Vegetation dynamics and its response to climate change in Central Asia

The plant ecosystems are particularly sensitive to climate change in arid and semi-arid regions. However, the responses of vegetation dynamics to climate change in Central Asia are still unclear. In this study, we used the normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI) data to analyze the spatial-temporal changes of vegetation and the correlation of vegetation and climatic variables over the period of 1982–2012 in Central Asia by using the empirical orthogonal function and least square methods. The results showed that the annual NDVI in Central Asia experienced a weak increasing trend overall during the study period. Specifically, the annual NDVI showed a significant increasing trend between1982 and 1994, and exhibited a decreasing trend since 1994. The regions where the annual NDVI decreased were mainly distributed in western Central Asia, which may be caused by the decreased precipitation. The NDVI exhibited a larger increasing trend in spring than in the other three seasons. In mountainous areas, the NDVI had a significant increasing trend at the annual and seasonal scales; further, the largest increasing trend of NDVI mainly appeared in the middle mountain belt(1,700–2,650 m asl). The annual NDVI was positively correlated with annual precipitation in Central Asia, and there was a weak negative correlation between annual NDVI and temperature. Moreover, a one-month time lag was found in the response of NDVI to temperature from June to September in Central Asia during 1982–2012.     

Spatial-temporal dynamics of desert vegetation and its responses to climatic variations over the last three decades:a case study of Hexi region in Northwest China

Analysis of spatial-temporal variations of desert vegetation under the background of climate changes can provide references for ecological restoration in arid and semi-arid areas.In this study,we used the Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Studies(GIMMS)NDVI data from 1982 to 2006 and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS)NDVI data from 2000 to 2013 to reveal the dynamics of desert vegetation in Hexi region of Northwest China over the past three decades.We also used the annual temperature and precipitation data acquired from the Chinese meteorological stations to analyze the response of desert vegetation to climatic variations.The average value of NDVImax(the maximum NDVI during the growing season)for desert vegetation in Hexi region increased at the rate of 0.65×10–3/a(P0.05)from 1982 to 2013,and the significant increases of NDVImax mainly appeared in the typical desert vegetation areas.Vegetation was significantly improved in the lower reaches of Shule and Shiyang river basins,and the weighted mean center of desert vegetation mainly shifted toward the lower reaches of the two basins.Almost 95.32% of the total desert vegetation area showed positive correlation between NDVImax and annual precipitation,indicating that precipitation is the key factor for desert vegetation growth in the entire study area.Moreover,the areas with non-significant positive correlation between NDVImax and annual precipitation mainly located in the lower reaches of Shiyang and Shule river basins,this may be due to human activities.Only 7.64% of the desert vegetation showed significant positive correlation between NDVImax and annual precipitation in the Shule River Basin(an extremely arid area),indicating that precipitation is not the most important factor for vegetation growth in this basin,and further studies are needed to investigate the mechanism for this phenomenon.     

Assessment of desertification in Eritrea: land degradation based on Landsat images

Remote sensing is an effective way in monitoring desertification dynamics in arid and semi-arid regions. In this study, we used a decision tree method based on NDVI(normalized difference vegetation index), SAVI(soil adjusted vegetation index), and vegetation cover proportion to quantify and analyze the desertification in Eritrea using Landsat data of the 1970 s, 1980 s and 2014. The results demonstrate that the NDVI value and the annual mean precipitation declined while the temperature increased over the past 40 a. Strongly desertified land increased from 4.82×10~4 km~2(38.5%) in the 1970 s to 8.38×10~4 km~2(66.9%) in 2014: approximately 85% of the land of the country was under serious desertification, which significantly occurred in arid and semi-arid lowlands of the country(eastern, northern, and western lowlands) with relatively scarce precipitation and high temperature. The non-desertified area, mostly located in the sub-humid eastern escarpment, also declined from approximately 2.1% to 0.5%. The study concludes that the desertification is a cause of serious land degradation in Eritrea and may link to climate changes, such as low and unpredictable precipitation, and prolonged drought.     

