Spatiotemporal variation and driving forces of NDVI from 1982 to 2015 in the Qinba Mountains, China

The spatiotemporal variation and driving force of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) are helpful to ecological environment protection and natural resource management. Using the Sen and Mann–Kendall methods, Hurt index, and the Geodetector, this study investigated the temporal and spatial changes and driving forces of NDVI during 1982–2015. The results showed that (1) From 1982 to 2015, the high vegetation coverage was mainly distributed in the Qinling Mountains and the Daba Mountains, while the low vegetation coverage was in high altitude areas in the west, low altitude in the east, and the Hanjiang River valley. (2) NDVI in the Qinba Mountains increased continuously accounting for 81.1%, with 68% showing slow growth. In the future, only 37.8% of the vegetation will have significant change. The area of vegetation increase will be greater than the area of decrease. (3) NDVI increased firstly and then decreased with the increase of altitude, reaching the maximum value at 1100 m. NDVI showed a trend of fluctuating growth. It reached the maximum value of 0.86 in 2015. (4) Through the Geodetector, the main factors affecting NDVI were natural factors mainly including rainfall, soil type, and digital elevation model (DEM), while human activities, including population density, had little influence on NDVI. Natural environment factors and human activities together had a greater impact on the spatial distribution of NDVI. This study could provide help for the sustainable development of the natural environment in the Qinba Mountains.