西部和东部沿海城市区。此外不同土地利用类型上NO₂柱浓度分布差异显著。农田、水体和城市地区NO₂柱浓度较高,其中城市用地上空的NO₂柱浓度明显高于其他土地利用类型上空的NO₂柱浓度;森林上空NO₂柱浓度值最低。NO₂柱浓度逐年增加趋势主要表现为:在农田、水体和城市居民用地类型上空污染严重的NO₂-Ⅰ类别增加显著,而在森林和草地类型上空,则表现为污染较轻的NO₂-Ⅲ类别增加显著。     

北京城市森林不同天气状况下PM2.5浓度变化

基于北京市环境保护监测中心植物园空旷地和市区非植被区的PM_(2.5)实时监测数据,结合植物园林内PM_(2.5)监测站数据,分析了2013年3月—2014年2月不同天气状况下的PM2.5质量浓度变化。结果表明:1降雨天气和大风天气下PM_(2.5)质量浓度变化无滞后性,雨前和雨中变动较大,雨后变化较小,雨后1天PM_(2.5)质量浓度降低到最低值((14.88±7.34)μg/m~3,下降了(89.36±4.78)%),雪后第2天达到最低值((13.76±6.73)μg/m~3,下降了(88.53±5.59)%);2大风天气下PM_(2.5)质量浓度波动较小,在东北风和西南风影响下PM_(2.5)质量浓度值较高(80.61μg/m~3),在东南风影响下PM_(2.5)浓度值较低(54.22μg/m~3);3高温高湿天气下PM_(2.5)质量浓度市区非植被区滞后1—2h到达峰值,植物园林内监测站和植物园空旷地高峰无滞后性,植物园林内监测站变动剧烈、消减作用强,市区非植被区和植物园空旷地较为平缓;4不同天气下PM_(2.5)质量浓度均表现为市区非植被区植物园林内植物园空旷地;5城市森林具有强大的净化大气污染物和吸滞PM_(2.5)等颗粒物的功能,森林环境的空气质量优于非植被区,森林空旷地的空气质量优于森林内部。     

2000—2019年长江流域植被覆盖时空演化及其驱动因素

长江流域作为中国重要的生态屏障，科学认识长江流域植被覆盖时空变化及其驱动因素，对有效开展长江流域生态工程建设具有重要的指导意义与应用价值。基于2000—2019年间MODIS-NDVI与相关气象等数据，采用Theil-Sen median趋势分析、Mann-Kendall检验、变异系数、偏相关分析、残差分析等方法，研究了近20年来长江流域植被覆盖的时空分布与变化特征，并探究了研究区植被覆盖的驱动因素。结果表明：(1)时间变化上，长江流域生长季NDVI呈现波动增长趋势，显著改善面积大于退化面积；(2)空间分布上，流域植被覆盖空间分布格局大致呈现为“中部高，东西低”,生长季NDVI多年均值为0.6164,呈较高植被覆盖状态；(3)变化趋势上，植被增长区域大于减少区域，具体表现为“中部强于东部、东部强于西部”;(4)变化稳定性上，流域植被变异系数介于0.0104—1.3199之间，呈现出“中间低，东西高，东西部局部区域高低波动并存，地域性差异明显”的空间变化稳定性特征；(5)影响因素上，流域植被覆盖变化受气温和降水的共同影响，大部分区域生长季NDVI变化以气候驱动为主，局部区域表现自然因素叠...     

基于3S的京津风沙源治理工程区植被覆盖和气候要素变化分析

为分析评估京津风沙源治理工程区植被覆盖和气候要素变化,收集工程实施前、后各时期工程区域土地利用类型数据、MODIS产品植被覆盖(NDVI)数据和气象站点月值数据,利用最小二乘法拟合分析工程区NDVI和蒸散时空变化规律;利用MK非参数检验分析区域气候要素时空变化格局.结果表明(1)近25年来工程区土地利用类型变化不大,植...     