陇东地区植被指数NDVI与降水的关系研究

利用1982～2003年NOAA/AVHRR(advanced very high resolution rediometer)资料及同期的降水资料,对甘肃省陇东地区半干旱区环县和半湿润区西峰的植被指数NDVI与不同时间尺度的标准化降水指数SPI进行相关分析.结果表明:在植被生长季,植被对降水的敏感程度半干旱区大于半湿润区;大多数月NDVI与3-SPI的相关系数较高,而与1-SPI较低;半干旱区和半湿润区NDVI的年变化幅度分别为:-12%～10%和-10%～13%,半干旱区NDVI的年变化与SPI变化趋势吻合较好,显著相关(P<0.05),而在半湿润区二者并不显著;半干旱区的年NDVI与四季降水均显著相关(P<0.05),而半湿润区年NDVI只与冬春季的降水显著相关(P<0.05).     

Effects of grazing intensity on seed production of Caragana stenophylla along a climatic aridity gradient in the Inner Mongolia Steppe,China

As the increases of climatic aridity and grazing intensity,shrubs play an increasingly important role in grassland ecosystem in arid and semi-arid regions,and its abundance also generally increases.However,the effects of climatic aridity and grazing intensity on sexual reproduction of shrubs in grassland remain largely unclear.In order to understand the effects of grazing intensity and climatic drought stress,and their interaction on seed production of shrub species,we examined the seed number,seed weight and seed yield of Caragana stenophylla under three grazing intensities(fenced,mild grazing and severe grazing) across a climatic aridity gradient(semi-arid,arid,very arid and intensively arid zones) in the Inner Mongolia Steppe,northern China during 2012–2013.The seed number,seed weight and seed yield gradually increased from the semi-arid to the very arid zones,but decreased from the very arid to the intensively arid zones in fenced plots.The seed number and seed yield decreased from the semi-arid to the intensively arid zones in mild and severe grazing treatment plots,therefore,grazing enhanced the suppression effect of climatic aridity on seed production of C.stenophylla.The seed number and seed yield gradually decreased as grazing intensity increased.The seed weight was highest in severe grazing plots,followed by the mild grazing plots and then the fenced plots.Precipitation varied interannually during the study period.We observed that the seed number,seed weight and seed yield were lower in the low precipitation year(2013) than in the high precipitation year(2012).As climatic drought stress increased,the negative effects of grazing on seed production of C.stenophylla also gradually increased.Our results indicated that climatic drought stress may contribute to the encroachment of C.stenophylla shrub in arid zones by promoting its seed production.However,grazing had negative effects on sexual reproduction of C.stenophylla,and the combined effects of drought stress and grazing seriously suppressed sexual reproduction of C.stenophylla in the intensively arid zone.     

1982-2006年新疆植被活动的年际变化及其季节差异

利用1982-2006年NOAA/AVHRR归一化植被指数(NDVI)时间序列,结合植被、地形和气候等资料,研究新疆植被活动的年际变化及其季节差异.结果表明:过去的25年,占新疆植被面积27%的地区生长季(4～10月)NDVI显著增加(P＜0.05),其中近一半地区年增加速率大于0.003,而显著减少地区的面积仅占4%...     

Vegetation dynamics of coal mining city in an arid desert region of Northwest China from 2000 to 2019

