Vegetation and soil carbon storage in China

This study estimated the current vegetation and soil carbon storage in China using a biogeochemical model driven with climate, soil and vegetation data at 0.5° latitude-longitude grid spatial resolution. The results indicate that the total carbon storage in China's vegetation and soils was 13.33 Gt C and 82.65 Gt C respectively, about 3% and 4% of the global total. The nationally mean vegetation and soil carbon densities were 1.47 kg C/m2 and 9.17 kg C/m2, respectively, differing greatly in various regions affected by climate, vegetation, and soil types. They were generally higher in the warm and wet Southeast China and Southwest China than in the arid Northwest China; whereas vegetation carbon density was the highest in the warm Southeast China and Southwest China, soil carbon density was the highest in the cold Northeast China and southeastern fringe of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. These spatial patterns are clearly correlated with variations in the climate that regulates plant growth and soil organi     

The relative roles of climate variations and human activities in vegetation change in North China

Using SPOT-VEGETATION Normal Difference Vegetation Index (SPOT/NDVI) data from 1998 to 2011 and climate data obtained from 223 weather stations in or near North China, vegetation variation characteristics within North China were analyzed. Vegetation variation characteristics under the influence of climate variations and human activities were distinguished through a residual analysis. Based on the results of that analysis, the relative roles of climate variations and human activities in vegetation variation were calculated. The results showed that NDVI observed by remote sensing (SPOT/NDVI) increased from 1998 to 2011. The relative roles of climate variations and human activities in vegetation increase were 30.82% and 69.18%, respectively, indicating that human activities played a major role. And observed NDVI showed an increasing trend for different land cover types overall. While NDVI increase in shrub was mainly caused by climate variations, NDVI increases in forest, grassland, farmland, deserts and urban were all primarily caused by human activities. For areas with increasing vegetation, as identified by remote sensing observations in North China, the relative roles of climate variations and human activities in vegetation change were calculated at 14.85% and 85.15% respectively, again indicating that human activities played an important role in vegetation increase. For areas of decreasing vegetation, as identified by remote sensing observations in North China, the relative roles of climate variations and human activities in vegetation change were calculated at 87.72% and 12.28% respectively, indicating that climate variations had large negative effects on vegetation condition. In addition, the relative roles of climate variations and human activities on vegetation variation have obvious spatial differences in North China. Human activities played a positive role in vegetation growth in North China. However, we cannot ignore the function of human destruction on vegetation variation in some areas.     

Terrestrial transect study on driving mechanism of vegetation changes

In terms of Chinese climate-vegetation model based on the classification of plant functional types, to- gether with climatic data from 1951 to 1980 and two future climatic scenarios (SRES-A2 and SRES-B2) in China from the highest and the lowest emission scenarios of greenhouse gases, the distribution patterns of vegetation types and their changes along the Northeast China Transect (NECT) and the North-South Transect of Eastern China (NSTEC) were simulated in order to understand the driving mechanisms of vegetation changes under climatic change. The results indicated that the vegetation distribution patterns would change significantly under future climate, and the major factors driving the vegetation changes were water and heat. However, the responses of various vegetation types to the changes in water and heat factors were obviously different. The vegetation changes were more sensi- tive to heat factors than to water factors. Thus, in the future climate warming will significantly affect vegetation distribution patterns.     

Spatiotemporal evolution of C3/C4 vegetation and its controlling factors in southern China since the last glacial maximum

