Grassland Net Primary Productivity Research Articles

Spatial and temporal variability in the net primary production of grassland in China and its relation to climate factors

As an important component of the terrestrial carbon (C) cycle, variability in net primary productivity (NPP) plays a crucial role in the C input and accumulation in grasslands system. In this study, the spatial and temporal variability of grassland NPP in China during 2001–2010 and its relation to climate factors were analyzed by using a modified model of Carnegie–Ames–Stanford Approach based on the Comprehensive and Sequential Classification System. The results show that monthly grassland NPP increases from January to July. While the seasonal variability of NPP indicates peak productivity in summer. Annual mean grassland NPP follows a significant increasing trend with fluctuation from 2001 to 2010. The spatial pattern of grassland NPP shows increasing gradients from the west to the east and from the north to the south of China. Annual NPP differs significantly among different grassland types, with the highest NPP in the grassland distributed in sub-tropical perhumid evergreen broad leaved forest and tropical-perhumid rain forest. Time-lag correlation analysis at the monthly scale shows that grassland NPP responded more rapidly to changes in temperature than to precipitation. Among the climate factors, grassland NPP shows the strongest correlation at 1-month lag with moisture index K. There is a significant positive correlation between seasonal NPP and K. The seasonal NPP is significantly correlated with >0 °C annual cumulative temperature. The highest and the lowest NPP sensitivity to precipitation, K, and temperature were observed in the grassland distributed in tropical forest and semi-desert. The results indicate a complex mechanism of climate factors that control grassland C sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems.

Application of a new model using productivity coupled with hydrothermal factors (PCH) for evaluating net primary productivity of grassland in southern China

Abstract. Grassland ecosystems play important roles in the global carbon cycle. The net primary productivity (NPP) of grassland ecosystems has become the hot spot of terrestrial ecosystems. To simulate grassland NPP in southern China, a new model using productivity coupled with hydrothermal factors (PCH) was built and validated based on data recorded from 2003 to 2014. The results show a logarithmic correlation between grassland NPP and mean annual temperature and a linear positive correlation between grassland NPP and mean annual precipitation in southern China, both highly significant relationships. There was a highly significant correlation between simulated and measured NPP (R2 = 0. 8027). Both RMSE and relative root mean square error (RRMSE) were relatively low, showing that the simulation results of the model were reliable. The NPP values in the study area had a decreasing trend from east to west and south to north. Mean NPP was 471.62 g C m−2 from 2003 to 2014. Additionally, the mean annual NPP of southern grassland presented a rising trend, increasing 3.49 g C m−2 yr−1 during the past 12 years. These results document performance and use of a new method to estimate the grassland NPP in southern China.

The burying and grazing effects of plateau pika on alpine grassland are small: a pilot study in a semiarid basin on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Abstract. There is considerable controversy about the effects of plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae, hereafter pika) on alpine grassland on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). On the one hand, pika is considered a keystone species. On the other hand, it is being poisoned. Although significant efforts have been made to study the effects of pika at a quadrat scale ( ∼ m2), our knowledge about its distribution and effects at a larger scale is very limited. In this study, we investigated the direct effects, i.e., burying and grazing, of pika by upscaling field sampling at a quadrat scale to a plot scale ( ∼ 1000 m2) by aerial photographing. Altogether 168 plots were set on four different types of alpine grassland in a semiarid basin on the QTP. Results showed that (1) the effects of pika pile burying on the reduction of vegetation cover, biomass, soil carbon, and nitrogen were less than 10 %, which was much smaller than the effects of bald patches; and (2) pika consumed 8–21 % of annual net primary production of grassland. We concluded that the direct burying and grazing effects of pika on alpine grassland were minor in this region. The quadcopter is an efficient and economic tool for long-term repeated monitoring over large regions for further understanding the role of pika.

