Spatio-Temporal Processes and Characteristics of Vegetation Recovery in the Earthquake Area: A Case Study of Wenchuan, China

Abstract

The quantitative and qualitative assessment of post-disaster vegetation damage and recovery in the core area of the Wenchuan earthquake is of great significance for the restoration and reconstruction of natural ecosystems and the construction of human settlements in China. This study used time series analysis to determine the time of MODIS data and used the data to study the vegetation damage and restoration in the core area of the Wenchuan earthquake. The determined MODIS images were used to quantitatively analyze a series of vegetation damage changes and the vegetation recovery rate in the core area of the Wenchuan earthquake before and after the earthquake. By applying the topographic factors, we analyzed the spatial and temporal characteristics of the dynamic changes of vegetation damage and the recovery rate in the disaster area. The results show that the study area’s vegetation damage was correlated to topographic factors and distance from towns. Besides, the overall vegetation restoration after the disaster was relatively optimistic. In some areas, the vegetation restoration level even exceeded the vegetation coverage level before the disaster. The recovery study of MODIS-NDVI showed a specific lag delay effect on the image of vegetation cover. The vegetation damage and the recovery rate of vegetation cover were significantly correlated with the distance from towns and the topographic factor. Overall, the results contribute to the theoretical support for the damage and recovery of vegetation in the core area affected by the earthquake.