Abstract:

This paper analyzed the temporal and spatial responses of vegetation NDVI to the variations of temperature and precipitation in each ten-day period in the whole year, spring, summer and autumn covering 1998 to 2007  based on the SPOT VGT-NDVI data and daily temperature and precipitation data from 205 meteorological stations in eastern China. The results indicate that on the whole, the response of vegetation NDVI to the variation of temperature is greater than to that of precipitation in eastern China. Vegetation NDVI maximally responds to the variation of temperature with a lag of about 10 days, and it maximally responds to the variation of precipitation with a lag of about 30 days. The response of vegetation NDVI to temperature and precipitation is the greatest in autumn, and the lag time is longer in summer. Spatially, the maximum response of vegetation NDVI to the variation of temperature is greater in the northern and central parts than in the southern part of eastern China. The maximum response of vegetation NDVI to the variation of precipitation is greater in the northern part than in the central and southern parts of eastern China. There is more lag time of vegetation NDVI to the variation of temperature in the northern and southern parts, while less in the central part. The lag time of vegetation NDVI to the variation of precipitation gradually increases from the northern to the southern part according to the latitude. The response of vegetation NDVI to the variations of temperature and precipitation in eastern China is mainly consistent with other results obtained in eastern and southern China.

Key words: SPOT VGT-NDVI, temperature, precipitation, eastern China