Response of China’s Wetland NDVI to Climate Changes

Wetland vegetation dynamics are of vital importance for comprehending changes in ecosystem structure and function. In the context of global climate change, it is still unclear the change in trends occurring to wetland vegetation in China. Using Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index product (NDVI3g), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Vegetation Health Products (VHP), and climate data, this study explored the response of wetland vegetation NDVI to climate change in China from 1981 to 2015. The results show that: 1) NDVI of wetland vegetation in China exhibited a downward trend on the whole after the year 2004. 2) In water-limited zones, wetland vegetation NDVI was positively correlated with precipitation; while in temperature-limited zones, it was positively correlated with temperature. We also discussed the impact of climate change to wetland vegetation and the complexity of wetland vegetation response to climate change. This study has the potential to provide guidance and support decision-making for the protection, assessment, restoration and management of wetlands.