To date, few research have been reported on the evolution of C3/C4 vegetation in southern China, and the main mechanism influencing the evolution of C3/C4 vegetation is unclear. That makes it difficult for researchers to understand the competition mechanism of C3 and C4 plants under different climate environments and its relationship with the climate factors. It is also not conducive for researchers to assess the influence of future climate change on regional C3/C4 vegetation. Exactly, C3/C4 vegetation change in the regional-scale will have a significant impact on the global carbon cycle and agricultural production.Therefore, it is especially important to reconstruct the evolutionary history of C3/C4 vegetation in southern China and clarify the influencing mechanism of climate change. In this study, we systematically analyzed stable carbon isotope(δ13 C) of the longchain n-alkanes in sediment samples from eight lakes and four peat profiles in southern China, to reconstruct the spatiotemporal evolution of C3/C4 vegetation in these regions since the Last Glacial Maximum(LGM) and to investigate the climate factors that affect the C4 plant abundance change in the research area. The integrated long-chain n-alkane(C27–C33) stable carbon isotope results of samples from Zhanjiang Huguangyan Maar Lake, Xingyun Lake, Lugu Lake and Dingnan peat showed that, from the LGM to the Early Holocene, C4 plant relative abundance exhibited a gradually increasing trend from 21% to 34%. In the Middle Holocene, the C4 plant abundance significantly declined and reached a lowest value of 10%. In space, the C4 plant abundance generally exhibited a gradually declining trend from south to north in the LGM and the Early Holocene, while it showed an opposite trend in the Holocene Climate Optimum(6.0 cal ka BP). It reflected that the main influencing factor on C4 plants spatial distribution was changing from temperature to precipitation. This study indicated that temperature was the dominant factor affecting C4 plant distribution in southern China, however, when the temperature condition was appropriate, an increase in precipitation(especially more spring precipitation) would reduce the competitive advantages of C4 plants. Therefore, the combination of temperature and seasonal precipitation was the important factor that determines the C3/C4 vegetation proportion change in the southern China. Under the premise that the temperature will rise and precipitation will increase in the future, the reduction of a competitive advantage for the C4 plants could affect agricultural production in China.     

植被变化对西北地区陆气耦合强度的影响

西北地区地处欧亚大陆腹地,生态系统对于气候变化和人为影响十分敏感,同时该区也是湿润的东亚季风区与干燥的中亚干旱区的过渡区域,陆气相互作用比较强烈.本文对西北地区植被变化对当地的陆气耦合强度及其与之相关的地表水文过程的影响进行了分析研究,并且找出适于增加植被以缓解西北地区荒漠化趋势的最具成效的地区.本文利用美国国家大气科学研究中心(NCAR,National Center for Atmospheric Research)研制的通用大气模式CAM3(Community Atmosphere Model Version 3)对西北地区植被变化的影响进了数值模拟.本文共设计了三个试验,使用正常地表植被覆盖的参考试验,地表下垫面变为裸土的去植被试验和植被增加的生态环境好转试验.首先,本文对西北地区植被变化对于当地降水量、地表水分盈余量、径流量、地表土壤含水量等地表水文变量的影响进行了分析研究.然后对西北地区植被变化对当地的陆气耦合强度的影响进了分析研究,陆气耦合强度是衡量局地陆气相互作用强弱程度的一个新标准,基于计算年降水量与蒸散量的协方差与降水量方差之比而得到.它利用观测数据或模式输出数据,计算起来简便容易,物理意义明确清晰,陆气相互作用越强烈的地区,其陆气耦合强度也越高.最后,本文计算了一个蒸散-水汽通量散度指数来衡量植被变化对局地蒸散与大气水汽通量散度的影响,其在一定程度上反应了植被变化对局地陆气相互作用和大尺度大气环流输送作用的影响,也可以视为一个评估人为生态环境工程效果的指标.西北地区陆气耦合强度由东南向西北递增.去植被之后,西北地区降水与蒸发普遍减少,其中在东南部区域,地表径流增加约10~40mm,渗流量与地表土壤含水量分别减少约40~80mm和5~20mm3·mm-3,陆气耦合强度上升,这有可能导致水土流失,不利于当地植被的恢复.生态环境好转之后,内陆地区降水与蒸发明显增加,但地表盈余水分有所减少,主要原因是蒸散量相较于降水量增加的更多.其中在沙漠戈壁区边缘的新疆南部与内蒙西部,渗流量与地表土壤含水量分别上升约5~20mm和5~20mm3·mm-3,陆气耦合强度降低,蒸散-水汽通量散度指数较高,这可能主要是由于植被变化对局地陆气相互作用的改变而造成的.植被对于西北地区地表水文过程有着明显的影响,植被的存在能加速西北地区地表水文循环过程,减小陆面蒸散的变化,降低陆气耦合强度.在有限的人力与财力条件下,集中力量在在沙漠戈壁区边缘的新疆南部与内蒙西部适当种植灌木与青草并防止过度放牧,能有效降低当地陆气耦合强度,缓解西北地区荒漠化加剧的趋势.本文下一步还需考虑如模式地表植被数据与真实情况的差异性,海洋因素变化对于植被变化的反馈,以及进行集合实验来增加研究结果的可靠性.     