朱鹮典型栖息地植被覆盖时空特征研究

植被覆盖的变化会影响动植物生境, 进而作用于生物的分布、繁殖和数量等。研究朱鹮典型栖息地的植被覆盖变化对朱鹮保护具有极为重要的意义。利用2000—2014年的MODIS NDVI数据, 采用最大像元法、线性趋势法和变异系数法, 研究了朱鹮典型栖息地植被覆盖的时空变化特征。结果显示: (1)朱鹮典型栖息地植被NDVI呈现波动性微增长的态势, 洋县和研究区呈同步变化特征, 宁陕县微增变化不明显。(2)空间上秦岭中低山和巴山浅山丘陵区植被NDVI有所增长, 生态环境有所改善。(3)朱鹮活动范围主要集中在温带落叶阔叶林带和亚热带山地针叶林带, 以低地形和中低地形为主。     

湖北省地区植被覆盖变化及其对气候因子的响应

归一化植被指数(NDVI)作为一个重要的遥感参数,能够准确地反映植被覆盖程度和植被生长状况、生物物理化学性质及生态系统参数的变化,其时序数据也已成为基于生物气候特征开展大区域植被和土地覆盖分类的基本手段。基于2001—2012年MODIS-NDVI数据,利用趋势分析法以及线性相关分析等方法对湖北省植被年际变化趋势、月变化趋势进行详细分析;并且研究该区植被覆盖时空变化及其与气温和降水的关系。结果表明近12年来,研究区大部分区域植被覆盖度良好,其中鄂西北及鄂南地区NDVI值较高为0.82,鄂中东部城市NDVI值较低为0.13;2001—2012年间年均NDVI整体呈增加趋势,增速1%/10a;植被覆盖度基本不变区域占研究区总面积的92.8%,大致符合我国中部地区植被覆盖变化趋势;分析NDVI与气候因子的相关关系可知,降水量对湖北植被NDVI年变化起有重要影响;逐月NDVI与月平均气温及月降水量的回归分析表明,降水和气温对生长季不同月份的植被NDVI影响明显不同,同时呈现一定的滞后性。     

浙江省植被NDVI动态及其对气候的响应

利用GIMMS和MODIS两种归一化植被指数(NDVI)资料反演了1982—2010年浙江植被覆盖状况,结合同期研究区63个气象站点的气温、降水和湿润指数等气候指标,分析了该地区植被年际变化、月际变化及其对气候要素的响应特征。结果表明:(1)研究期间,浙江气候总体呈暖干化趋势,植被覆盖缓慢下降,主要是由于森林植被遭破坏,农业生产活动受抑制影响所致,其中NDVI显著减少的地区约占全省陆域面积的29.1%,主要发生在6—11月;(2)降水量及干湿程度对浙江植被NDVI年变化起着决定性作用。植被与气候要素年变化相关分析发现,NDVI与湿润指数关系较降水、气温更为密切,两者相关及偏相关系数均通过0.05水平的置信度检验,这表明在年际尺度上,湿度的增加增大了植被的生长势,有利于植被生长;(3)植被与气候要素月变化分析表明冬季的热量供给是影响浙江植被生长的重要因子,而植被变化对夏季降水和干湿程度的最大响应为滞后两个月;(4)农业生产水平的提高使得农作物种植区NDVI有所增加,人类活动对浙江植被覆盖的影响不可忽视。     

青藏高原植被覆盖时空变化及其对气候因子的响应

研究青藏高原植被覆盖时空分布特征对加深气候变化的认识及生态环境保护具有重要的生态价值和现实意义。利用2000—2016年MODIS NDVI 1km/月分辨率数据以及气象观测数据,采用最大合成法、趋势性分析以及相关分析方法,探讨了不同时间尺度青藏高原地区NDVI的分布特征及其与降水、气温的关系。结果表明:(1)青藏高原东南部植被状况明显好于西北部,植被覆盖的分布格局与区域水热条件的时空分布保持了较好的一致性;近17年来青藏高原植被覆盖改善的地区要比退化的地区面积大,严重退化的区域主要位于青藏高原西南部;青藏高原NDVI值在2000—2016年呈幅度较小的增加趋势。(2)除夏季降水量外,研究时段内其他季节降水量均呈增加趋势;气温均呈增加趋势,尤其以春季增加最为显著,整体上青藏高原气候呈现"暖湿化"趋势。总体上年降水量与年最大合成NDVI呈较好的正相关;年平均气温与年最大合成NDVI在高原东南部呈正相关,西南部呈负相关。降水量和热量条件均是高原植被生长的影响因素,降水与植被覆盖的影响较气温密切。     