Evaluating the grassland net primary productivity of southern China from 2000 to 2011 using a new climate productivity model

Grassland is the important component of the terrestrial ecosystems. Estimating net primary productivity (NPP) of grassland ecosystem has been a central focus in global climate change researches. To simulate the grassland NPP in southern China, we built a new climate productivity model, and validated the model with the measured data from different years in the past. The results showed that there was a logarithmic correlation between the grassland NPP and the mean annual temperature, and there was a linear positive correlation between the grassland NPP and the annual precipitation in southern China. All these results reached a very significant level (P<0.01). There was a good correlation between the simulated and the measured NPP, with R2 of 0.8027, reaching the very significant level. Meanwhile, both root mean square errors (RMSE) and relative root-mean-square errors (RRMSE) stayed at a relatively low level, showing that the simulation results of the model were reliable. The NPP values in the study area had a decreasing trend from east to west and from south to north, and the mean NPP was 471.62 g C m−2 from 2000 to 2011. Additionally, there was a rising trend year by year for the mean annual NPP of southern grassland and the tilt rate of the mean annual NPP was 3.49 g C m−2 yr−1 in recent 12 years. The above results provided a new method for grassland NPP estimation in southern China.

150 years of macronutrient change in unfertilized UK ecosystems: Observations vs simulations

Understanding changes in plant-soil C, N and P using data alone is difficult due to the linkages between carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles (C, N and P), and multiple changing long-term drivers (e.g. climate, land-use, and atmospheric N deposition). Hence, dynamic models are a vital tool for disentangling these drivers, helping us understand the dominant processes and drivers and predict future change. However, it is essential that models are tested against data if their outputs are to be concluded upon with confidence. Here, a simulation of C, N and P cycles using the N14CP model was compared with time-series observations of C, N and P in soils and biomass from the Rothamsted Research long-term experiments spanning 150years, providing an unprecedented temporal integrated test of such a model. N14CP reproduced broad trends in soil organic matter (SOM) C, N and P, vegetation biomass and N and P leaching. Subsequently, the model was used to decouple the effects of land management and elevated nitrogen deposition in these experiments. Elevated N deposition over the last 150years is shown to have increased net primary productivity (NPP) 4.5-fold and total carbon sequestration 5-fold at the Geescroft Wilderness experiment, which was re-wilded to woodland in 1886. In contrast, the model predicts that for cropped grassland conditions at the Park Grass site, elevated N deposition has very little effect on SOM, as increases in NPP are diverted from the soil. More broadly, these results suggest that N deposition is likely to have had a large effect on SOM and NPP in northern temperate and boreal semi-natural grasslands and forests. However, in cropped and grazed systems in the same region, whilst NPP may have been supported in part by elevated N deposition, declines in SOM may not have been appreciably counteracted by increased N availability.

Projected changes in vegetation net primary productivity of grassland in Inner Mongolia, China during 2011-2050.

In this paper, the CENTURY-based modeling system (complying CENTURY model from a site-based model into spatial model) after being systematically calibrated was used to investigate future climate change under Representative Concentration Pathways Scenario (RCP, 4.5 and 8.5) driven spatio-temporal changes in vegetation net primary productivity (NPP) of Inner Mongolia grassland during 2011-2050. The simulation showed that Inner Mongolia grassland NPP would greatly decrease with a rate of 0.57 g C·m-2·a-1 (RCP4.5) and 0.89 g C·m-2·a-1 (RCP8.5). NPP of Inner Mongolia grassland appeared to decrease by approximately 11.6% (2020s), 12.0% (2030s) and 18.0% (2040s) under the RCP4.5 in relation to baseline period, while its reduction could be exacerbated as 23.8% (2020s), 21.2% (2030s) and 30.1% (2040s) in the RCP8.5 at the regional scale. In addition, grassland NPP induced by future climate changes varied between different grassland types and times, strongly correlating with climate scenario. Even for the RCP4.5, however, a great majority (89.7%) of the grassland exhibited a decreasing trend in annual NPP, with 15.6% of the area decreasing by more than 20% compared with the baseline term. Therefore, although future precipitation rising could benefit vegetation growth, it might be still not enough to compensate for the negative effect of warming on the NPP of Inner Mongolia grassland, and the sustainable development of grassland resources might face a greater challenge.

