Effects of vegetation cover on summer climate in China during 1982–2001

Abstract

In this paper, we apply lagged correlation analysis to study the effects of vegetation cover on the summer climate in different zones of China, using NOAA/AVHRR normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data during the time period from 1982 to 2001 and climate data of 365 meteorological stations across China (precipitation from 1982 to 2001 and temperature from 1982 to 1998). The results show that there are positive correlations between spring NDVI and summer climate(temperature and precipitation) in most zones of China; these suggest that, when the vegetation cover increases, the summer precipitation will increase, and the lagged correlations show a significant difference between zones. The stronger correlations between NDVI in previous season and summer climate occur in three zones (Mid-temperate zone, Warm-temperate zone and Plateau climate zone), and this implies that vegetation changes have more sensitive feedback effects on climate in the three zones in China.