Abstract: Multi-temporal NOAA/AVHRR NDVI digital images and monthly temperature and precipitation data were obtained for 160 standard observatories across China covering the period 1983 to 1992. The relationships among these were analyzed for trends in temporal and geographic variation with the results that: correlation coefficients declined in a north to south direction across the data and increased from the southeast to the northwest of China. The NDVI changes of the temperate desert, steppe and meadow vegetation regions were strongly influenced by the changes of temperature and precipitation, but the influence of climate was relatively small for some agriculture and forest vegetation types in the southeast of China.

Key words: Vegetation type, NDVI, Temperature, Precipitation, Sensibility