黄土高原植被覆盖时空变化及其对气候因子的响应

为研究黄土高原地区退耕还林(草)后,植被覆盖变化及其对水热条件的响应,利用1999—2013年SPOT VGT NDVI 1km/10d分辨率数据,采用最大合成法、一元线性回归法和偏相关分析法,系统分析了黄土高原地区NDVI(归一化植被指数)的时空分布及变化趋势,及其与气候因子的关系。结果表明:黄土高原1999—2013年年最大NDVI的平均值为0.31,NDVI较高的区域位于黄土高原南部,而西北部植被覆盖度较低;自1999年开始,黄土高原地区NDVI呈极显著(P0.01)增加趋势,年最大NDVI的变化斜率为0.0099;不同季节(春、夏、秋、冬)和生长季的植被状况均呈现良性发展趋势;1998—2013年间,黄土高原地区气候呈现不显著的"冷湿化"特征;NDVI年际(及生长季和季节)变化与降雨和温度的相关性不显著,而在月时间尺度上,呈显著的相关性,并且月NDVI与当月降雨量的相关性要强于与当月温度的相关性;植被生长对温度的响应存在一个月的滞后期,而对降雨的响应无滞后效应。     

城市规模对大气污染物NO2和PM2.5浓度的影响

随着我国城市的快速发展,城市的区域性大气污染问题日益突出,尤其是大城市和超大城市的污染问题更加严重。那么城市规模的扩大是否必然导致空气污染的加剧?控制城市人口规模是否是防治空气污染的有效手段?这些问题成为空气污染防治中政府、公众和学者广泛关注的焦点。采用2013年冬季全国114个重点城市两种典型大气污染物-NO_2(传统)和PM_(2.5)(新型)-浓度的实时监测数据,首先分析了这两种大气污染物的空间分布特征,进而定量分析城市人口规模和大气污染物浓度的关系。结果显示:(1)仅有21%的城市NO_2浓度达到WHO的城市年均浓度标准(40μg/m~3),全部城市的PM_(2.5)浓度高于WHO年均浓度标准(10μg/m~3);(2)大气污染物的空间分布具有显著的集聚特征和区域性特征,表现为:NO_2呈较为分散的空间分布,而PM_(2.5)的空间分布呈现"北高南低、内陆高沿海低"的特征。NO_2浓度高的区域主要分布在天津、河北东南部和山东中部地区,PM_(2.5)浓度高的区域主要分布于河北西南部和山东西部;(3)常住人口规模同冬季NO_2和PM_(2.5)浓度呈倒"U"型关系;在1000到1200万的城市冬季平均NO_2和PM_(2.5)浓度最高(NO_2:69.28μg/m~3,PM_(2.5):119.58μg/m~3)。(4)总人口低于1200万的城市,冬季NO_2浓度和PM_(2.5)浓度随着城市规模增加而显著升高(NO_2:r=0.44,P0.01;PM_(2.5):r=0.43,P0.01);总人口高于1200万的城市,NO_2浓度同城市规模呈显著负相关关系(r=0.91,P0.05),PM_(2.5)浓度随城市规模增加逐渐降低。(5)常住人口密度在1000人/km~2以下的重点城市,NO_2和PM_(2.5)浓度同城市人口密度呈显著正相关关系(NO_2:r=0.23,P0.05;PM_(2.5):r=0.36,P0.01)。常住人口密度在1000人/km~2以上的城市人口密度同NO_2和PM_(2.5)浓度呈显著负相关关系(NO_2:r=-0.61,P0.05;PM_(2.5):r=0.63,P0.01)。以上研究结果可以为划定不同大气污染物的重点防治区域和制定联合防治行动计划提供理论依据,并为重点城市大气污染治理和城市人口规模控制理论完善提供参考。     

