Resources and Ecology in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Climatic Changes Dominant Interannual Trend in Net Primary Productivity of Alpine Vulnerable Ecosystems

Expand
  • 1. Key Lab of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
    2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
    3. Henan Academy of Land and Resources Sciences, Zhengzhou 450053, China
    4. Qinghai University, Xining 810016, China
    5. Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008, China

First author: YANG Yihan, E-mail: yangyihan_nuist@163.com

Received date: 2019-03-22

  Accepted date: 2019-05-06

  Online published: 2019-07-30

Supported by

National Key Research and Development Program of China (2016YFC0500203);Science and Technology Program of Qinghai Province (2018-ZJ-T09, 2017-SF-A6)

Abstract

The Three-River Headwaters (TRH), which is the source area of Yangtze River, Yellow River and Lancang River, is vulnerable and sensitive, and its alpine ecosystem is considered an important barrier for China’s ecological security. Understanding the impact of climate changes is essential for determining suitable measures for ecological environmental protection and restoration against the background of global climatic changes. However, different explanations of the interannual trends in complex alpine ecosystems have been proposed due to limited availability of reliable data and the uncertainty of the model itself. In this study, the remote sensing-process coupled model (GLOPEM-CEVSA) was used to estimate the net primary productivity (NPP) of vegetation in the TRH region from 2000 to 2012. The estimated NPP significantly and linearly correlated with the above-ground biomass sampled in the field (the multiple correlative coefficient R2 = 0.45, significant level P < 0.01) and showed better performance than the MODIS productivity product, i.e. MOD17A3, (R2 = 0.21). The climate of TRH became warmer and wetter during 1990-2012, and the years 2000 to 2012 were warmer and wetter than the years1990-2000. Responding to the warmer and wetter climate, the NPP had an increasing trend of 13.7 g m-2 (10 yr)-1 with a statistical confidence of 86% (P = 0.14). Among the three basins, the NPP of the Yellow River basin increased at the fastest rate of 17.44 g m-2 (10 yr)-1 (P = 0.158), followed by the Yangtze River basin, and the Lancang River, which was the slowest with a rate of 12.2 g m-2 (10 yr)-1 and a statistical confidence level of only 67%. A multivariate linear regression with temperature and precipitation as the independent variables and NPP as the dependent variable at the pixel level was used to analyze the impacts of climatic changes on the trend of NPP. Both temperature and precipitation can explain the interannual variability of 83% in grassland NPP in the whole region, and can explain high, medium and low coverage of 78%, 84% and 83%, respectively, for grassland in the whole region. The results indicate that climate changes play a dominant role in the interannual trend of vegetation productivity in the alpine ecosystems on Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. This has important implications for the formulation of ecological protection and restoration policies for vulnerable ecosystems against the background of global climate changes.

Cite this article

YANG Yihan,WANG Junbang,LIU Peng,LU Guangxin,LI Yingnian . Climatic Changes Dominant Interannual Trend in Net Primary Productivity of Alpine Vulnerable Ecosystems[J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2019 , 10(4) : 379 -388 . DOI: 10.5814/j.issn.1674-764X.2019.04.005