Coal mining has led to serious ecological damages in arid desert region of Northwest China. However, effects of climatic factor and mining activity on vegetation dynamics and plant diversity in this region remain unknown. Wuhai City located in the arid desert region of Northwest China is an industrial city and dominated by coal mining. Based on Landsat data and field investigation in Wuhai City, we analyzed the vegetation dynamics and the relationships with climate factors, coal mining activity and ecological restoration projects from 2000 to 2019. Results showed that vegetation in Wuhai City mostly consisted of desert plants, such as Caragana microphylla, Tetraena mongolica and Achnatherum splendens. And the vegetation fractional coverage(VFC) and greenness rate of change(GRC) showed that vegetation was slightly improved during the study period. Normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI) was positively correlated with annual mean precipitation, relative humidity and annual mean temperature, indicating that these climate factors might play important roles in the improved vegetation. Vegetation coverage and plant diversity around the coal mining area were reduced by coal mining, while the implementation of ecological restoration projects improved the vegetation coverage and plant diversity. Our results suggested that vegetation in the arid desert region was mainly affected by climate factors, and the implementation of ecological restoration projects could mitigate the impacts of coal mining on vegetation and ecological environment.     

Attribution analysis and multi-scenario prediction of NDVI drivers in the Xilin Gol grassland,China

Grassland degradation is influenced by climate change and human activities, and has become a major obstacle for the development of arid and semi-arid areas, posing a series of environmental and socio-economic problems. An in-depth understanding of the inner relations among grassland vegetation dynamics, climate change, and human activities is therefore greatly significant for understanding the variation in regional environmental conditions and predicting future developmental trends. Based on MODIS (moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer) NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) data from 2000 to 2020, our objective is to investigate the spatiotemporal changes of NDVI in the Xilin Gol grassland, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China. Combined with 12 natural factors and human activity factors in the same period, the dominant driving factors and their interactions were identified by using the geographic detector model, and multiple scenarios were also simulated to forecast the possible paths of future NDVI changes in this area. The results showed that: (1) in the past 21 a, vegetation cover in the Xilin Gol grassland exhibited an overall increasing trend, and the vegetation restoration (84.53%) area surpassed vegetation degradation area (7.43%); (2) precipitation, wind velocity, and livestock number were the dominant factors affecting NDVI (the explanatory power of these factors exceeded 0.4). The interaction between average annual wind velocity and average annual precipitation, and between average annual precipitation and livestock number greatly affected NDVI changes (the explanatory power of these factors exceeded 0.7). Moreover, the impact of climate change on NDVI was more significant than human activities; and (3) scenario analysis indicated that NDVI in the Xinlin Gol grassland increased under the scenarios of reduced wind velocity, increased precipitation, and ecological protection. In contrast, vegetation coverage restoration in this area was significantly reduced under the scenarios of unfavorable climate conditions and excessive human activities. This study provides a scientific basis for future vegetation restoration and management, ecological environmental construction, and sustainable natural resource utilization in this area.     

黑河流域叶面积指数的遥感反演

以黑河流域为研究区 ,探寻基于TM影像提取的植被指数 (VIs)与野外实测数据间叶面积指数 (LAI)的反演研究。结果表明 ,各植被指数与LAI均具有较高的相关性 ,整个研究区土壤调整植被指数 (SAVI)具有最高的LAI反演精度 ;把研究区分成绿洲区和山区 ,各种植被指数与LAI的相关系数和反演精度均有很大程度提高 ,同时得到绿洲区SAVI最适于反演LAI ,山区SR最适于反演LAI ,通过这种方式估算出黑河流域叶面积指数图。     

Seasonal differences in climatic controls of vegetation growth in the Beijing-Tianjin Sand Source Region of China

Launched in 2002, the Beiing-Tianjin Sand Source Control Project (BTSSCP) is an ecological restoration project intended to prevent desertification in China. Evidence from multiple sources has confirmed increases in vegetation growth in the BTSSCP region since the initiation of this project. Precipitation and essential climate variable-soil moisture (ECV-SM) conditions are typically considered to be the main drivers of vegetation growth in this region. Although many studies have investigated the inter-annual variations of vegetation growth, few concerns have been focused on the annual and seasonal variations of vegetation growth and their climatic drivers, which are crucial for understanding the relationships among the climate, vegetation, and human activities at the regional scale. Based on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) derived from MODIS and the corresponding climatic data, we explored the responses of vegetation growth to climatic factors at annual and seasonal scales in the BTSSCP region during the period 2000-2014. Over the study region as a whole, NDVI generally increased from 2000 to 2014, at a rate of 0.002/a. Vegetation growth is stimulated mainly by the elevated temperature in spring, whereas precipitation is the leading driver of summer greening. In autumn, positive effects of both temperature and precipitation on vegetation growth were observed. The warming in spring promotes vegetation growth but reduces ECV-SM. Summer greening has a strong cooling effect on land surface temperature. These results indicate that the ecological and environmental consequences of ecological restoration projects should be comprehensively evaluated.     