深圳市大气污染时空分布及其与景观格局的关系

气溶胶和臭氧是我国大部分地区的两种主要大气污染物,对城市生态环境和人类身体健康影响严重。以深圳市为研究区,利用大气监测站点提供的监测数据和普通kriging空间插值法,从年、季、月尺度上开展近5年（2015-2019）深圳全市PM_2.5和臭氧的时空分布研究,通过皮尔逊分析和显著性检验从月尺度上分析土地覆盖类型及其景观格局对大气污染的影响。结果表明：（1）近5年内深圳市PM_2.5浓度总体呈现下降趋势,臭氧浓度则先降后升,二者季节性和月度差异显著。（2）PM_2.5和臭氧在年、季、月尺度上空间差异明显,全市PM_2.5浓度整体为西北高、东南低;臭氧浓度西北、东南较高,其余区域相对较低。（3）植被占比的增多对PM_2.5浓度有明显的抑制和调控作用,植被斑块间距离越近,对PM_2.5浓度的调控作用越明显;水体占比的增高会导致臭氧浓度增高和变化幅度增大。研究结果可为城市大气污染防治和景观格局规划管理提供参考。     

地表植被景观对PM2.5浓度空间分布的影响研究

我国当前城市日益频发的雾霾问题引发公众广泛关注,PM_2.5被认为是雾霾的主要成因。研究认为,在某一区域短时间尺度上（如日）,PM_2.5浓度主要受气象条件影响。但在较长时间尺度上（如季,年）,由于气象条件基本相似,则PM_2.5浓度主要受土地利用特别是地表植被景观的影响。如何耦合地表植被景观格局与PM_2.5浓度信息,定量分析其影响是当前相关科学研究的一个难点,需要引入新思路。首先基于季节气象条件基本相似的科学假设,采用土地利用回归模型分四季高精度模拟PM_2.5浓度空间分布。其次,采用像元二分模型分四季估算研究区植被覆盖度。在此基础上采用随机抽样法通过统计回归模型耦合植被覆盖度与PM_2.5空间分布,定量研究植被覆盖度对PM_2.5分布影响及其尺度效应。研究结果表明：1）植被覆盖度与PM_2.5浓度在本研究选择的空间尺度上,都显著负相关,说明植被覆盖度对PM_2.5具有显著影响;同一个季节不同尺度上,以及不同季节同一尺度上的植被覆盖度对PM_2.5浓度的影响存在一定差异。2）植被覆盖度对PM_2.5浓度的影响方式比较复杂,不同的季节的表现方式不同,总体来说PM_2.5浓度与植被覆盖度曲线回归模型的拟合度高于线性回归模型,说明植被覆盖度对PM_2.5的影响具有非线性特征。3）不同的PM_2.5浓度水平下,植被覆盖度对PM_2.5浓度的影响程度存在差异。PM_2.5浓度越高,植被覆盖度对其浓度的影响越明显。本研究提出的区域尺度耦合地表植被覆盖与PM_2.5浓度的思路与方法,有效的揭示了植被覆盖度对PM_2.5浓度分布的影响方式与尺度效应,为通过优化城市植被缓解大气污染提供一定参考。     

Exposure of Betula pendula Roth pollen to atmospheric pollutants CO,O3 and SO2

Betula pendula pollen, under laboratory conditions, was exposed to three atmospheric pollutants: carbon monoxide (CO), ozone (O₃) and sulphur dioxide (SO₂). Two levels of each pollutant were used; the first level corresponds to a concentration on the atmospheric hour-limit value acceptable for human health protection in Europe, the second level to a higher, at least more than double of the first, concentration level. Experiments were done under artificial solar light with controlled temperature and relative humidity. Our results indicate that, in urban areas, concentrations of CO, O₃ and SO₂ on the limits established for human protection, can affect pollen fertility. We verified a decrease in the viability and germination of the pollen, indicating damage to the pollen membrane system. Also, a general decreasing trend in the total protein content of the exposed samples when compared with the control samples was observed, which suggests alterations in the antigenic characteristics of pollen.     