References

[1] Chen B, Zhang X, Tao J, et al.2014. The impact of climate change and anthropogenic activities on alpine grassland over the Qinghai-Tibet plateau.Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 189: 11-18.
[2] Cui L L, Shi J, Xiao F J.2018. Impacts of climatic factors and El Nino/La Nina events on the changes of terrestrial ecosystem NPP in China.Acta Geographica Sinica, 73(1): 53-66. (in Chinese)
[3] Dai Z J, Zhao X, Li G W, et al.2018. Spatial-temporal variations in NDVI in vegetation-growing season in Qinghai based on GIMMS NDVI 3g.v1 in past 34 years.Pratacultural Science, 35(4): 713-725.
[4] Ding M J, Shen Z X, Zhang Y L, et al.2005. Vegetation change along the Qinghai-Xizang Highway and Railway from 1981 to 2001.Resources Science, 27(5): 128-133. (in Chinese)
[5] Ding M J, Zhang Y L, Liu L S, et al.2010. Temporal and spatial distribution of grassland coverage change in Tibetan Plateau since 1982.Journal of Natural Resources, 25(12): 2114-2122. (in Chinese)
[6] Ding M, Li L, Nie Y, et al.2016. Spatio-temporal variation of spring phenology in Tibetan Plateau and its linkage to climate change from 1982 to 2012.Journal of Mountain Science, 13(1): 83-94. (in Chinese)
[7] Huang C, Li Y F, Liu, G H, et al.2014. Recent climate variability and its impact on precipitation, temperature, and vegetation dynamics inthe Lancang River headwater area of China.International Journal of Remote Sensing, 35(8): 2822-2834.
[8] Huang M, Ji J J, Peng L L.2008. The response of vegetation net primary productivity to climate change during 1981-2000 in the Tibetan Plateau.Climatic and Environmental Research, 13(5): 608-616. (in Chinese)
[9] Huang T Q, Zhao T, Feng R G, et al.2007. Project arrangement and primal progress in the second phase of the CAS Action-Plan for west development.Advances in Earth Science, 22(9): 888-895. (in Chinese)
[10] Li B.2016. Study of Vegetation’s Spatial and Temporal Distribution and Influencing Factors on the Tibetan Plateau. PhD Diss., China University of Geosciences, Beijing. (in Chinese)
[11] Li H X, Liu G H, Fu B J.2011. Response of vegetation to climate change and human activity based on NDVI in the Three-River Headwaters region.Acta Ecologica Sinica, 31(19): 5495-5504. (in Chinese)
[12] Li P.2017. Dynamics of Vegetation Autumn Phenology and Their Response to Extremely Climate Change in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Master Diss, Northwest A&F University. (in Chinese)
[13] Li X L, Perry G L W, Brierlry G, et al.2014. Quantitative assessment of degradation classifications for degraded alpine meadows (Heitutan), Sanjiangyuan, western China.Land Degradation & Development, 25(5): 417-427.
[14] Li Z W, Wu R J, Ma Y P.2016. Impact of climatechange and human activities on vegetation productivity in the Three-River Headwaters.Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, 38(3): 804-810. (in Chinese)
[15] Liang S H, Chen J, Jin X M, et al.2007. Regularity of vegetation coverage changes in the Tibetan Plateau over the last 21 years.Advances in Earth Science, 22(1): 33-40. (in Chinese)
[16] Liu G H, Fu B J.2011. Response of vegetation to climate change and human activity based on NDVI in the Three-River Headwaters region.Acta Ecologica Sinica, 31(19): 5495-5504.
[17] Liu J H, Gao J X, Wang W J.2013. Variations of vegetation coverage and its relations to global climate changes on the Tibetan Plateau during 1981-2005.Journal of Mountain Science, 31(2): 234-242. (in Chinese)
[18] Liu J Y, Shao Q Q, Fan J W.2013. Ecological construction achievements assessment and its revelation of ecological project in Three River Headwaters Region.Chinese Journal of Nature, 35(1): 40-46. (in Chinese)
[19] Liu P.2016. Remote Sensed Net Primary Productivity and Its Spatial-temporal Pattern over “Three-River Headwaters” Region in 2000- 2012. Master Diss, Qinghai Normal University. (in Chinese)
[20] Liu X F, Ren Z Y, Lin Z H, et al.2013. The spatial-temporal changes of vegetation coverage in the Three-River Headwater Region in recent 12 years.Acta Geographica Sinica, 68(7): 897-908. (in Chinese)
[21] Liu Z J, Shao Q Q, Wang S S.2015. Variation of alpine grasslands and its response to climate warming in the Tibetan Plateau since the 21st Century.Arid Land Geography, 38(2): 275-282. (in Chinese)
[22] Lv S B.2014. Tibetan Plateau’s Vegetation Phenology’ Variations and the Analysis its Driving Factors. Master Diss, China University of Geosciences, Beijing. (in Chinese)
[23] Ma Z Y.2004. Conservation and protection of water sources in the three river source area in China.Advance in Earth Sciences, 19(s1): 116-119. (in Chinese)
