Climatic factors controlling plant sensitivity to warming

Plant sensitivity to warming can be expressed as β or the number of days of advance in leafing or flowering events per 1 °C of Mean Annual Temperature (MAT) change. Many local studies demonstrate that β estimates for spring flowering species are usually larger than estimates for plants flowering in summer or fall. Until now, however, neither observational nor experimental estimates of this parameter were considered to be climate or geographically dependent. Here we question this paradigm through reanalysis of observational β estimates and mathematical modeling of the seasonal warming signal. Statistical analysis of a large number of bulk (averaged over species) estimates of β derived from the Pan European Phenology Data network (PEP725) revealed a positive spatial correlation with MAT, as well as a negative correlation with the Seasonal Temperature Range (STR). These spatial correlations of bulk β values as well as interseasonal variability in β were explained using a simple deterministic model of the Thermal Growing Season (TGS). More specifically, we found that the geographic distribution of bulk plant sensitivity to warming as well as the seasonal decline of β were controlled by the seasonal patterns in the warming signal and by average soil thermal properties. Thus, until recently, plants managed to keep pace with climate warming by shifting their leafing and flowering events by the same number of days as the length of the period of weather suitable for their growth. Our model predicts, however, an even greater increase in the TGS for subsequent increases in MAT. Depending on how they interact with other factors such as changes in precipitation and increased temperature variability, these longer thermal growing seasons may not be beneficial for plant growth.     

On the subarctic North Atlantic cooling due to global warming

Various ocean reanalysis data reveal that the subarctic Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) has been cooling during the twentieth century. A similar cooling pattern is found in the doubling CO₂ experiment obtained from the CMIP3 (coupled model intercomparison project third phase) compared to the pre-industrial experiment. Here, in order to investigate the main driver of this cooling, we perform the heat budget analysis on the subarctic Atlantic upper ocean temperature. The net surface heat flux associated with the increased concentration of greenhouse gases heats the subarctic ocean surface. In the most of models, the longwave radiation, latent heat flux, and sensible heat flux exert a warming effect, and the shortwave radiation exerts a cooling effect. On the other hand, the thermal advection by the meridional current reduces the subarctic upper ocean temperature in all models. This cold advection is attributed to the weakening of the meridional overturning circulation, which is related to the reduction in the ocean surface density. In particular, greater warming of the surface air than of the sea surface results in the reduction of surface evaporation and thereby enhanced freshening of the ocean surface water, while precipitation change was smaller than evaporation change. The thermal advections by both the wind-driven Ekman current and the density-driven geostrophic current contribute to cooling in most of the models, where the heat transport by the geostrophic current tends to be larger than that by the Ekman current.     

Temperature thresholds and crop production: a review

Temperature thresholds for a range of crops from cereal crops to horticultural crops and to legum crops were identified through an extensive literature review. Identification of temperature thresholds provides a basis for quantifying the probability of exceeding temperature thresholds which is a very important aspect of climate change risk assessment. The effects of extreme temperatures on yield and yield components were then reviewed and summarised. Through these processes, critical phenophases were defined based on the sensitivity of crop yield and/or yield components to extreme high temperatures which were imposed on various phenophases. Information on the direction and degree of the impact of extreme temperature on yield/yield components can contribute to the improvement of crop models in which the effects of extreme temperature on crop production have not been adequately represented at this stage. Identification of critical phenophases at which crops yield and/or other economic characteristics are sensitive to extreme temperatures will help scoping appropriate adaptation options.     

鲁西南木本植物生长季及物候期持续日数对气候变暖的响应

以1981-2010年中国鲁西南地区的植物为研究对象,采用统计分析法研究7种木本植物生长季与物候期持续日数对气候变暖的响应规律。结果表明：1981-2010年中国鲁西南地区气温呈极显著上升趋势（p<0.01）,随着气候变暖,木本植物春季物候期间隔缩短,秋季物候期间隔延长,全生长季延长,且全生长季变化趋势比各物候持续期变化趋势明显;展叶持续期主要与上月、当月和持续月平均气温呈负相关,其中梧桐展叶持续期与当月平均气温呈极显著负相关（p<0.01）;旱柳和刺槐开花持续期与持续月平均气温呈显著正相关（p<0.05）;叶变色持续期和落叶持续期与上月、当月、结束月和持续月平均气温呈正相关,其中旱柳与平均气温达到显著正相关（p<0.05）。木本植物全生长季与气温呈正相关,其中旱柳生长季变化对气候变暖的响应最敏感,其次是榆树、梧桐和楝树生长季变化对气候变暖的响应较敏感;随着年平均气温每升高1 ℃,植物生长季延长3.0-20.0 d;年平均最高气温每升高1℃,生长季延长5.0-14.0 d;年平均最低气温每升高1 ℃,生长季延长2.0-18.0 d。     

