Correlation Analysis of NDVI and Meteorological Variables

The objectives of the current study are to explore the relationship between vegetation and climate by analyzing the variation and relationship of meteorological factors and vegetation index time series in China during 1991-2000. Records of temperature and precipitation for 303 weather stations around China were collected. The analyses were carried out at monthly and annually temporal scales and at national and provincial spatial scales using time serial analytical method and statistical tools. The main results showed that temperature and precipitation had strong effects on NDVI changes. At monthly and yearly scales, NDVI, temperature and precipitation presented similar change trend. On average, monthly mean temperature had higher impact on NDVI variation than precipitation during the study years. Both of temperature and precipitation exhibited one month lag effect on NDVI change.