[24] Mao D, Luo L, Wang Z, et al.2015.Variations in net primary productivity and its relationships with warming climate in the permafrost zone of the Tibetan Plateau.Journal of Geographical Sciences, 25(8): 967-977.
[25] Mo X G, Zhang B P, Cheng W M, et al.2004. Major environmental effects of the Tibetan Plateau.Progress in Geography, 23(2): 88-96. (in Chinese)
[26] Niu Y F.1999. The study of environment in the Plateau of Qin-Tibet.Progress in Geography, 18(2): 163-171. (in Chinese)
[27] Piao S L, Yang Y H.2006. Variations in grassland vegetation cover in relation to climatic factors on the Tibetan Plateau.Chinese Journal of Ecology, 30(1): 1-8. (in Chinese)
[28] Piao S, Fang J, He J.2006. Variations in vegetation net primary production in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, China, from 1982 to 1999.Climatic Change, 74(1-3): 253-267.
[29] Qi W, Bai W, Zhang Y, et al.2016. Effects of ecological engineering on net primary production in the Chang Tang and Sanjiangyuan national nature reserves on the Tibetan Plateau.Biodiversity Science, 24(2): 127-135. (in Chinese)
[30] Reich P B, Luo Y, Bradford J B, et al.2014. Temperature drives global patterns in forest biomass distribution in leaves, stems, and roots.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 111(38): 13721-13726.
[31] Shao Q Q, Zhao Z P, Liu J Y, et al.2010. The characteristics of land cover and macroscopical ecology changes in the source region of three rivers on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau during last 30 years.Geograpical Research, 29(8): 1439-1451. (in Chinese)
[32] Shen M, Tang Y, Chen J, et al.2011. Influences of temperature and precipitation before the growing season on spring phenology in grasslands of the central and eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 151(12): 1711-1722.
[33] Song Y, Jin L, Wang H B.2018. Vegetation changes along the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau engineering corridor since 2000 induced by climate change and human activities.Remote Sensing, 10(1): 95.
[34] Sun Q L, Li B L, Li F, et al.2016. Review on the estimation of net primary productivity of vegetation in the Three-River Headwater Region, China.Acta Geographica Sinica, 71(9):1596-1612. (in Chinese)
[35] Tang M C, Li C Q, Zhang J.1988. The climate change of Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and its neighbourhood.Plateau Meteorology, 7(1): 39-49. (in Chinese)
[36] Tu J, Shi C C.1998. Study on the degeneration of alpine meadow grassland in Qingzhang Plateau with remote sensing techniques.Acta Agrestia Sinica, 6(3): 226-233. (in Chinese)
[37] Wang G X, Ding Y J, Wang J, et al.2004. Land ecological changes and evolutional patterns in the source regions of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers in recent 15 years.Acta Geographica Sinica, 59(2): 163-173. (in Chinese)
[38] Wang H, Liu D, Lin H, et al.2015. NDVI and vegetation phenology dynamics under the influence of sunshine duration on the Tibetan Plateau.International Journal of Climatology, 35(5): 687-698.
[39] Wang J B, Liu J Y, Shao Q Q, et al.2009. Spatial-temporal patterns of net primary productivity for 1988-2004 based on GLOPEM-CEVSA model in the “Three-river Headwaters” region of Qinghai Province, China.Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 33(2): 254-269. (in Chinese)
[40] Wang J B, Liu J Y, Cao M K, et al.2011. Modelling carbon fluxes of different forests by coupling a remote-sensing model with an ecosystem process model.International Journal of Remote Sensing, 32(21): 6539-6567.
[41] Wang J B, Wang J W, Ye H, et al.2017. An interpolated temperature and precipitation dataset at 1-km grid resolution in China (2000-2012).Chinese Scientific Data, 2(1): 72-80.
[42] Wang S P.2003. Vegetation degradation and protection strategy in the “Three rivers fountainhead” area in the Qinghai Province.Acta Prataculturae Sinica, 12(6): 1-9. (in Chinese)
[43] Wang X H, Piao S L, Ciais P, et al.2014. A two-fold increase of carbon cycle sensitivity to tropical temperature variations.Nature, 506(7487), 212-215.
[44] Wu D, Shao Q Q.2014. Characteristics of land cover change in headwaters of the Yangtze River over the past 30 years.Geo-Information Science, 16(1): 61-69. (in Chinese)
[45] Wu S S, Yao Z J, Jiang L G, et al.2016. The spatial-temporal variations and hydrological effects of vegetation NPP based on MODIS in the source region of the Yangtza River.Journal of Natural Resources, 31(1): 39-51. (in Chinese)
[46] Xiang B, Liao Q L, Gao Q X.2001. Study on the relationship between climate change and vegetation index on the Tibetan Plateau.Plateau Mountain Meteorological Research, 21(1): 29-36. (in Chinese)
[47] Xu X, Chen H, Levy J K.2008. Spatiotemporal vegetation cover variations in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau under global climate change.Science Bulletin, 53(6): 915-922.
