{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T17:59:55Z","timestamp":1791395995164,"version":"4.3.3"},"reference-count":28,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791331200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["42161029"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["42161029"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study utilizes the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, integrating Landsat and Sentinel-2 imagery from 1987 to 2022 alongside terrain data to develop a technical system for \u201cvegetation cover inversion\u2013classification\u2013vertical belt spectrum analysis.\u201d The Fractional Vegetation Cover (FVC) is estimated using a pixel dichotomy model, while spatiotemporal changes are evaluated through Theil-Sen trend analysis and Mann-Kendall tests. A multi-feature combination scheme has been designed, employing random forest models to enhance forest classification and analyze altitude zoning characteristics. The findings indicate that: (1) Over nearly 36 years, FVC in Fanjing Mountain has demonstrated a pattern of \u201cfluctuating decline\u2013adjustment\u2013jump increase,\u201d with 2007 serving as a pivotal turning point; notably, 41.65% of the area exhibited significant improvement, particularly in the southern region; (2) The classification model that integrates terrain features, red-edge index, and texture attributes (T9 scheme) achieves an overall accuracy of 77.88%, with terrain factors being the most influential in significantly enhancing the identification of shrub meadows and evergreen broadleaf forests; (3) Distinct vertical zoning of vegetation is observed: evergreen broadleaf forests dominate lower to mid-elevations (750\u20131550 m), deciduous broadleaf forests and coniferous forests are found at mid-to-high elevations, while shrub meadows are concentrated above 2400 m, forming a gradient succession sequence. This study provides methodological support and scientific evidence for ecological conservation efforts in subtropical mountain regions.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0359961","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T17:29:56Z","timestamp":1791394196000},"page":"e0359961","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Vegetation cover change and classification-based zonation of Fanjing Mountain using google earth engine"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Rongrong","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Geography and Environmental Science, Guizhou Normal University","place":["Guiyang, China"]},{"name":"Guizhou Mountain Resources and Environmental Remote Sensing Application Laboratory","place":["Guiyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-6779-4262","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Wengang","family":"Cui","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Geography and Environmental Science, Guizhou Normal University","place":["Guiyang, China"]},{"name":"Guizhou Mountain Resources and Environmental Remote Sensing Application Laboratory","place":["Guiyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Suihua","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Geography and Environmental Science, Guizhou Normal University","place":["Guiyang, China"]},{"name":"Guizhou Mountain Resources and Environmental Remote Sensing Application Laboratory","place":["Guiyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ting","family":"Yu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Geography and Environmental Science, Guizhou Normal University","place":["Guiyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fei","family":"Ning","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Geography and Environmental Science, Guizhou Normal University","place":["Guiyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Qingsong","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Geography and Environmental Science, Guizhou Normal University","place":["Guiyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dan","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Geography and Environmental Science, Guizhou Normal University","place":["Guiyang, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]]},"reference":[{"issue":"04","key":"pone.0359961.ref001","first-page":"395","article-title":"Interpretation of IPCC AR6: terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems and their services","volume":"18","author":"YL Hu","year":"2022","journal-title":"Climate Change Res"},{"key":"pone.0359961.ref002","first-page":"1","article-title":"Climate tipping points and its potential challenges to climate security in China","author":"LJ Ma","year":"2025","journal-title":"Climate Change Research"},{"issue":"10","key":"pone.0359961.ref003","first-page":"1","article-title":"Synergy between forest carbon sink and biodiversity conservation: theoretical logic and improvement paths","author":"Y Hu","year":"2025","journal-title":"Acta Ecologica Sinica"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0359961.ref004","first-page":"3021","article-title":"Spatial and temporal characteristics and driving force analysis of vegetation cover change in greater Khingan mountains ecological functional area based on KNDVI","volume":"46","author":"Z-H Wang","year":"2025","journal-title":"Huan Jing Ke Xue"},{"key":"pone.0359961.ref005","volume-title":"Vegetation dynamics and its response to climate change in the Qilian Mountains in recent 20 years","author":"YR Ma","year":"2022"},{"key":"pone.0359961.ref006","volume-title":"The interannual variablilty of net ecosystem CO2 exchange and its underlying mechanisms in terrestrial ecosytems","author":"JD Shao","year":"2014"},{"key":"pone.0359961.ref007","volume-title":"Global comparative analysis and the world heritage values on the plant diversity of Fanjingshan","author":"JY Zhu","year":"2017"},{"key":"pone.0359961.ref008","volume-title":"Global comparative analysis and the world heritage values on vertebrate animal diversity of Fanjing Mountain","author":"PJ Wang","year":"2017"},{"key":"pone.0359961.ref009","unstructured":"Wu RX. 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