Identifying thresholds and barriers to adaptation through measuring climate sensitivity and capacity to change in an Australian primary industry

Primary producers, including graziers, crop farmers and commercial fishers are especially vulnerable to climate change because they depend on highly climate-sensitive natural resources. Adaptation to climate change will make a major difference to the severity of the impacts experienced. However, individuals (resource users) can erect sometimes seemingly peculiar barriers to potential adaptation options that need to be addressed if adaptation is to be effective. Our aim was to understand the nature of barriers to change for cattle graziers in the northern Australian rangelands. We conceptualised barriers as adverse reactions where resource users are unlikely to contemplate adaptations that threaten core values or perceptions about themselves. We assumed that resource users that were more sensitive to climate change impacts—or more dependent on the resource—were more proximate to thresholds of coping and thus more likely to erect barriers, especially people with little adaptive capacity. Given that climate sensitivity and adaptive capacity are important components of vulnerability, our approach was to conduct a vulnerability assessment to identify potential but important barriers to change. Data from 240 graziers suggest that graziers in northern Australia might be especially vulnerable to climate change because their identity, place attachment, low employability, weak networks and dependents can make them sensitive to change, and their sensitivity can be compounded by a low adaptive capacity. We argue that greater attention needs to be placed on the social context of climate change impacts and on the processes shaping vulnerability and adaptation, especially at the scale of the individual.     

Moisture transport from the Atlantic to the Pacific basin and its response to North Atlantic cooling and global warming

Atmospheric moisture transport from the Atlantic to the Pacific basin plays an important role in regulating North Atlantic salinity and thus the strength of the thermohaline circulation. Potential changes in the strength of this moisture transport are investigated for two different climate-change scenarios: North Atlantic cooling representative of Heinrich events, and increased greenhouse gas (GHG) forcing. The effect of North Atlantic cooling is studied using a coupled regional model with comparatively high resolution that successfully simulates Central American gap winds and other important aspects of the region. Cooler North Atlantic sea surface temperature (SST) in this model leads to a regional decrease of atmospheric moisture but also to an increase in wind speed across Central America via an anomalous pressure gradient. The latter effect dominates, resulting in a 0.13 Sv (1 Sv = 10⁶ m³ s^?1) increase in overall moisture transport to the Pacific basin. In fresh water forcing simulations with four different general circulation models, the wind speed effect is also present but not strong enough to completely offset the effect of moisture decrease except in one model. The influence of GHG forcing is studied using simulations from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change archive. In these simulations atmospheric moisture increases globally, resulting in an increase of moisture transport by 0.25 Sv from the Atlantic to Pacific. Thus, in both scenarios, moisture transport changes act to stabilize the thermohaline circulation. The notion that the Andes effectively block moisture transport from the Atlantic to the Pacific basin is not supported by the simulations and atmospheric reanalyses examined here. This indicates that such a blocking effect does not exist or else that higher resolution is needed to adequately represent the steep orography of the Andes.     

未来极端降水对气候平均变暖敏感性的蒙特卡罗模拟试验

利用Weibull分布拟合逐日降水的原始分布模式,并基于统计降尺度和蒙特卡罗随机模拟方法,对中国东部区域各站逐日极端降水量在未来气候变暖条件下的响应特征进行统计数值试验.结果表明,在全球变暖背景下,区域平均温度的改变即可导致区域极端降水概率分布特征的变动.从两个典型代表区域的预估结果中可见,长江中下游南部平均降水量对平均温度升高有正响应,模拟得到的区域极端降水概率分布曲线有明显的向右平移,导致大量级的极端降水的再现期缩短即概率增大.山东及渤海湾区域平均降水量对平均温度升高有负响应,模拟得到的区域极端降水概率密度分布尺度参数变小更明显,即方差增大,表现为左右两侧概率密度增加,同样导致大量级的极端降水再现期缩短即概率增大.本文仅考察了气候均值改变条件下,未来区域气候极端值的概率预估的可行性方案.对于未来气候方差的变化并未作试验,但理论上已经证明,未来气候极端值的概率对于气候方差变化的敏感性可能更大.由于目前尚未整卵出考察方差变化的较为完整的实际观测资料,该问题还有待进一步深入研究.     