Responses of Grassland Net Primary Productivity to Environmental Variables in Northern China

Abstract: Various environmental factors affect net primary productivity (NPP) of grassland ecosystem. Extensive reports on the effects of environmental variables on NPP can be found in literature. However, the agreement on the relative importance of various factors in shaping the spatial pattern of grassland NPP has not yet been reached. Here a grassland in situ NPP database comprising 602 samples in northern China for 1980–1999 was developed based on a literature review of published biomass and forage yield field measurements. Correlation analyses and dominance analysis were used to quantify the separate and combined effects of environmental variables (climate, topography and soil) on spatial variation in NPP separately. Grassland NPP ranged from 4.76 g C m-2a-1 to 975.94 g C m-2a-1, showing significant variations in space. NPP increased with annual precipitation and declined with annual mean temperature significantly. Specifically, precipitation had the greatest impact on deserts, followed by steppes an...

Impact of Regional Management Alternatives and Land Conversion on the Net Primary Productivity in Heilongjiang Province, China

The Chinese government has initiated a set of ecological restoration projects to address aggravated environmental pollution and land degradation; among these projects the Grain for Green Project (GFGP) is the most renowned policy with a significant influence on land use and land cover change (LUCC) in China. The Net Primary Productivity (NPP) as a key index of ecosystem productivity, was studied to estimate the contribution of LUCC and management alternatives as human factors in Heilongjiang Province from 2001 to 2012. Carnegie–Ames–Stanford Approach (CASA) model was been utilized to simulate NPP during the study areas. The results showed that the LUCC from cropland to forest was the main type of land transformation induced by the GFGP, whereas the significant increase of the NPP occurred in forest, cropland and grassland between 2001 and 2007. Since 2007, the greatest rise of the total NPP occurred in the cropland with a rise of 12.6%, and the forest and grassland NPP slightly declined. The newly restored forests were located in the extremely frigid area at the junction or margin of mountains and plains where there is lack of supervision and the benefit of GFGP is difficult to observe in a short period. The temporal-spatial results of the NPP changes induced by human activities reflect the vital role that management practices play in the change of NPP compared with LUCC in Heilongjiang Province. Our analysis indicates that the fragile ecological environment of Heilongjiang Province has not changed fundamentally, and there is still a risk of cyclical fluctuations. As a result, scientific management alternatives in the unchanged land should be implemented and combined with restoration projects with middle- and long-term perspectives, such as logging limits in the forest, natural fire prevention and the improvement of fertilizer and irrigation practices. The Chinese government is initiating a new round of the GFGP, and the research results would be helpful in guiding the policy implementation in the local regions.

Estimating net primary production of natural grassland and its spatio-temporal distribution in China

The net primary production (NPP) of grassland largely determines terrestrial carbon (C) sinks, and thus plays an important role in the global C cycle. Comprehensive and sequential classification system of grasslands (CSCS) is a unique vegetation classification system (mainly for grassland) that is dependent on quantitative measurement indices [>0°C annual cumulative temperature (Σθ) and moisture index (K-value)]. Based on the relationship of the quantitative classification of CSCS and grassland NPP, a modified model of Carnegie–Ames–Stanford Approach (CASA) was used to predict the grassland NPP and its temporal and spatial distribution in China from 2004 to 2008. The scatter plot of the estimated NPP and the observed NPP showed that the estimated data can be accepted with correlation coefficient of 0.896 (P<0.05). The average annual NPP of grassland from 2004 to 2008 in China ranged from 443.23 to 554.40gCm−2yr.−1. The NPP also showed spatial–temporal variations. There existed an increasing trend of NPP from the northwest to southeast due to the zonal distribution of vegetation. From the trend of monthly variations, it can be drawn that the NPP accumulation primarily occurred between April and October. The average NPP over seven months from April to October was 482.19gCm−2, or about 88.78% of the annual total. The spatial–temporal trend suggests the importance of water and thermal regimes in determining the grassland NPP (i.e. water and thermal are key limited factors for the grassland production), which is also confirmed by a cluster analysis. The mean annual NPP and the total annual NPP differed significantly among grassland classes corresponding with different Σθ and K-value. The results demonstrate that the grassland NPP and the classes/super-classes in CSCS achieve the optimum coupling.