Remote sensing based monitoring of interannual variations in vegetation activity in China from 1982 to 2009

Terrestrial vegetation is one of the most important components of the Earth’s land surface. Variations in terrestrial vegetation directly impact the Earth system’s balance of material and energy. This paper describes detected variations in vegetation activity at a national scale for China based on nearly 30 years of remote sensing data derived from NOAA/AVHRR (1982–2006) and MODIS (2001–2009). Vegetation activity is analyzed for four regions covering agriculture, forests, grasslands, and China’s Northwest region with sparse vegetation cover (including regions without vegetation). Relationships between variations in vegetation activity and climate change as well as agricultural production are also explored. The results show that vegetation activity has generally increased across large areas, especially during the most recent decade. The variations in vegetation activity have been driven primarily by human factors, especially in the southern forest region and the Northwest region with sparse vegetation cover. The results further show that the variations in vegetation activity have influenced agricultural production, but with a certain time lag.     

Variation in vegetation greenness along China's land border

Fourteen countries share about 22000 km land border with China, but not much is known about the variation in vegetation in such a large diverse area. By employing the remotely-sensed vegetation indices the vegetation greenness along the border was discussed. Our results show that since the early 21 st century, similar trends in vegetation greenness have occurred along most of China's border, but differences occurred on either side of the border. Along the border with North Korea and South Asian nations, greater increasing trend in vegetation greenness occurred inside China's border, suggesting that China's vegetation protection programs have been successful. Spatial and temporal variations in vegetation greenness trends were observed along China's border with Russia, Mongolia, and Central Asian nations. Vegetation variation was lower inside China, along the Russian border, and China's eastern border with Mongolia. Along most borders with Central Asian nations, rates of vegetation change inside China's border during the growing season were higher than the rates outside the border. The results suggest that social customs, resource exploitation patterns, and national environmental conservation programs may profoundly affect vegetation greenness.     

Changes of vegetation in southern China

In order to reveal the changes of vegetation in southern China since the Last Glacial Maximum, we have established high-resolution time scales and palynological sequences of borehole profiles by drilling cores in some weak areas of the research to restore vegetation changes over the past 20,000 years on the basis of previous work. This paper gives the vegetation zoning maps of 18, 9 and 6 ka BP respectively in southern China, and describes the distribution characteristics of plants in different zones/subzones. The results show that the vegetation zonations around 18 ka BP were significantly different from that at present.It appeared in turn with Cold-temperate coniferous forest and alpine meadow steppe zone, and Temperate mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forest zone/warm temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest zone from northwest to southeast in the west, and Temperate mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forest zone, Warm temperate deciduous broad-leaved forest zone, and Northern subtropical mixed evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved forest zone from north to south in the central and east. The vegetation distribution around 9 ka BP changed distinctively. Except that the northwest part was located in Mountain temperate mixed coniferous and broad-leaved forest zone, the vegetation in other areas occurred in turn with North subtropical mixed evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved forest subzone, Mid-subtropical typical evergreen broad-leaved forest subzone, and South subtropical monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest subzone/Tropical seasonal rainforest and rainforest zone from north to south.There was little change in the appearance of vegetation zonations between 6 and 9 ka BP, but the northern edge of each vegetation belt moved a little northward, reflecting that the overall climate became warmer around 6 ka BP. The vegetation changes in southern China over the past 20,000 years were largely driven by environmental changes. Climate change was the main factor affecting the vegetation distribution. The impact of human activities became more and more remarkable in the later period. In the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and the delta region, sea level changes also influenced the vegetation distribution.     

