Dynamics of vegetation autumn phenology and its response to multiple environmental factors from 1982 to 2012 on Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in China

Abstract

Autumn phenological shifts induced by environmental change have resulted in substantial impacts on ecosystem processes. However, autumn phenology and its multiple related controlling factors have not been well studied. In this study, the spatiotemporal patterns of the end date of the vegetation growing season (EGS) and their multiple controls (climate change, summer vegetation growth and human activities) over the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) were investigated using the satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) based on GIMMS3g datasets during 1982–2012. The results showed that there was no significant temporal trend in the EGS during the period of 1982–2012. Spatially, there was a notable advancing trend in the southwest region and a delayed trend in the other regions of the QTP during 1982–2000, and this spatial trend was reversed during 2001–2012. We found average temperature, precipitation and sunshine duration of autumn exerted positive effects on EGS on the QTP, while average temperature and sunshine duration of summer exerted negative effects. Our results indicated that vegetation growth in summer tends to induce an earlier EGS in alpine vegetation, whereas summer vegetation degradation could delay the EGS on the QTP. In contrast, moderate grazing delays vegetation browning in autumn, while overgrazing leads to advancement of grass senescence. This study improves our understanding of how multiple environmental variables jointly affect autumn phenology and highlights the importance of biotic controls for autumn phenology on the QTP.