# Vegetation Health in China Is Severely Compromised by Drought, Wet and Heat Stress Events
## 5 Conclusions  
This study developed a vegetation health assessment system for China using the CIM, TOPSIS, and PSR models. Through comprehensive evaluation and fitting with LAI, NPP, and SIF, the PSR model was selected as the preferred framework for assessing vegetation health. The highlight of this study lies in exploring the response of vegetation health in China to stress events by incorporating drought, wet stress, and heat stress into the modified residual analysis, providing valuable insights for promoting regional ecological construction and the sustainable development of vegetation ecosystems. The main conclusions are as follows:  
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2. VHI levels in eastern China are higher than in the western regions, and they exhibit a significant upward trend as a whole. The frequency of drought stress occurring alongside heat stress is gradually increasing, but there is a trend toward a warmer and wetter climate with climate change becoming increasingly extreme. 3. Among the vegetation types, meadows, grasslands, and cultivated vegetation are most sensitive to stress events with CH having a greater impact on vegetation health than other stress events. Regionally, vegetation health is most affected by stress events in areas R4 and R8 with a significant decline in vegetation health occurring at latitudes greater than 35\({}^{\circ}\). 4. The contribution of stress events to vegetation health is predominant and may continue to increase in the future. The study offers policy-oriented recommendations for precision ecological management, including prioritizing the restoration of grassland and meadow ecosystems, enhancing monitoring in alpine regions, and developing region-specific vegetation protection and restoration strategies tailored to local climatic conditions. **Supplementary Materials:** The following supporting information can be downloaded at [[https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/f16010038/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/f16010038/s1)]([https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/f16010038/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/f16010038/s1)), Figure S1: Spatial distribution of stress from 2000 to 2019; Figure S2: Spatial distribution of pressure from 2000 to 2019; Figure S3: Spatial distribution of response from 2000 to 2019; Figure S4: Spatial distribution of vegetation health evaluation system constructed using Comprehensive Index Method; Figure S5: Spatial distribution of vegetation health evaluation system constructed using TOPSIS; Figure S6: Spatial distribution of vegetation health evaluation system constructed using PSR; Figure S7: Frequency of stress events by latitude from 2000 to 2020. (a-d) Represent SPEI CD, SM CD, CPA, and CH, respectively; Table S1: Abbreviations and full name in the article; Table S2: Indicator weights. **Author Contributions:** P.M.: conceptualization, methodology, software, writing--review and editing. J.P.: formal analysis, supervision, funding acquisition. J.Z. : writing--review and editing, visualization, supervision, funding. L.L. : methodology, formal analysis, supervision. X.Y. : methodology, resources, supervision. W.L. : resources, supervision. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. **Funding:** This study was funded by the Commissioned Project of Xinjiang Grassland General Station (202334140016). **Data Availability Statement:** Temperature is sourced from [[http://www.geodata.cn/data/datadetails.html?dataguid=67669514169502&docId=4](http://www.geodata.cn/data/datadetails.html?dataguid=67669514169502&docId=4)]([http://www.geodata.cn/data/datadetails.html?dataguid=67669514169502&docId=4](http://www.geodata.cn/data/datadetails.html?dataguid=67669514169502&docId=4)) (accessed on 12 March 2024).