Holocene vegetation succession and responses to climate change in the northern sector of Northeast China

Sediment pollen samples from the Huola Basin in the northern sector of northeast China, and surface pollen samples from its environs, were analyzed to reconstruct accurately the historical response of vegetation to climate change since 9100 cal yr BP. Pollen analysis of the Huola Section indicates that vegetation experienced a transformation from early-mid Holocene warm-cold mixed vegetation to late Holocene cold-temperate vegetation. From 9100 to 6000 cal yr BP, the study area was warmer and moister than at present, developing Corylus, Carpinus, Pinus, Picea, Betula and Larix-dominated forests. Two cooling events at 6000–5000 and 3500–2500 cal yr BP led to a decrease in Corylus, Carpinus and other warmth-loving vegetation, whereas cold temperate forests composed of Larix and Betula expanded. After 2500 cal yr BP, Larix and Betula dominated cold-temperate vegetated landscapes. The Holocene warm period in NE China(9100–6000 cal yr BP) suggests that such warming could have resulted in a strengthening of the influence from East Asian Summer Monsoon on northernmost NE China and would have benefited the development of warm-temperate forest vegetation and an improved plant load, which also provides the similarity model for the possible global warming in the future.     

Vegetation Restoration Monitoring in Yingxiu Landslide Area after the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake

A total of more than 50 000 landslides has occurred in Sichuan province since the "5·12" Wenchuan earthquake,resulting in serious damage to the surface vegetation in southwestern China.In this study,we select Yingxiu,the epicenter of Wenchuan earthquake,as the experimental area.The vegetation coverage information of the experimental area is extracted from the remote sensing images collected in the year of2005,2011 and 2013,respectively.The surface vegetation coverage in different periods is analyzed,and the vegetation recovery rate of the whole area is calculated.The experimental results show that in the first three years after the earthquake,the speed of vegetation restoration is slow,and the vegetation coverage rate is less than 20%better than 0.241,while in 2013,the vegetation coverage increases significantly.     

Modern pollen rain in the Lake Qinghai basin,China

Lake Qinghai is the largest inland brackish lake in China and lies within the NE Tibetan Plateau. Our study shows that pollen assemblages in each vegetation belt are significantly correlated with the vegetation types of this area. Among the herbaceous and shrubby pollen assemblages, Artemisia is over-represented, while Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Polygonaceae are under-represented. Artemisia/ Chenopodiaceae (A/C) ratios with the regional vegetation characteristic can be used as a proper index to reconstruct the...     

Assessing vegetation dynamics and their relationships with climatic variability in northern China

In this study, the vegetation dynamics and their correlations with climate variability in northern China were evaluated based on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and meteorological datasets from 1982 to 2006. The NDVI showed that vegetation cover had a tiny increasing trend for whole study area in the past 25 years. However, the interannual changes of NDVI were different in each season. The part of spring and autumn NDVI values increased significantly, while the summer NDVI increased no significantly. And the interannual variations of the NDVI showed obvious spatial differentiations. The annual max NDVI increased were mainly distributed in most areas of grassland and farmland, whereas the annual max NDVI decreased were mainly distributed in forest areas. The annual NDVI and temperature had more important relationships. Thus, as compared to precipitation, the correlation between NDVI with temperature was stronger than the precipitation in northern China. NDVI and climatic variables were different in each season. The NDVI trends exhibited a close correspondence to climatological variations in region and season. In Addition, human activities also had profound effect to the NDVI trends in some regions. All these findings will make humans know more about the knowledge of the natural forces that influence vegetation change and supply a scientific basic resource to for the environmental management in northern China.     

Remote sensing analysis of desert vegetation and its landscape changes: The case in middle reaches of Tarim River Basin, Xinjiang, China

Based on remote sensing information sources including B/W aerial photos of 1983,pseudo-color aerial photos of 1992 and JERS-1/OPS VNIR image of 1996, vegetation types ofYingbazha, in the middle reaches of the Tarim River Basin in Xinjiang, China are mapped usingARC/INFO and related software. The changes in vegetation areas and distribution conditions areanalyzed. As a result of natural and human influences, vegetation changes have temporal andspatial characteristics. According to the principles of landscape ecology and geographical informa-tion science, the landscape changes are indicated. Moreover, the remote sensing and GIS tech-niques are integrated to study vegetation and its landscape.     