Effects of cloud,atmospheric water vapor,and dust on photosynthetically active radiation and total solar radiation in a Mongolian grassland

Photosynthetically active radiation(PAR) is an important input parameter for estimating plant productivity due to its key role in the growth and development of plants.However,a worldwide routine network for systematic PAR measurements is not yet established,and PAR is often calculated as a constant fraction of total solar radiation(SR).Although the ratio of PAR to SR(PAR/SR) has been reported from many places,few studies have been performed for dry regions.The present study was therefore carried out in an arid region of Mongolia to obtain PAR/SR and examine its dependency on sky clearness(the clearness index),water vapor in the atmosphere and aeolian dust.Continuous measurements of PAR and SR were taken every one second using quantum and pyranometer sensors,respectively,and the readings were averaged and recorded at intervals of 30 minutes for a period of 12 months.The lowest monthly mean daily PAR/SR occurred in April(0.420),while the highest ratio was observed in July(0.459).Mean daily PAR/SR during plant growing season(May August) was estimated to be 0.442,which could be useful for modeling plant productivity in the study area.The annual mean daily PAR/SR(0.435) was lower than the values reported in many previous studies.This difference could be explained with the regional variation in climate:i.e.drier climatic condition in the study area.PAR/SR was negatively correlated with the clearness index(r=-0.36,P<0.001),but positively with atmospheric water vapor pressure(r=0.47,P<0.001).The average PAR/SR was significantly lower(P=0.02) on the dusty days compared to the non-dust days.Water vapor in the atmosphere was shown to be the strongest factor in the variation of PAR/SR.This is the first study examining PAR/SR under a semi-arid condition in Mongolia.     

Predicting of dust storm source by combining remote sensing,statistic-based predictive models and game theory in the Sistan watershed,southwestern Asia

Dust storms in arid and desert areas affect radiation budget, air quality, visibility, enzymatic activities, agricultural products and human health. Due to increased drought and land use changes in recent years, the frequency of dust storms occurrence in Iran has been increased. This study aims to identify dust source areas in the Sistan watershed (Iran-Afghanistan borders)-an important regional source for dust storms in southwestern Asia, using remote sensing (RS) and bivariate statistical models. Furthermore, this study determines the relative importance of factors controlling dust emissions using frequency ratio (FR) and weights of evidence (WOE) models and interpretability of predictive models using game theory. For this purpose, we identified 211 dust sources in the study area and generated a dust source distribution map-inventory map-by dust source potential index based on RS data. In addition, spatial maps of topographic factors affecting dust source areas including soil, lithology, slope, Normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), geomorphology and land use were prepared. The performance of two models (WOE and FR) was evaluated using the area under curve (AUC) of the receiver operating characteristic curve. The results showed that soil, geomorphology and slope exhibited the greatest influence in the dust source areas. The 55.3% (according to FR) and 62.6% (according to WOE) of the total area were classified as high and very high potential dust sources, while both models displayed acceptable accuracy with subsurface levels of 0.704 for FR and 0.751 for WOE, although they predict different fractions of dust potential classes. Based on Shapley additive explanations (SHAP), three factors, i.e., soil, slope and NDVI have the highest impact on the model's output. Overall, combination of statistic-based predictive models (or data mining models), RS and game theory techniques can provide accurate maps of dust source areas in arid and semi-arid regions, which can be helpful for mitigation of negative effects of dust storms.     

