China’s contribution to global greening is regulated by increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations, climate change, and land use. Based on TRENDY project data, this study identified that the shifts in leaf area index (LAI) trend strongly reduced during warming hiatus, translating from 13.42 ± 26.45% 1982–1998 into 7.91 25.45% 1999–2012. First, significant negative sensitivities of LAI enhanced v...