Prediction of carbon exchanges between China terrestrial ecosystem and atmosphere in 21st century

The projected changes in carbon exchange between China terrestrial ecosystem and the atmosphere and vegetation and soil carbon storage during the 21st century were investigated using an atmos-phere-vegetation interaction model (AVIM2). The results show that in the coming 100 a, for SRES B2 scenario and constant atmospheric CO2 concentration, the net primary productivity (NPP) of terrestrial ecosystem in China will be decreased slowly, and vegetation and soil carbon storage as well as net ecosystem productivity (NEP) will also be decreased. The carbon sink for China terrestrial ecosystem in the beginning of the 20th century will become totally a carbon source by the year of 2020, while for B2 scenario and changing atmospheric CO2 concentration, NPP for China will increase continuously from 2.94 GtC·a?1 by the end of the 20th century to 3.99 GtC·a?1 by the end of the 21st century, and vegetation and soil carbon storage will increase to 110.3 GtC. NEP in China will keep rising during the first and middle periods of the 21st century, and reach the peak around 2050s, then will decrease gradually and approach to zero by the end of the 21st century.     

Remote sensing analysis of desert vegetation and its landscape changes: The case in middle reaches of Tarim River Basin,Xinjiang, China

Based on remote sensing information sources including B/W aerial photos of 1983, pseudo-color aerial photos of 1992 and JERS-1/OPS VNIR image of 1996, vegetation types of Yingbazha, in the middle reaches of the Tarim River Basin in Xinjiang, China are mapped using ARC/INFO and related software. The changes in vegetation areas and distribution conditions are analyzed. As a result of natural and human influences, vegetation changes have temporal and spatial characteristics. According to the principles of landscape ecology and geographical information science, the landscape changes are indicated. Moreover, the remote sensing and GIS techniques are integrated to study vegetation and its landscape.     

Remote sensing analysis of desert vegetation and its landscape changes: The case in middle reaches of Tarim River Basin,Xinjiang, China

Based on remote sensing information sources including B/W aerial photos of 1983, pseudo-color aerial photos of 1992 and JERS-1/OPS VNIR image of 1996, vegetation types of Yingbazha, in the middle reaches of the Tarim River Basin in Xinjiang, China are mapped using ARC/INFO and related software. The changes in vegetation areas and distribution conditions are analyzed. As a result of natural and human influences, vegetation changes have temporal and spatial characteristics. According to the principles of landscape ecology and geographical information science, the landscape changes are indicated. Moreover, the remote sensing and GIS techniques are integrated to study vegetation and its landscape.

     

植被覆盖状况影响中国地表气温变化的观测事实

利用NOAA/AVHRR归一化植被指数（NDVI）及观测气温与再分析地表气温的差值（Observation Minus Reanalysis, OMR）分析了植被覆盖状况对中国地表气温变化的影响.结果表明,地表气温OMR趋势值与NDVI在空间上呈现出显著的负相关关系,植被覆盖状况差（NDVI小于0.1）的区域地表升温较为显著,气温OMR趋势值超过0.2℃/10a,而植被覆盖度高（NDVI大于0.5）的区域气温OMR趋势值则变化不大,甚至出现降温.气温OMR趋势值对植被的季节变化还有着敏感的响应.不同区域植被覆盖状况的差异可能导致中国地表气温变化对全球变暖的响应不同,预测中国未来气候变化需要考虑植被覆盖状况及其动态变化的影响.     