试论旱区的干旱及其防御

本文阐述了旱区所处的地位及干旱对农业的影响;讨论了干旱的形成;分析了我国北方干旱发生的规律;进行了北方旱区湿润状况分类及评价,分别对西北干旱牧区和绿州农业区、东北西部风沙半干旱区、内蒙古中南部、黄土高原北部半干旱地区、华北平原中北部半湿润易旱区的干旱气候特征及干旱的时空分布规律进行了分析。最后从防御干旱的战略对策提出了几点意见。     

近40a中国北方降水量与蒸发量变化

利用我国北方1951-1990年年降水量、年蒸发量、年平均风速和太阳辐射等资料,计算了干燥度指数,并据其将我国划分为干旱区(D<0.20),半干旱区(0.20～0.50),湿润区(D>0.50)。近40a我国半干旱区降水量和蒸发量发生了巨大变化,区域差异显著,年代际特征明显。东北区和华北区降水量具有减少趋势,西北东部和西南区有增加趋势。至于蒸发量的变化,东北区具有增加趋势,华北区、西北东部和西南区有减少趋势。近40a我国干旱半干旱区降水量与蒸发量均在减小,但降水量的减小速度大于蒸发量,气候在变干。我国气候的干湿变化主要取决于降水量的变化。     

Effects of agriculture,climate, and policy on NDVI change in a semi-arid river basin of the Chinese Loess Plateau

In 1999, the Grain for Green Project was implemented by the Chinese government. Since then, the vegetation of Zuli River Basin, a semi-arid river basin of the Chinese Loess Plateau, has been greatly changed. Clearly understanding the impact of natural and artificial factors on vegetation change is important for policy making and ecosystem management. In this study, spatio-temporal variations in vegetation cover in Chinese Zuli River Basin during 1999–2016 were investigated using Landsat normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data. Analyses of several indicators, including changes in NDVI in different slopes and land use changes and the relationships between climatic factors and NDVI change, were presented to quantitatively evaluate the effects of agriculture, climate, and policy on NDVI change. The NDVI in the Zuli River Basin increased during the study period, and the main contributors to this change were forest in 1999–2011, cropland, abandoned farmland, and grassland in 2009–2016, and land with slopes ≤ 15°. Land with slope > 15°, where the “Project” was implemented, slightly contributed to the increase in regional NDVI. In 1999–2011, the project (?98.16%) combined with climate change (?68.18%) showed negative effects on the increase in NDVI in the Zuli River Basin, but agriculture (22.28%) played a positive role in increasing this index. In 2009–2016 and 1999–2016, the project (38.45% and 35.25%, respectively), the project combined with climate change (49.83% and 46.30%, respectively), agriculture (18.61% and 23.30%, respectively), promoted increases in NDVI in the basin.     

干旱半干旱地区地下水问题

对干旱半干旱地区地下水资源的特征，地下水的水文地质条件及相关的水文地质问题进行了分析，阐述了干旱半干旱地区地下水资源的利用现状及地下水资源管理的内容和意义。     

宁夏中北部地区沙尘暴天气月际变率的定量研究

沙尘暴是一种强烈的风蚀输沙形式,是造成流沙蔓延和土地沙化最重要、最直接的作用过程之一。借鉴国际国内最新的研究进展,建立适合宁夏中北部地区气候特征的沙尘暴频率定量模拟模型,比较深入地分析宁夏中北部地区气候因素对沙尘暴频率的影响。     

Topographical and hydrological effects on meso-scale vegetation in desert steppe,Mongolia

This study investigated the seasonal variations of the normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI) and its relationships with climatic variables and topography in a small-scale(20 km×20 km) area(i.e., Tsogt-Ovoo village) within the desert steppe zone of Mongolia using in-situ observed climate data and satellite remote sensing data. We found that the topography is very important for vegetation growth in the desert steppe although the summer precipitation is the constraining factor. The unexpectedly high NDVI(up to 0.56), as well as the high aboveground biomass, in the valley bottom was primarily resulted from the topography-modulated redistribution of overland flow after relatively heavy precipitation events during the growing season. This makes the valley bottoms in desert steppes not only reliable feeding resources for livestock but also heavens for wild lives. But, the detected large standard deviation of annual maximum NDVI(NDVI_(max)) from 2000 to 2013 in the valley bottom in response to rather variable precipitation implies that the valley bottoms under desert steppe climates are more vulnerable to climatic change.     