[48] Yang F Y, Zhang Y W, Miao Y J, et al.2003. Main limiting factors for deteriorated grasslands vegetation restoration of northern Tibet Plateau.Bulletin of Soil and Water Conservation, 23(4): 17-20. (in Chinese)
[49] Yang J P, Dind Y J, Chen R S.2005. NDVI reflection of alpine vegetation changes in the source regions of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers.Acta Geographica Sinica, 60(3): 467-478. (in Chinese)
[50] Yao T D, Zhu L P.2006. The response of environmental changes on Tibetan Plateau to global changes and adaptation strategy.Advances in Earth Science, 21(5): 459-464. (in Chinese)
[51] Yao Y, Wang X, Li Y, et al.2017. Spatiotemporal pattern of gross primary productivity and its covariation with climate in china over the last thirty years.Global Change Biology, 24(1): 184-196.
[52] Ye H, Wang J B, Huang M, et al.2012. Spatial pattern of vegetation precipitation use efficiency and its response to precipitation and temperature on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau of China.Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology, 36(12): 1237-1247. (in Chinese)
[53] Ye H, Wang J W, Wang J B.2017. An interpolated temperature and precipitation dataset at 1-km grid resolution in China (2000-2012).China Science Data, 2(1):73-80. (in Chinese)
[54] Ye J S, Reynolds J F, Sun G J, et al.2013. Impacts of increased variability in precipitation and air temperature on net primary productivity of the Tibetan Plateau: A modeling analysis.Climatic Change, 119(2): 321-332.
[55] Yi Y, Kimball J S, Rawlins M A, et al.2015. The role of snow cover affecting boreal-arctic soil freeze-thaw and carbon dynamics.Biogeosciences Discussions, 12(14): 11113-11157.
[56] Zhang C, Li Q, Li Z F.2014. Influence of human activities on variation of vegetation cover in the Three-River Region.China Population, Resources and Environment, 24(5): 139-144. (in Chinese)
[57] Zhang G L, Ouyang H, Zhang X Z, et al.2010. Vegetation change and its responses to climatic variation based on eco-geographical regions of Tibetan Plateau.Geographical Research, 29(11): 2004-2016. (in Chinese)
[58] Zhang Y L, Qi W, Zhou C P, et al.2014. Spatial and temporal variability in the net primary production (NPP) of alpine grassland on Tibetan Plateau since 1982.Acta Geographica Sinica, 24(2): 269-287. (in Chinese)
[59] Zhang Y, Hu Z, Qi W, et al.2016. Assessment of effectiveness of nature reserves on the Tibetan Plateau based on net primary production and the large sample comparison method.Journal of Geographical Sciences, 26(1): 27-44.
[60] Zhang Y, Zhang C B, Wang Z Q, et al.2017. Quantitative assessment of relative roles of climate change and human activities on grassland net primary productivity in the Three-River Source Region, China.Acta Prataculturae Sinica, 26(5): 1-14. (in Chinese)
[61] Zhao J Y, Peng J H.2016. Spatiotemporal variation of the vegetation coverage in Qinghai Plateau based on MODIS NDVI data.Journal of Arid Land Resources and Environment, 30(4): 67-73. (in Chinese)
[62] Zhao X Q.2015. Analysis of Vegetation Coverage Changes on Alpine Grassland along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway based on Remote Sensing Images—A Case Study of Wudaoliang Area. PhD Diss., China University of Geosciences, Beijing. (in Chinese)
[63] Zhao Z, Wang An L, Ma H SH, et al.2002. Studies on dynamics monitor and sustainable development in eastern edge of Qinghai-Tibetan alpine grassland Ⅱ Analysis of plant community structural featuresand grass species diversity.Pratacultural Science, 19(6): 9-13. (in Chinese)
[64] Zhong L, Ma Y, Salama M S, et al.2010. Assessment of vegetation dynamics and their response to variations in precipitation and temperature in the Tibetan Plateau.Climatic Change, 103(3-4): 519-535.
[65] Zhou C P, Ouyang H, Cao Y, et al.2008. Estimation of net primary productivity in middle reaches of Yarlung Zangbo River and its two tributaries. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 19(5): 1071-1076. (in Chinese)
[66] Zhou G, Chen S R, Zhou B.2018. Spatio-temporal variation of vegetation coverage over the Tibetan Plateau and its responses to climatic factors.Acta Ecologica Sinica, 38(9): 3208-3218. (in Chinese)
[67] Zhou W, Gang C C, Li J L, et al.2014. Spatial-temporal dynamics of grassland coverage and its response to climate change in China during 1982-2010.Acta Geographica Sinica, 69(1): 15-30. (in Chinese)
[68] Zhou W, Mu F Y, Gang C C, et al.2017. Spatio-temporal dynamics of grassland net primary productivity and their relationship with climatic factors from 1982 to 2010 in China.Acta Ecologica Sinica, 37(13): 4335-4345. (in Chinese)
Outlines

/