Paper Info
Title
Water Deficit May Cause Vegetation Browning in Central Asia
Abstract
There is consistent evidence of vegetation greening in Central Asia over the past four decades. However, in the early 1990s, the greening temporarily stagnated and even for a time reversed. In this study, we evaluate changes in the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) based on the long-term satellite-derived remote sensing data systems of the Global Inventory Modelling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) NDVI from 1981 to 2013 and MODIS NDVI from 2000 to 2020 to determine whether the vegetation in Central Asia has browned. Our findings indicate that the seasonal sequence of NDVI is summer > spring > autumn > winter, and the spatial distribution pattern is a semicircular distribution, with the Aral Sea Basin as its core and an upward tendency from inside to outside. Around the mid-1990s, the region's vegetation experienced two climatic environments with opposing trends (cold and wet; dry and hot). Prior to 1994, NDVI increased substantially throughout the growth phase (April-October), but this trend reversed after 1994, when vegetation began to brown. Our findings suggest that changes in vegetation NDVI are linked to climate change induced by increased CO2. The state of water deficit caused by temperature changes is a major cause of the browning turning point across the study area. At the same time, changes in vegetation NDVI were consistent with changes in drought degree (PDSI). This research is relevant for monitoring vegetation NDVI and carbon neutralization in Central Asian ecosystems.
Year
DOI
Venue
2022
10.3390/rs14112574
REMOTE SENSING
Keywords
DocType
Volume
Central Asia, drought, temperature, vegetation browning, vapor pressure deficit
Journal
14
Issue
ISSN
Citations 
11
2072-4292
0
PageRank 
References 
Authors
0.34
0
6
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Haichao Hao100.34
Yaning Chen2511.01
Jianhua Xu300.34
Zhi Li403.38
Yupeng Li502.70
Patient Mindje Kayumba602.37