Dissecting the characteristics and driver factors of potential vegetation water use efficiency in China

While large-scale vegetation greening in China has substantially influenced global vegetation dynamics, the specific impact of this restoration on water use efficiency (WUE) remained inadequately understood. This study employed both the Geodetector and structural equation modeling (SEM) methods, utilizing the Lund-Potsdam-Jena (LPJ) Global Dynamic Vegetation Model, to explore the contributions of various driving factors to China's potential vegetation WUE from 1982 to 2019. The results indicated: (1) there existed considerable further potential for vegetation recovery nationwide. Among them, the Loess Plateau, Inner Mongolia Plateau, and northern Xinjiang had relatively high potential for vegetation recovery. This potential was further amplified by the significant prospects for enhancing WUE in these areas; (2) The application of the Geodetector method revealed that the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) explained over 40 % of the variation in potential vegetation WUE in China, exerting a greater influence than climatic factors. In arid/semi-arid regions, precipitation (PRE), NDVI, and vapor pressure deficit (VPD) significantly influenced WUE. Temperature (TEM) was the dominant factor affecting WUE in humid and humid/semi-humid regions; (3) Utilizing the SEM analysis method, it was evident that NDVI exerted the most substantial direct positive influence on potential vegetation WUE in China, whereas VPD and PRE had notable negative impacts. In arid/semi-arid regions, PRE emerged as the primary determinant of WUE. Conversely, in regions where water resources were not limiting, TEM and VPD exerted a more pronounced influence on potential vegetation WUE. This indicated that while vegetation restoration generally enhanced potential vegetation WUE, other factors such as PRE, TEM, and VPD played critical roles in different climatic zones, shaping the regional variations in WUE. [Display omitted] •Vegetation restoration has a positive effect on potential vegetation WUE in China.•Vegetation greening contributes more to the changes in WUE than climate factors.•NDVI exerts the most significant direct positive impact on WUE, while VPD and PRE have the greatest direct negative impacts.