Variability of net primary production and its response to climate change: Case study in the lower-middle reaches of the Yangtze River

Abstract

This study reported the spatio-temporal variability of terrestrial net primary production (NPP) in the lower-middle reaches of Yangtze River from 2000 to 2006. The impact of climate change was also described. According to the analysis results, mean NPP of this region during 7 years was 535.8 gCm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">−2</sup> yr <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">−1</sup> , which was higher than that of the nation during the same period. It was found that NPP showed great inter-annual fluctuation, the controlling factor of which was temperature. NPP demonstrated similar spatial pattern with temperature and precipitation, but inverse to sunshine duration, which suggested climate factors working together exerted obvious effects on spatial characteristics of vegetation production in the study region. These results provided insight into understanding how the climate factors controlled the inter-annual variation and spatial distribution of NPP on region scale and established basis for predicting vegetation features under future climate change.