Time-lagged and cumulative effects of drought and anthropogenic activities on China's vegetation greening from 1990 to 2018

Previous studies have confirmed the time-lagged and cumulative effects of drought anthropogenic activities on vegetation growth, but these focus effect are poorly known how productivity responds to activities. Here, based reconstructed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index land use degree comprehensive index, we diagnosed spatiotemporal pattern drought, investigated over China through month where maximum correlation coefficient occurred. It revealed that browning trend 32.21% vegetated lands was covered by overall greening, especially in northwestern China. Drought intensified with a rate 0.0014/year. 66.41% 54.57% had response shorter timescales 1–4 months, indicating higher sensitivity growth drought. There U-shaped relationship between moisture conditions time. 49.9% China's showed activities, longer 6–10 years, demonstrating triggered ecological changes ecosystems cannot keep pace. The accumulated years declined increased intensity.