The Wheel of Vegetation: A Spatial and Temporal Story of Vegetation Evolution in the Shennongjia Forest District

As one of the most well-preserved areas in the vertical band spectrum of vegetation in central China and even in the northern hemisphere at the same latitude, the vegetation in Shennongjia Forest District is vital to global ecological balance. In order to fully understand the vegetation change in the study area, remotely sensed data since 1990, combined with the Sen-MK test, Geo detector, and LandTrendr algorithm, were used to analyze the vegetation distribution characteristics and change trends. The results showed that: (1) the overall NDVI in the study area displayed an upward trend. (2) Vegetation disturbance occurred frequently before 2000 and decreased significantly after 2000. The most severely disturbed year was 1991 when the disturbed area amounted to 4.0851 km2, accounting for 16.76% of the total disturbed area. The analysis of the topographic environment reveals that most of the vegetation disturbances occur in areas with slopes of 15–25° and elevations of 1500–2000 m, which indicates that these areas have frequent human activity. (3) The explanatory power of different influences on vegetation changes varied, with altitude having the most significant effect and the superposition of two influences increasing the effect on vegetation change. Over the past 30 years, vegetation in the Shennongjia Forest District has shown a general trend of recovery, with natural forest protection initiatives playing a critical role in mitigating disturbance. This comprehensive study of vegetation changes in Shennongjia offers a valuable research paradigm for forest conservation and sustainable development in temperate forests at similar latitudes, providing significant insights into the protection and management of similar ecosystems.