Vegetation dynamics and its relationship with climatic factors in the Changbai Mountain Natural Reserve

This study examined the temporal variation of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and its relationship with climatic factors in the Changbai Mountain Natural Reserve (CMNR) during 2000–2009. The results showed as follows. The average NDVI values increased at a rate of 0.0024 year⁻¹. The increase rate differed with vegetation types, such as 0.0034 year⁻¹ for forest and 0.0017 year⁻¹ for tundra. Trend analyses revealed a consistent NDVI increase at the start and end of the growing season but little variation or decrease observed in July during the study period. The NDVI in CMNR showed a stronger correlation with temperature than with precipitation, especially in spring and autumn. A stronger correlation was observed between NDVI and temperature in the tundra zone (2,000–2,600m) than in the coniferous forest (1,100–1,700m) and Korean pine-broadleaved mixed forest (700–1,100m) zones. The results indicate that vegetation at higher elevations is more sensitive to temperature change. NDVI variation had a strong correlation with temperature change (r=0.7311, p≪0.01) but less significant correlation with precipitation change. The result indicates that temperature can serve as a main indicator of vegetation sensitivity in the CMNR.