Statistical analysis of the lichen vegetation of an avenue in freiburg (South-West Germany), with regard to injurious anthropogenous influences

Summary This paper describes the epiphytic lichen vegetation on maple trees along an 1.1-km avenue leading from the outer suburbs of Freiburg toward the city center. A special aim of this investigation was to examine the variation in the coverage by lichens altogether and by each lichen species as a function of increasing distance from the city. It required very accurate quantitative recording methods, including the method of hits and other statistical techniques. The coverage both of total trunk surface and of sectors facing different directions increases with increasing distance from the city. The distribution pattern of SO₂ pollution in winter, especially under certain weather conditions, e.g., during winter highs with very high SO₂ concentrations, implies a negative correlation between the amount of SO₂ pollution and the total percentage of lichen cover. An influence of factors specific to urban climate and traffic emissions is neglegible. The stress caused by increasing immission from outer suburbs towards the city is also indicated by the decline in coverage by the lichens of foliaceous growth form, the increase in coverage by green algae, and the lichens of crustaceous growth form, especially by the resistant Lecanora conizaeoides. The degree of lichen cover changes with exposure. The differences between the four exposure zones may be caused by climatic differences.     

2000—2016年云南地区植被覆盖时空变化及其对水热因子的响应

基于2000-2016年MODIS-NDVI数据,利用趋势分析法以及线性相关分析等方法对云南地区植被月变化趋势、年际变化趋势进行详细分析;探讨植被覆盖变化与主要气候水热因子的关系。结果表明：研究区大部分地区植被覆盖良好,年NDVI的平均值为0.55,其中NDVI较高值（> 0.8）区域主要分布于南部,而西北部和中部城市地区NDVI值较低;自2000年开始,研究区NDVI总体呈显著（P < 0.05）增加趋势,年NDVI的变化斜率为0.0036,植被覆盖呈增加趋势的区域占研究区总面积79.80%;不同季节（春、夏、秋、冬）和生长季的植被状况均呈良性发展趋势;湿润指数和水热综合因子在滇西北与NDVI多呈负相关,在滇中地区以正相关为主;春、夏、秋3个季节NDVI受降水影响较大,而冬季NDVI则受气温影响较大;受降水影响较大的区域主要分布在中部和南部,受气温影响较大区域主要分布在滇西北、滇东北地区;NDVI在不同月份对气候因子的滞后时间存在差异,NDVI与当月气温的相关性强于与当月降水的相关性,植被生长对气温的响应无明显滞后效应,对降水存在3个月的滞后期。     

Air quality and its response to satellite-derived urban form in the Yangtze River Delta,China

Air pollution is one of the top environmental concerns and causes of deaths and various diseases worldwide. An important question for sustainable development is to what extent urban design can improve or degrade urban air quality. In this article, we explored the relationship between ground-based observations of air pollution and urban form in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), the largest metropolitan region in China. We analyzed six criteria pollutants (SO₂, NO₂, PM₁₀, PM_2.5, CO, O₃) and summarized metric (air quality index, AQI) from 129 ambient air quality monitoring stations during 2015. Urban form was characterized using six spatial metrics, including the size, shape, regularity, fragmentation and traffic coupling factor of urban patches, based on satellite-derived land cover data. The results indicated that: (1) PM_2.5, PM₁₀ and O₃ were three primary pollutants in the YRD. The annual average AQI was 79, and the air quality was “moderate” for human health, with the highest and lowest AQI appeared in winter (107) and summer (60). Moreover, the air quality of the southern areas (Zhejiang province, AQI: 68) was generally better than the northern parts (Jiangsu province, AQI: 86). (2) Through the size and shape of urban patches, urban form had a significant effect on urban air quality in the YRD. PARA_MN (Mean Perimeter-area ratio), ENN_MN (Mean Euclidean Nearest Neighbor Distance), CA (Total Urban Area) and NP (Number of urban patches) had the most significant impacts on air quality. PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 were two important pollutants highly positively related to CA and NP, while negatively related to PARA_MN and ENN_MN. In addition, the polycentric urban form was associated with high air quality. (3) Land use configuration was an important indicator to describe the urban air quality. When buffer distance of spatial scale was 25 km, air quality showed the highest correlation with forest coverage. A high forest coverage rate contributed to the better air quality, increasing or preserving the forested areas would help mitigate the air pollution.     

