Monitoring and Analysis on Vegetation and Waters Dynamics in Chinese Priority Areas for Biodiversity Conservation During 2001-2016

Biodiversity is necessary for ecological sustainable development. Priority areas for biodiversity conservation are the key areas for biodiversity conservation in China. It is of great significance to monitor the dynamic changes on vegetation and water which are important natural habitats. In the present study, the MODIS reflectance data and GLASS products (2001-2016) were used as the main data source, and fractional vegetation coverage (FVC) and water area which are closely related to the maintenance of biodiversity, were selected as the monitoring indicators. The present situation and changing trends on the natural habitat status for 32 priority areas for terrestrial biodiversity conservation in China were analyzed in depth based on remote sensing. The results show that FVC in priority areas is better than national average. The varying trend on FVC in the priority areas were generally improved from 2001 to 2016, of which 53.98% was increased while 24.41% was decreased. In the past five years the FVC in Qiangtang-Sanjiangyuan area, Hulunbeir District and Dongting Lake region has shown a decreasing trend. In addition, water area was increased generally, which was more evident in the three priority areas, Qiangtang-Sanjiangyuan area, Songnen Plain area and West Ordos-Helan Mountains-Yin Mountains area.