title: Quantifying influences of physiographic factors on temperate dryland vegetation, Northwest China.
abstract: Variability in satellite measurements of terrestrial greenness in drylands is widely observed in land surface processes and global change studies. Yet the underlying causes differ and are not fully understood. Here, we used the GeogDetector model, a new spatial statistical approach, to examine the individual and combined influences of physiographic factors on dryland vegetation greenness changes, and to identify the most suitable characteristics of each principal factor for stimulating vegetation growth. Our results indicated that dryland greenness was predominantly affected by precipitation, soil type, vegetation type, and temperature, either separately or in concert. The interaction between pairs of physiographic factors enhanced the influence of any single factor and displayed significantly non-linear influences on vegetation greenness. Our results also implied that vegetation greenness could be promoted by adopting favorable ranges or types of major physiographical factors, thus beneficial for ecological conservation and restoration that aimed at mitigating environmental degradation.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China.
authors.forename: Ziqiang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: College of environmental &Resource Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoming
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: College of environmental &Resource Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Loess Plateau, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China.
authors.forename: Zhitao
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: College of environmental &Resource Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030006, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pang
mesh_terms: D002681:China; D002980:Climate; D004463:Ecology; D008954:Models, Biological; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D011891:Rain; D063809:Satellite Imagery; D012987:Soil; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D012987:Soil