Assessment of effectiveness of nature reserves on the Tibetan Plateau based on net primary production and the large sample comparison method

Twenty-one typical coupled large samples were chosen from areas within and surrounding nature reserves on the Tibetan Plateau using the large sample comparison method (LSCM). To evaluate the effectiveness of the nature reserves in protecting the ecological environment, the alpine grassland net primary production (NPP) of these coupled samples were compared and the differences between them before and after their establishment as protected areas were analyzed. The results showed that: (1) With respect to the alpine grassland NPP, the ecological and environmental conditions of most nature reserves were more fragile than those of the surrounding areas and also lower than the average values for the Tibetan Plateau. (2) Of the 11 typical nature reserves selected, the positive trend in the NPP for Manzetang was the most significant, whereas there was no obvious trend in Taxkorgan. With the exception of Selincuo, the annual NPP growth rate in the nature reserves covered by alpine meadow and wetland was higher than that in nature reserves consisting of alpine steppe and alpine desert. (3) There were notable findings in 21 typical coupled samples: (a) After the establishment of the nature reserves, the annual rate of increase in the NPP in 76% of samples inside nature reserves and 82% of samples inside national nature reserves was higher than that of the corresponding samples outside nature reserves. (b) The effectiveness of ecological protection of the Mid-Kunlun, Changshagongma, Zoige and Selincuo (Selin Co) nature reserves was significant; the effectiveness of protection was relatively significant in most parts of the Sanjiangyuan and Qiangtang nature reserves, whereas in south-east Manzetang and north Taxkorgan the protection effectiveness was not obvious. (c) The ecological protection effectiveness was significant in nature reserves consisting of alpine meadow, but was weak in nature reserves covered by alpine steppe. This study also shows that the advantage of large sample comparison method in evaluating regional ecology change. Careful design of the samples used, to ensure comparability between the samples, is crucial to the success of this LSCM.

A new framework for evaluating the impacts of drought on net primary productivity of grassland

This paper presented a valuable framework for evaluating the impacts of droughts (single factor) on grassland ecosystems. This framework was defined as the quantitative magnitude of drought impact that unacceptable short-term and long-term effects on ecosystems may experience relative to the reference standard. Long-term effects on ecosystems may occur relative to the reference standard. Net primary productivity (NPP) was selected as the response indicator of drought to assess the quantitative impact of drought on Inner Mongolia grassland based on the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and BIOME-BGC model. The framework consists of six main steps: 1) clearly defining drought scenarios, such as moderate, severe and extreme drought; 2) selecting an appropriate indicator of drought impact; 3) selecting an appropriate ecosystem model and verifying its capabilities, calibrating the bias and assessing the uncertainty; 4) assigning a level of unacceptable impact of drought on the indicator; 5) determining the response of the indicator to drought and normal weather state under global-change; and 6) investigating the unacceptable impact of drought at different spatial scales. We found NPP losses assessed using the new framework were more sensitive to drought and had higher precision than the long-term average method. Moreover, the total and average losses of NPP are different in different grassland types during the drought years from 1961–2009. NPP loss was significantly increased along a gradient of increasing drought levels. Meanwhile, NPP loss variation under the same drought level was different in different grassland types. The operational framework was particularly suited for integrative assessing the effects of different drought events and long-term droughts at multiple spatial scales, which provided essential insights for sciences and societies that must develop coping strategies for ecosystems for such events.

Andean grasslands are as productive as tropical cloud forests

We aim to assess net primary productivity (NPP) and carbon cycling in Andean tropical alpine grasslands (puna) and compare it with NPP of tropical montane cloud forests. We ask the following questions: (1) how do NPP and soil respiration of grasslands vary over the seasonal cycle? (2) how do burning and grazing affect puna productivity? (3) if the montane forest expands into the puna, what will be the resulting change in productivity? The study sites are located at the South-eastern Peruvian Andes; one grassland site and the forest sites are in Wayqecha biological station, and another grassland site in Manu National Park. At each grassland site, we selected a burnt and an unburnt area, installed unfenced and fenced transects in each area, and monitored above-ground productivity (NPPAG), below-ground productivity (NPPBG) and soil respiration (Rs) for 2 yr. In the forest, we monitored NPPAG, NPPBG and Rs for 2–4 yr. Grassland NPP varied between 4.6 ± 0.25 (disturbed areas) to 15.3 ± 0.9 Mg C ha−1 yr−1 (undisturbed areas) and cloud forest NPP was between 7.05 ± 0.39 and 8.0 ± 0.47 Mg C ha−1 yr−1, while soil carbon stocks were in the range of 126 ± 22 to 285 ± 31 Mg C ha−1. There were no significant differences on NPP between the puna and forest sites. The most undisturbed site had significantly higher NPP than other grassland sites, but no differences were found when relating grazing and fire at other sites. There were lower residence times of above-ground biomass compared to below-ground biomass. There was a strong seasonal signal on grassland NPPAG and NPPBG, with a shift on allocation at the beginning of the austral summer. High elevation tropical grasslands can be as productive as adjacent cloud forests, but have very different carbon cycling and retention properties than cloud forests.

