Spatial-Temporal Changes of Vegetation Coverage and Its Responses to Global Climate Changes in the Tibetan Plateau

Recent global climate changes have affected vegetation coverage in the Tibetan Plateau. Based on the remote sensing images and the meteorological data from 1986 to 2000, using the model of extracting vegetation coverage, the spatiotemporal changes of vegetation coverage and its responses to global climate changes in the Tibetan Plateau during 1986-2000 were studied. The results showed that from 1986 to 2000 vegetation coverage increased 0.011 as a whole, except some small regions degradation in the Tibetan Plateau. Global climate changes have contributed to an increase of vegetation coverage in the Tibetan Plateau, and the vegetation coverage change was positively correlated with the changes of precipitation and temperature. The regions with decreasing vegetation coverage were mainly distributed in the southeast where the recent warming trends contribute to humid weather and favorable conditions for vegetation growth, while increasing vegetation coverage were in the northwest where higher temperature have led to arid conditions and insufficient rainfall of the Tibetan Plateau. The responses of vegetation coverage to climate changes varied with different vegetation types.