Vegetation Phenological Changes in Multiple Landforms and Responses to Climate Change

Hongzhu Han,Jianwu Yan,Jianjun Bai,Gao Ma

doi:10.3390/ijgi9020111

Abstract

Vegetation phenology is highly sensitive to climate change, and the phenological responses of vegetation to climate factors vary over time and space. Research on the vegetation phenology in different climatic regimes will help clarify the key factors affecting vegetation changes. In this paper, based on a time-series reconstruction of Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data using the Savitzky–Golay filtering method, the phenology parameters of vegetation were extracted, and the Spatio-temporal changes from 2001 to 2016 were analyzed. Moreover, the response characteristics of the vegetation phenology to climate changes, such as changes in temperature, precipitation, and sunshine hours, were discussed. The results showed that the responses of vegetation phenology to climatic factors varied within different climatic regimes and that the Spatio-temporal responses were primarily controlled by the local climatic and topographic conditions. The following were the three key findings. (1) The start of the growing season (SOS) has a regular variation with the latitude, and that in the north is later than that in the south. (2) In arid areas in the north, the SOS is mainly affected by the temperature, and the end of the growing season (EOS) is affected by precipitation, while in humid areas in the south, the SOS is mainly affected by precipitation, and the EOS is affected by the temperature. (3) Human activities play an important role in vegetation phenology changes. These findings would help predict and evaluate the stability of different ecosystems.

Highlights

Phenology is the study of seasonally recurring plant and animal life cycle stages or phenophases, such as the leafing and flowering of plants, the maturation of agricultural crops, the emergence of insects, and the migration of birds [1]
As shown in the figure, the vegetation phenology throughout the study area varied with the latitude from north to south, but due to the differences in topography and climate in each geomorphic zone, the vegetation phenology exhibited spatial heterogeneity
In the context of global warming, quantifying the responses of phenology to climate drivers is essential for the sustainable development of ecosystems

Summary

Introduction

Phenology is the study of seasonally recurring plant and animal life cycle stages or phenophases, such as the leafing and flowering of plants, the maturation of agricultural crops, the emergence of insects, and the migration of birds [1]. Phenology plays a crucial role in the carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems [6]. It is very important to study vegetation phenology. A change in vegetation phenology has many consequences for ecological processes, agriculture, forestry, human health, and the global economy [7]. Elucidating the trends of vegetation phenology can improve our understanding of the impacts of climate change on ecosystem productivity and carbon cycling and the associated feedback to the climate [8]

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