Comparative Assessment of Grassland NPP Dynamics in Response to Climate Change in China, North America, Europe and Australia from 1981 to 2010

AbstractAlthough climate change has been modifying grassland ecosystems for a long time, few studies on grassland ecosystems have focused on large‐scale responses to climate change. Hence, grassland net primary productivity (NPP) from 1981 to 2010, as well as its variations in China, North America, Europe and Australia, was assessed and compared using a synthetic model in this study. Subsequently, the correlations between the NPP of each grassland type and climate factors were evaluated to reveal the responses of grassland eco‐systems to climate change. The results showed that North America, which has the largest area of grassland ecosystems, exhibits maximum grassland NPP of 4225.30 ± 215.43 Tg DW year−1, whereas Europe, which has the least area of grassland ecosystems among the four regions, exhibits minimum grassland NPP of 928.95 ± 24.68 Tg DW year−1. Grassland NPP presented an increasing trend in China and Australia, but decreasing in Europe and North America from 1981 to 2010. In addition, grassland NPP is positively correlated with mean annual precipitation, but demonstrates notable differences with mean annual temperature. In conclusion, climate change has a significant role in explaining the spatiotemporal patterns of and the variations in grassland NPP in the four regions.

Microclimate influences on vegetation water availability and net primary production in coastal ecosystems of Central California

Field sampling and satellite remote sensing were used to test the hypothesis that site microclimate variability leading to divergent soil water use by vegetation types is closely associated with variability in annual net primary productivity (NPP) at the landscape scale. A simulation model based on satellite observations of seasonal phenology was used to estimate NPP of grassland, shrubland, and conifer forest vegetation types on the Central California coast near Big Sur. Daily microclimate at the soil surface was monitored over 4 years (2008–2011) for each vegetation type to infer soil moisture controls on plant production. Grassland soils were found to have lower soil organic matter content and were subjected to extreme radiation and wind events, and thereby dry-down faster with daily spring–summer warming than do shrubland or redwood forest soils. This reduced moisture microclimate affected the water stress on grassland plants to reduce NPP fluxes from April to October each year on the Central Coast far sooner than for shrubland or redwood stands. Results from this study suggested that the satellite-observed canopy greenness variations represented can be used to quantify plant production in coastal ecosystems at the landscape scale of defined microclimate variation.

The impact of climate change and anthropogenic activities on alpine grassland over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Climate change and anthropogenic activities are two factors that have important effects on the carbon cycle of terrestrial ecosystems, but it is almost impossible to fully separate them at present. This study used process-based terrestrial ecosystem model to stimulate the potential climate-driven alpine grassland net primary production (NPP), and Carnegie–Ames–Stanford Approach based on remote sensing to stimulate actual alpine grassland NPP influenced by both of climate change and anthropogenic activities over the Qinghai–Tibet plateau (QTP) from 1982 to 2011. After the models were systematically calibrated, the simulations were validated with continuous 3-year paired field sample data, which were separately collected in fenced and open grasslands. We then simulated the human-induced NPP, calculated as the difference between potential and actual NPP, to determine the effect of anthropogenic activities on the alpine grassland ecosystem. The simulation results showed that the climate change and anthropogenic activities mainly drove the actual grassland NPP increasing in the first 20-year and the last 10-year respectively, the area percentage of actual grassland NPP change caused by climate change declined from 79.62% in the period of 1982–2001 to 56.59% over the last 10 years; but the percentage change resulting from human activities doubled from 20.16% to 42.98% in the same periods over the QTP. The effect of human activities on the alpine grassland ecosystem obviously intensified in the latter period compared with the former 20 years, so the negative effect caused by climate change to ecosystem could have been relatively mitigated or offset over the QTP in the last ten years.

