Spatiotemporal variation characteristics and driving forces of vegetation resilience in China

Vegetation resilience is a core indicator that reflects an ecosystem’s ability to maintain its structural and functional stability after disturbance. Although numerous studies have confirmed that vegetation cover in China has consistently shown an increasing trend in greenness, systematic quantitative assessments of its vegetation resilience remain relatively scarce. To address this gap, this study quantifies the resilience of six commonly used vegetation indices based on Critical Slowing Down (CSD) theory and evaluates their reliability. We then systematically analyze the spatiotemporal patterns of vegetation resilience in China and the driving factors behind them.