Article: Varying responses of vegetation activity to climate changes on the Tibetan Plateau grassland

Vegetation activity on the Tibetan Plateau grassland has been substantially enhanced as a result of climate change, as revealed by satellite observations of vegetation greenness (i.e., the normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI). However, little is known about the temporal variations in the relationships between NDVI and temperature and precipitation, and understanding this is essential for predicting how future climate change would affect vegetation activity. Using NDVI data and meteorological records from 1982 to 2011, we found that the inter-annual partial correlation coefficient between growing season (May-September) NDVI and temperature (R) in a 15-year moving window for alpine meadow showed little change, likely caused by the increasing R in spring (May-June) and autumn (September) and decreasing R in summer (July-August). Growing season R for alpine steppe increased slightly, mainly due to increasing R in spring and autumn. The partial correlation coefficient between growing season NDVI and precipitation (R) for alpine meadow increased slightly, mainly in spring and summer, and R for alpine steppe increased, mainly in spring. Moreover, R for the growing season was significantly higher in those 15-year windows with more precipitation for alpine steppe. R for the growing season was significantly higher in those 15-year windows with higher temperature, and this tendency was stronger for alpine meadow than for alpine steppe. These results indicate that the impact of warming on vegetation activity of Tibetan Plateau grassland is more positive (or less negative) during periods with more precipitation and that the impact of increasing precipitation is more positive (or less negative) during periods with higher temperature. Such positive effects of the interactions between temperature and precipitation indicate that the projected warmer and wetter future climate will enhance vegetation activity of Tibetan Plateau grassland.

Citing Articles

The Seasonal Divergence in the Weakening Relationship between Interannual Temperature Changes and Northern Boreal Vegetation Activity.

Zhao H, Jin N, Wang X, Fu G, Xiang K, Wang L Plants (Basel). 2023; 12(13).

PMID: 37447007 PMC: 10346727. DOI: 10.3390/plants12132447.

Responses of Forest Net Primary Productivity to Climatic Factors in China during 1982-2015.

Du Z, Liu X, Wu Z, Zhang H, Zhao J Plants (Basel). 2022; 11(21).

PMID: 36365385 PMC: 9656275. DOI: 10.3390/plants11212932.

Varying Responses of Vegetation Greenness to the Diurnal Warming across the Global.

Zhao J, Xiang K, Wu Z, Du Z Plants (Basel). 2022; 11(19).

PMID: 36235513 PMC: 9571579. DOI: 10.3390/plants11192648.

Study on Spatiotemporal Variation Pattern of Vegetation Coverage on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and the Analysis of Its Climate Driving Factors.

Deng X, Wu L, He C, Shao H Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022; 19(14).

PMID: 35886687 PMC: 9324348. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19148836.

Analysis of Spatial Heterogeneity and Influencing Factors of Ecological Environment Quality in China's North-South Transitional Zone.

Yin H, Chen C, Dong Q, Zhang P, Chen Q, Zhu L Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022; 19(4).

PMID: 35206423 PMC: 8872512. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19042236.

References

1.

Klein J, Harte J, Zhao X . Experimental warming, not grazing, decreases rangeland quality on the Tibetan Plateau. Ecol Appl. 2007; 17(2):541-57. DOI: 10.1890/05-0685. View

2.

Chen H, Zhu Q, Peng C, Wu N, Wang Y, Fang X . The impacts of climate change and human activities on biogeochemical cycles on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Glob Chang Biol. 2013; 19(10):2940-55. DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12277. View

3.

Shen M, Tang Y, Chen J, Yang X, Wang C, Cui X . Earlier-season vegetation has greater temperature sensitivity of spring phenology in northern hemisphere. PLoS One. 2014; 9(2):e88178. PMC: 3914920. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0088178. View

4.

Shen M, Piao S, Jeong S, Zhou L, Zeng Z, Ciais P . Evaporative cooling over the Tibetan Plateau induced by vegetation growth. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015; 112(30):9299-304. PMC: 4522821. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1504418112. View

5.

Lu C, Tian H, Liu M, Ren W, Xu X, Chen G . Effect of nitrogen deposition on China's terrestrial carbon uptake in the context of multifactor environmental changes. Ecol Appl. 2012; 22(1):53-75. DOI: 10.1890/10-1685.1. View

Varying Responses of Vegetation Activity to Climate Changes on the Tibetan Plateau Grassland