Abstract
The knowledge about impacts of changes in precipitation regimes on terrestrial ecosystems is fundamental to improve our understanding of global environment change, particularly in the context that heavy precipitation is expected to increase according to the 5th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment. Based on observed climate data and the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies (GIMMS) satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), here we analyzed the spatio-temporal changes in grassland NDVI, covering 1.64 × 106 km2, in northern China and their linkages to changes in precipitation and temperature during the period 1982–2011. We found that mean growing season (April–October) grass NDVI is more sensitive to heavy precipitation than to moderate or light precipitation in both relatively arid areas (RAA) and relatively humid areas (RHA), whereas the sensitivities of grass NDVI to temperature are comparable to total precipitation in RHA. Heavy precipitation showed the strongest impacts in more than half of northern China (56%), whereas impacts of light precipitation on grass NDVI were stronger in some areas (21%), mainly distributed in northwestern China, a typical arid and semi-arid area. Our findings suggest that responses of grasslands are divergent with respect to changes in precipitation intensities.
Highlights
The response of terrestrial ecosystems to climate change is one of the important themes in current global environmental change research [1,2,3]
Our studies indicated that light precipitation (4.67 mm and 5.67 mm in relatively arid areas (RAA) and relatively humid areas (RHA), respectively) had limited effects on normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), consistent with previous report that lower than 5 mm of precipitation had no significant influence on grass NDVI [57]
The 5th Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report [66] projects an increase in heavy precipitation events in northern China, and our study shows that grass NDVI is more sensitive to heavy precipitation than light or moderate precipitation, implying positive effects on grasslands, on those arid or semi-arid grasslands
Summary
The response of terrestrial ecosystems to climate change is one of the important themes in current global environmental change research [1,2,3]. The amount of annual precipitation is identified as the most important factor for annual variations in normalized difference vegetation indices (NDVI) [9,10]. Previous studies indicated that responses of grassland NDVI to precipitation in China differed across biome types and the amount of precipitation [12] and differed at different time-scales [13,14]. At an annual time-scale, precipitation is the main factor of driving grass NDVI changes [14,17].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
