Abstract: In association with MODIS vegetation index and meteorological data, the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of vegetation cover in the Guanzhong Basin were analyzed via trend analysis and geostatistical analysis. The response of vegetation coverage to climate change in the study area was also revealed using spatial analysis method based on pixel. Results unveil that in terms of annual variation, the vegetation cover of the Guanzhong Basin shows a fluctuating upward trend, with an annual growth rate of 0.006 1 a^-1; in terms of intro-annual variation, the vegetation cover of the Guanzhong Basin fluctuates significantly during the year, showing a unimodal curve. On the other hand, from the aspect of spatial distribution, the vegetation coverage is of obvious spatial heterogeneity. In annual scale, the vegetation coverage in the Guanzhong Basin is insignificantly positively correlated with rainfall and temperature; in monthly scale, the vegetation coverage is significantly correlated with monthly rainfall and monthly temperature. Such significant positive correlations indicate that seasonal fluctuations in hydrothermal factors have a greater impact on vegetation growth in the study area. The research findings offer scientific basis for ecological construction and environmental protection in arid and semi-arid regions.

Key words: vegetation coverage, rainfall, temperature, spatiotemporal dynamics, Guanzhong Basin