Satellite observation to assess dengue risk due to Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in a subtropical city of Argentina

Earth observation environmental features measured through remote sensing and models of vector mosquitoes species Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus provide an advancement with regards to dengue risk in urban environments of subtropical areas of Argentina. The authors aim to estimate the effect of landscape coverage and spectral indices (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index [NDVI], Normalized Difference Water Index [NDWI] and Normalized Difference Built-up Index [NDBI]) on the larvae abundance of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus in Eldorado, Misiones, Argentina using remote satellite sensors. Larvae of these species were collected monthly (June 2016 to April 2018), in four environments: tire repair shops, cemeteries, dwellings and an urban natural park. The proportion of landscape coverage (water, urban areas, bare soil, low vegetation and high vegetation) was determined from the supervised classification of Sentinel-2 images and spectral indices, calculated. The authors developed spatial models of both vector species by generalized linear mixed models. The model's results showed that Ae. aegypti larvae abundance was better modelled by NDVI minimum values, NDBI maximum values and the interaction between them. For Ae. albopictus proportion of bare soil, low vegetation and the interaction between both variables explained better the abundance.     

Relationship between Air Pollutants and Economic Development of the Provincial Capital Cities in China during the Past Decade

With the economic development of China, air pollutants are also growing rapidly in recent decades, especially in big cities of the country. To understand the relationship between economic condition and air pollutants in big cities, we analysed the socioeconomic indictorssuch as Gross Regional Product per capita (GRP per capita), the concentration of air pollutants (PM₁₀, SO₂, NO₂₎ and the air pollution index (API) from 2003 to 2012 in 31 provincial capitals of mainland China. The three main industries had a quadratic correlation with NO₂, but a negative relationship with PM₁₀ and SO₂. The concentration of air pollutants per ten thousand yuan decreased with the multiplying of GRP in the provinical cities. The concentration of air pollutants and API in the provincial capital cities showed a declining trend or inverted-U trend with the rise of GRP per capita, which provided a strong evidence for the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), that the environmental quality first declines, then improves, with the income growth. The results of this research improved our understanding of the alteration of atmospheric quality with the increase of social economy and demonstrated the feasibility of sustainable development for China.     

Modelling changes in VOC emission in response to climate change in the continental United States

The alteration of climate is driven not only by anthropogenic activities, but also by biosphere processes that change in conjunction with climate. Emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from vegetation may be particularly sensitive to changes in climate and may play an important role in climate forcing through their influence on the atmospheric oxidative balance, greenhouse gas concentration, and the formation of aerosols. Using the VEMAP vegetation database and associated vegetation responses to climate change, this study examined the independent and combined effects of simulated changes in temperature, CO₂ concentration, and vegetation distribution on annual emissions of isoprene, monoterpenes, and other reactive VOCs (ORVOCs) from potential vegetation of the continental United States. Temperature effects were modelled according to the direct influence of temperature on enzymatic isoprene production and the vapour pressure of monoterpenes and ORVOCs. The effect of elevated CO₂ concentration was modelled according to increases in foliar biomass per unit of emitting surface area. The effects of vegetation distribution reflects simulated changes in species spatial distribution and areal coverage by 21 different vegetation classes. Simulated climate warming associated with a doubled atmospheric CO₂ concentration enhanced total modelled VOC emission by 81.8% (isoprene + 82.1%, monoterpenes + 81.6%, ORVOC + 81.1%), whereas a simulated doubled CO₂ alone enhanced total modelled VOC emission by only + 11.8% (isoprene + 13.7%, monoterpenes + 4.1%, ORVOC + 11.7%). A simulated redistribution of vegetation in response to altered temperatures and precipitation patterns caused total modelled VOC emission to decline by 10.4% (isoprene – 11.7%, monoterpenes – 18.6%, ORVOC 0.0%) driven by a decline in area covered by vegetation classes emitting VOCs at high rates. Thus, the positive effect of leaf-level adjustments to elevated CO₂ (i.e. increases in foliar biomass) is balanced by the negative effect of ecosystem-level adjustments to climate (i.e. decreases in areal coverage of species emitting VOC at high rates).     