Spatial and temporal variability in the net primary production of alpine grassland on the Tibetan Plateau since 1982

Based on the GIMMS AVHRR NDVI data (8 km spatial resolution) for 1982-2000, the SPOT VEGETATION NDVI data (1 km spatial resolution) for 1998-2009, and observational plant biomass data, the CASA model was used to model changes in alpine grassland net primary production (NPP) on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). This study will help to evaluate the health conditions of the alpine grassland ecosystem, and is of great importance to the promotion of sustainable development of plateau pasture and to the understanding of the function of the national ecological security shelter on the TP. The spatio-temporal characteristics of NPP change were investigated using spatial statistical analysis, separately on the basis of physico-geographical factors (natural zone, altitude, latitude and longitude), river basin, and county-level administrative area. Data processing was carried out using an ENVI 4.8 platform, while an ArcGIS 9.3 and ANUSPLIN platform was used to conduct the spatial analysis and mapping. The primary results are as follows: (1) The NPP of alpine grassland on the TP gradually decreases from the southeast to the northwest, which corresponds to gradients in precipitation and temperature. From 1982 to 2009, the average annual total NPP in the TP alpine grassland was 177.2x10(12) gC yr(-1)(yr represents year), while the average annual NPP was 120.8 gC m(-2) yr(-1). (2) The annual NPP in alpine grassland on the TP fluctuates from year to year but shows an overall positive trend ranging from 114.7 gC m(-2) yr(-1) in 1982 to 129.9 gC m(-2) yr(-1) in 2009, with an overall increase of 13.3%; 32.56% of the total alpine grassland on the TP showed a significant increase in NPP, while only 5.55% showed a significant decrease over this 28-year period. (3) Spatio-temporal characteristics are an important control on annual NPP in alpine grassland: a) NPP increased in most of the natural zones on the TP, only showing a slight decrease in the Ngari montane desert-steppe and desert zone. The positive trend in NPP in the high-cold shrub-meadow zone, high-cold meadow steppe zone and high-cold steppe zone is more significant than that of the high-cold desert zone; b) with increasing altitude, the percentage area with a positive trend in annual NPP follows a trend of "increasing-stable-decreasing", while the percentage area with a negative trend in annual NPP follows a trend of "decreasing-stable-increasing", with increasing altitude; c) the variation in annual NPP with latitude and longitude co-varies with the vegetation distribution; d) the variation in annual NPP within the major river basins has a generally positive trend, of which the growth in NPP in the Yellow River Basin is most significant. Results show that, based on changes in NPP trends, vegetation coverage and phonological phenomenon with time, NPP has been declining in certain places successively, while the overall health of the alpine grassland on the TP is improving.

Impacts of climate change on net primary productivity of grasslands in Inner Mongolia

Net primary productivity (NPP) of grasslands is a key variable for characterising carbon cycles in grassland ecosystems. The prediction of NPP in Inner Mongolia is important for adaptation to future climate change, food security and sustainable use of the grassland resources. The output from two models, potentially suitable for simulating NPP in response to climate change, was tested against observed aboveground forage mass of dry matter at eight sites in Inner Mongolia from 1995 to 2005. The Classification Indices-Based Model (CIBM) showed an acceptable agreement with field measurements. The impact of climate change on the NPP of grasslands was subsequently analysed by CIBM using future climate projections from a Global Circulation Model based on three greenhouse gas emission scenarios: A2 (medium-high emission), A1B (medium emission) and B2 (medium-low emission) differing in assumptions about patterns of global social and economic development. Generally, significant increases in NPP, compared with the baseline NPP of 3.6 tonnes ha–1 for 1961–90, were predicted. The magnitude of the increase in NPP depended on the emission scenario, as well as on the time frame and region considered. Overall the predicted NPP stimulation increased with the level of emissions assumed, being 4.8 tonnes ha–1 in the A2 scenario, 4.3 tonnes ha–1 in the B2 scenario and 4.5 tonnes ha–1 in the A1B scenario in the 2080s (2071–2100). The increase in NPP in response to climate change differed between regions and there was an interaction with emission scenario. For the A2 and the B2 emission scenarios, the western region of Inner Mongolia was predicted to exhibit the strongest NPP increases, but, under the A1B scenario for the 2050s, the south-eastern region exhibited the greatest increase in NPP. It is concluded that the productivity of grassland in Inner Mongolia is likely to increase in response to climate change but these predicted effects are sensitive to emission scenarios and differ regionally. This will provide opportunities but also challenges for herders and policy makers in adapting to this change.