Spatial patterns of vegetation and climate in the North China Plain during the Last Glacial Maximum and Holocene climatic optimum

Reconstructing the spatial patterns of regional climate and vegetation during specific intervals in the past is important for assessing the possible responses of the ecological environment under future global warming scenarios. In this study, we reconstructed the history of regional vegetation and climate based on six radiocarbon-dated pollen records from the North China Plain. Combining the results with existing pollen records, we reconstruct the paleoenvironment of the North China Plain during the Last Glacial Maximum(LGM) and the Holocene Climatic Optimum(HCO). The results show that changes in the regional vegetation since the LGM were primarily determined by climatic conditions, the geomorphic landscape and by human activity.During the LGM, the climate was cold and dry; mixed broadleaf-coniferous forest and deciduous-evergreen broadleaf forest developed in the southern mountains, and cold-resistant coniferous forest and mixed broadleaf-coniferous forest were present in the northern mountains. The forest cover was relatively low, with mesophytic and hygrophilous meadow occupying the southern part of the plain, and temperate grassland and desert steppe were distributed in the north; Chenopodiaceae-dominated halophytes grew on the exposed continental shelf of the Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea. During the HCO, the climate was warm and wet;deciduous broadleaf forest and deciduous-evergreen broadleaf forest, with subtropical species, developed in the southern mountains, and deciduous broadleaf forest with thermophilic species was present in northern mountains. Although the degree of forest cover was greater than during the LGM, the vegetation of the plain area was still dominated by herbs, while halophytes had migrated inland due to sea level rise. In addition, the expansion of human activities, especially the intensification of cultivation,had a significant influence on the natural vegetation. Our results provide data and a scientific basis for paleoclimate modelling and regional carbon cycle assessment in north China, with implications for predicting changes in the ecological environment under future global warming scenarios.     

Preliminary analysis on the relationships between Tibetan Plateau NDVI change and its surface heat source and precipitation of China

Using the automatic weather station data obtained from the Tibetan Plateau (TP), the normalized dif- ference vegetation index and the monthly precipitation data of China and by the methods of correlation and composite analysis, preliminary analytical results are achieved concerning the relationships be- tween TP NDVI change and its surface heat source and precipitation of China. The results of our re- search may lead to the following conclusions: (1) A positive correlation relationship exists between TP NDVI change and its surface heat source, including the sensible heat and the latent heat. As to the correlation of the former, it is more remarkable in western TP than in eastern TP, and as to the correla- tion of the latter, however it turns out contrary. (2) With the improvement of TP vegetation, its surface heat source of every season is also mainly reinforced, especially in summer. As to the contribution of the sensible heat and the latent heat to the increment of the TP surface heat source intensity, the for- mer is comparatively more significant than the latter in winter and spring, while in summer and autumn, the two have almost the same importance. (3) The correlation coefficient between summer NDVI over TP and the corresponding period precipitation of China displays a belt distribution of " ? " from south to north China. (4) Anomalous surface heating field over TP derived from vegetation change is probably an important factor to affect summer precipitation of China.     

A multiple-proxy stalagmite record reveals historical deforestation in central Shandong,northern China

Evaluating anthropogenic impacts on regional vegetation changes during historical time is not only important for a better understanding of the Anthropocene but also valuable in improving the vegetation-climate models. In this study, we analyzed stable isotopes(δ~(18)O, δ~(13)C) and trace elements(Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca) of a stalagmite from Huangchao Cave in central Shandong, northern China.~(230)Th and AMS~(14)C dating results indicate the stalagmite deposited during 174BC and AD1810, with a hiatus between AD638 and 1102. Broad similarities of the δ~(18)O and trace elements in the stalagmite suggest they are reliable precipitation indexes. The δ~(13)C of the stalagmite, a proxy of vegetation change, was generally consistent with local precipitation and temperature variations on a centennial-scale before the 15th century. It typically varied from –9.6‰ to –6.3‰, indicating climate controlled C3 type vegetation during this period. However, a persistent and marked increasing trend in the δ~(13)C record was observed since the 15th century, resulting in δ~(13)C values from –7.7‰ to –1.6‰ in the next four centuries. This unprecedented δ~(13)C change caused by vegetation deterioration cannot be explained by climate change but is fairly consistent with the dramatically increasing population and farmland in Shandong. We suggest that the increasing deforestation and reclamation in central Shandong began to affect vegetation in the mountain region of central Shandong since the 15th century and severely destroyed or even cleared the forest during the 16th–18th century.