Spatial and temporal evolution and its driving force on vegetation cover in Naiman Banner based on Google Earth Engine

The study of vegetation cover is an effective approach for assessing ecological and environmental benefits. The fractional vegetation cover (FVC) of the Naiman Banner from 1991 to 2020 was calculated using Google Earth Engine (GEE). Further, the spatio-temporal evolution characteristics of FVC were analyzed using Sen’s slope trend analysis method. Based on the meteorological data of the same period, the FVC response to changes in climatic factors and human activities was quantitatively assessed using partial correlation and residual analysis methods. The results showed that from 1991 to 2020, FVC showed a fluctuating upward trend, and the spatial FVC showed a distribution pattern of higher values in the north-south region and lower values in the east-west region. Additionally, from 1991 to 2020, the vegetation cover was transformed at various levels, and the area of vegetation cover that changed from “low to high” was much greater than that from “high to low”, indicating that the vegetation has recovered well over the past 30 years. Interestingly, climatic variables were not the inevitable causal factors of FVC changes in the study area. Instead, human activity was the main driver of FVC change over the last 30 years. These research results will provide a scientific reference for the ecological environment construction and sustainable development of the Naiman Banner.