Simulating spatiotemporal dynamics of sichuan grassland net primary productivity using the CASA model and in situ observations.

Net primary productivity (NPP) is an important indicator for grassland resource management and sustainable development. In this paper, the NPP of Sichuan grasslands was estimated by the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA) model. The results were validated with in situ data. The overall precision reached 70%; alpine meadow had the highest precision at greater than 75%, among the three types of grasslands validated. The spatial and temporal variations of Sichuan grasslands were analyzed. The absorbed photosynthetic active radiation (APAR), light use efficiency (ε), and NPP of Sichuan grasslands peaked in August, which was a vigorous growth period during 2011. High values of APAR existed in the southwest regions in altitudes from 2000 m to 4000 m. Light use efficiency (ε) varied in the different types of grasslands. The Sichuan grassland NPP was mainly distributed in the region of 3000–5000 m altitude. The NPP of alpine meadow accounted for 50% of the total NPP of Sichuan grasslands.

Effects of ecological restoration‐induced land‐use change and improved management on grassland net primary productivity in the Shiyanghe River Basin, north‐west China

AbstractTo address severe grassland degradation, the Chinese government implemented national restoration programmes, which in turn drove a research focus towards assessment of the environmental effectiveness of such initiatives. In this study, net primary productivity (NPP) was used as an indicator for assessing the impacts of land use and cover change (LUCC), improved land‐use management and climate change on the grassland ecosystem of the Shiyanghe River Basin. NPP was calculated on the basis of the Carnegie–Ames–Stanford Approach model, which is driven by a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) normalized difference vegetation index and meteorological data. The LUCC data for 2001 and 2009 were derived from MODIS land‐cover data. During the study period, the net increase in grassland development was 5105·5 km2, with 80·4% of the newly developed grasslands attributed to desert‐to‐grassland conversion. The total NPP of grasslands in 2009 increased by 659·62 Gg C compared with that in 2001. The contributions of human activity and climate change to total NPP increase were 133 and −33% respectively. Land conversion and improved management measures directly increased grassland NPP. These factors are dominant positive driving forces, whereas warm and dry climates impose adverse effects on grassland restoration in the study site.

Modeling grassland net primary productivity and water-use efficiency along an elevational gradient of the Northern Tianshan Mountains

Mountainous ecosystems are considered highly sensitive and vulnerable to natural disasters and climatic changes. Therefore, quantifying the effects of elevation on grassland productivity to understand ecosystem-climate interactions is vital for mountainous ecosystems. Water-use efficiency (WUE) provides a useful index for understanding the metabolism of terrestrial ecosystems as well as for evaluating the degradation of grasslands. This paper explored net primary productivity (NPP) and WUE in grasslands along an elevational gradient ranging from 400 to 3,400 m asl in the northern Tianshan Mountains-southern Junggar Basin (TMJB), Xinjiang of China, using the Biome-BGC model. The results showed that: 1) the NPP increased by 0.05 g C/(m2·a) with every increase of 1-m elevation, reached the maximum at the mid-high elevation (1,600 m asl), and then decreased by 0.06 g C/(m2·a) per 1-m increase in elevation; 2) the grassland NPP was positively correlated with temperature in alpine meadow (AM, 2,700–3,500 m asl), mid-mountain forest meadow (MMFM, 1,650–2,700 m asl) and low-mountain dry grassland (LMDG, 650–1,650 m asl), while positive correlations were found between NPP and annual precipitation in plain desert grassland (PDG, lower than 650 m asl); 3) an increase (from 0.08 to 1.09 g C/(m2·a)) in mean NPP for the grassland in TMJB under a real climate change scenario was observed from 1959 to 2009; and 4) remarkable differences in WUE were found among different elevations. In general, WUE increased with decreasing elevation, because water availability is lower at lower elevations; however, at elevations lower than 540 m asl, we did observe a decreasing trend of WUE with decreasing elevation, which may be due to the sharp changes in canopy cover over this gradient. Our research suggests that the NPP simulated by Biome-BGC is consistent with field data, and the modeling provides an opportunity to further evaluate interactions between environmental factors and ecosystem productivity.