Spatio-temporal dynamics of vegetation in Jungar Banner of China during 2000-2017

It is known that the exploitation of opencast coal mines has seriously damaged the environments in the semi-arid areas. Vegetation status can reliably reflect the ecological degeneration and restoration in the opencast mining areas in the semi-arid areas. Long-time series MODIS NDVI data are widely used to simulate the vegetation cover to reflect the disturbance and restoration of local ecosystems. In this study, both qualitative (linear regression method and coefficient of variation (CoV)) and quantitative (spatial buffer analysis, and change amplitude and the rate of change in the average NDVI) analyses were conducted to analyze the spatio-temporal dynamics of vegetation during 2000-2017 in Jungar Banner of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, at the large (Jungar Banner and three mine groups) and small (three types of functional areas: opencast coal mining excavation areas, reclamation areas and natural areas) scales. The results show that the rates of change in the average NDVI in the reclamation areas (20%-60%) and opencast coal mining excavation areas (10%-20%) were considerably higher than that in the natural areas (<7%). The vegetation in the reclamation areas experienced a trend of increase (3-5 a after reclamation)-decrease (the sixth year of reclamation)-stability. The vegetation in Jungar Banner has a spatial heterogeneity under the influences of mining and reclamation activities. The ratio of vegetation improvement area to vegetation degradation area in the west, southwest and east mine groups during 2000-2017 was 8:1, 20:1 and 33:1, respectively. The regions with the high CoV of NDVI above 0.45 were mainly distributed around the opencast coal mining excavation areas, and the regions with the CoV of NDVI above 0.25 were mostly located in areas with low (28.8%) and medium-low (10.2%) vegetation cover. The average disturbance distances of mining activities on vegetation in the three mine groups (west, southwest and east) were 800, 800 and 1000 m, respectively. The greater the scale of mining, the farther the disturbance distances of mining activities on vegetation. We conclude that vegetation reclamation will certainly compensate for the negative impacts of opencast coal mining activities on vegetation. Sufficient attention should be paid to the proportional allocation of plant species (herbs and shrubs) in the reclamation areas, and the restored vegetation in these areas needs to be protected for more than 6 a. Then, as the repair time increased, the vegetation condition of the reclamation areas would exceed that of the natural areas.     

Discriminating and monitoring rangeland condition classes with MODIS NDVI and EVI indices in Iranian arid and semi-arid lands

Monitoring is essential for appropriate rangeland management. The present study aimed to examine the potential of moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite imagery in rangeland condition assessment and monitoring within and across vegetation types in the arid and semi-arid rangelands of central Iran. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and enhanced vegetation index (EVI) were calculated from MODIS Aqua/Terra Level 1B data (related to 2003–2013). The obtained values were compared with vegetation cover measurements and rangeland condition classes at 110 sampling sites using linear regression, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), independent-samples t-tests, and Tukey’s pairwise comparisons. The results showed that two indices made stronger predictions of vegetation cover within a vegetation type (R²?>?0.87, P?R²?>?0.51, P?P?≤?0.001) in predicting rangeland condition classes (poor, fair, and good), but their performance varied between vegetation types. The NDVI classified about 73, 19, and 7.5% of the rangelands in poor, fair, and good condition classes, respectively. The good performance of MODIS NDVI index at different landscapes indicates that this index has high potential in detecting vegetation cover and discriminating different condition classes, therefore, it can be used to aid field- based techniques in rangeland condition assessment and monitoring.