Characteristics of multi-temporal scale variation of vegetation coverage in the Circum Bohai Bay Region, 1999–2009

Long-term spatial–temporal dynamics of vegetation coverage is a key problem of issues include global climate change study, regional ecological process monitoring and ecosystem management. Based on SPOT-VGT 10-day composite data over the Circum Bohai Bay Region from 1999 to 2009, this paper performs the Mann–Kendall test and calculates the trend Slope (β) and Hurst index of time series data to study the temporal trends and long-range dependence of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) on 1 km spatial scale, and plots monthly calendar and seasonal succession map using spatial analysis techniques, and then analyze and reveal the spatial–temporal characteristics of vegetation coverage. Main findings are as follows: (1) dense vegetation coverage mainly distribute in mountainous and hilly areas dominated by forest and shrub, followed by vast plain areas with well developed agricultural industry, and low vegetation coverage mainly distribute along part of coastal beaches, surrounding most of urban areas and large inland water bodies and in the semi-arid agro-pasture intertwined zone at the north-west corner of Hebei province. (2) Overall, vegetation coverage is high in summer–autumn and low in winter–spring and the increasing trend from 1999 to 2009 on monthly, seasonal and annual scales are significant in most areas. An increased seasonal difference is detected because the improving trend of vegetation coverage in growing seasons is more remarkable than that in non-growing seasons. Furthermore, significant long-range dependence of NDVI time series is detected in most areas which indicate that the trend of vegetation coverage change from 1999 to 2009 will definitely persist in the near future. (3) Both variation of vegetation coverage in the past and its long-range dependence show significant spatial differences on macro spatial scale, in detail, improving trend of vegetation coverage in Liaoning province is very significant and it will persist in the near future because more than 85% of the pixels in Liaoning province has positive Slope (β) and Hurst index great than 0.5, correspondingly, only very mild signal of enlarged seasonal difference is detected in Liaoning province. On the contrary, very large extent of vegetation coverage in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei area and Shandong province show significant degrading trend and enlarged seasonal difference despite the overall improving trend in these areas in the past 11 years. Areas with degrading trend of vegetation coverage in the past and future trends point to continuing degrading account for 6.71% and 9.84% in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei area and Shandong province, respectively, while it is below 6.00% in Liaoning province. (4) Areas with degrading trend of vegetation coverage in the past and future trends point to continuing degrading show the overall spatial pattern of scattering on macro scale and aggregating on fine scales, specifically, areas surrounding large inland water bodies, along part of coastal beaches and surrounding urban areas indicates strong tendency of degrading in the past and prospective degrading trend in the near future. (5) Complicated driving forces of vegetation coverage change on macro spatial scale are revealed by the spatial patterns of the coupling index between Slope (β) and Hurst index, in detail, rapid and extensive urbanization undergone on multi-spatial scales is the most important man-made force of vegetation coverage degrading, large scale agricultural activities overall improve the vegetation coverage and enlarge its seasonal difference; while factors include water level changes near large inland water bodies, water–salt dynamics at coastal beach and so on are the main natural driving forces of vegetation degradation. The findings in this paper are useful for wise regional ecosystem management in Circum Bohai Bay Region.