Ecological conservation and restoration in the karst critical zone of South China have recently gained considerable attention, thereby requiring the monitoring and forecasting of vegetation coverage in the district. In the present study, the moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer(MODIS) satellite time series (2000-2016), the Hurst exponent index, and a geographical detector were used to analyze the determinants and spatial-temporal evolution of vegetation coverage in different geologic areas (karst and non-karst) and under different types of land use. (1) The regional vegetation of south China increased from 2000 to 2016, and the growth rate of the karst areas was slightly higher than that of non-karst areas. Vegetation coverage increased from east to west presents the distribution pattern of the east high and west low in space. Forest land yielded the highest Normal Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI) value, followed by cultivated field, grassland, construction land, and water. Non-karst areas yielded higher NDVI values than did karst areas, except for areas classified as forest land or cultivated fields. (2) The results also suggest that 60.19% of the vegetation was maintained throughout the study period, whereas 17.06% of the vegetation degraded. In particular, the vegetation of grassland and cultivated fields ameliorated significantly, whereas that of areas classified as water or construction land degraded. According to the Hurst exponent index, the NDVI for sustainable maintenance is greater than that of sustainable degeneration. The proportion of sustainable maintenance was greater in karst areas than in non-karst areas. (3) Overall, Digital Elevation Model(DEM) exerted the greatest influence on the spatial distribution of NDVI, followed by temperature, precipitation, and the night-time light index, and the spatial distribution of NDVI was more strongly affected by topographic factors in the non-karst areas than in the karst areas. (4) NDVI was significantly correlated with temperature, precipitation, and sunshine (coefficients:49%, 45%, and 61%, respectively).