Abstract:
The Shaanxi section of the Yellow River basin is a key area for the high-quality development strategy of the Yellow River basin. Investigating its vegetation changes and driving forces is of great significance for the ecological protection and sustainable development of the Yellow River basin. Based on the GEE platform, this study estimated vegetation cover data for the study area from 2000 to 2023. By comprehensively applying the coefficient of variation, the center-of-gravity migration model, trend analysis, Hurst index, and geographic detector, it systematically revealed the spatiotemporal evolution patterns of vegetation and their driving mechanisms in the study area. Results indicate: (1) Vegetation cover (FVC) in the study area exhibited a significantly fluctuating upward trend from 2000 to 2023, reflecting overall vegetation improvement. Spatial differentiation was observed in the migration of vegetation centers across different coverage levels: centers for low and moderately low coverage (FVC≤0.4) shifted northeastward, while those for medium-high coverage (0.4<FVC≤1) moved northward. Regional vegetation coverage exhibited strong variability, with high-fluctuation zones (CV≥0.2) covering over two-thirds of the area, showing high spatial overlap with high-coverage zones. (2) Vegetation improvement trends are sustainable across most of the study area, though localized degradation risks exist in Weinan, Xianyang, and Yan'an. (3) Annual average precipitation exhibits the strongest explanatory power (
q=0.66) as the dominant factor influencing FVC changes in the study area. Interaction effects among factors explain greater variability than individual factors alone, indicating that coupled natural and human interactions significantly influence regional vegetation cover changes. These findings provide important reference value for ecological conservation and development in the Yellow River Basin.