On the sensitivity of global warming experiments to the parametrisation of sub-grid scale ocean mixing

An ocean general circulation model coupled to an energy-moisture balance atmosphere model is used to investigate the sensitivity of global warming experiments to the parametrisation of sub-grid scale ocean mixing. The climate sensitivity of the coupled model using three different parametrisations of sub-grid scale mixing is 3°C for a doubling of CO₂ (6°C for a quadrupling of CO₂). This suggests that the ocean has only a weak feedback on global mean surface air temperature although significant regional differences, notably at high latitudes, exist with different sub-grid scale parametrisations. In the experiment using the Gent and McWilliams parametrisation for mixing associated with mesoscale eddies, an enhancement of the surface response in the Southern Ocean is found. This enhancement is largely due to the existence of more realistic sea-ice in the climatological control integration and the subsequent enhanced ice-albedo feedback upon warming. In accordance with earlier analyses, the Gent and McWilliams scheme decreases the global efficiency of ocean heat uptake. During the transient phase of all experiments, the North Atlantic overturning initially weakened but ultimately recovered, surpassing its former strength. This suggests that in the region around the North Atlantic the ocean acts as a negative feedback on local warming during the transient phase but a positive feedback at equilibrium. During the transient phase of the experiments with a more sophisticated and realistic parametrisation of sub-grid scale mixing, warmed Atlantic water was found to penetrate at depth into the Arctic, consistent with recent observations in the region. Received: 14 October 1998 / Accepted: 27 April 1999     

全球变暖减缓背景下欧亚秋冬温度变化特征和原因

采用气候序列变化趋势诊断和一元线性回归等分析法,研究和讨论了2000-2012年和1976-1999年两种年代际背景下全球陆地不同区域的年平均地表温度的变化特征。发现欧亚大陆中高纬度地区是对全球变暖减缓贡献最大的区域。且该地区在2000年以来秋季年代际增温,而冬季年代际降温。从同期大气环流的配置来看,在对流层低层,秋季西伯利亚高气压年代际减弱,而冬季西伯利亚高气压年代际增强。在对流层中高层,秋季从西欧至东北亚为"高-低-高"的高度场异常分布,纬向环流加强,经向环流减弱,而冬季极地与贝加尔湖地区的高度场呈偶极型分布,东亚大槽加深,经向环流加强。进一步研究发现,超前一个季节的喀拉海附近的海冰与欧亚中高纬度秋冬两季温度的年代际变率有着密切的联系。一方面,夏季(秋季)海冰减少影响秋季(冬季)中高纬度大气环流;另一方面,夏季(秋季)海冰减少,使得秋季(冬季)从北极至中高纬度大陆的对流层低层水汽含量增加(减少),大气逆辐射增强(减弱)导致秋季(冬季)增温(降温)。     

Sensitivity of global warming to the pattern of tropical ocean warming

The current generations of climate models are in substantial disagreement as to the projected patterns of sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in the Tropics over the next several decades. We show that the spatial patterns of tropical ocean temperature trends have a strong influence on global mean temperature and precipitation and on global mean radiative forcing. We identify the SST patterns with the greatest influence on the global mean climate and find very different, and often opposing, sensitivities to SST changes in the tropical Indian and West Pacific Oceans. Our work stresses the need to reduce climate model biases in these sensitive regions, as they not only affect the regional climates of the nearby densely populated continents, but also have a disproportionately large effect on the global climate.

---

Lags in vegetation response to greenhouse warming

Fossil pollen in sediments documents vegetation responses to climatic changes in the past. Beech (Fagus grandifolia), with animal-dispersed seeds, moved across Lake Michigan or around its southern margin, becoming established in Wisconsin about 1000 years after populations were established in Michigan. Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), with wind-dispersed seeds, colonized a 50,000 km² area in northern Michigan between 6000 and 5000 years ago. These tree species extended ranges northward at average rates of 20–25 km per century. To track climatic changes in the future, caused by the greenhouse effect, however, their range limit would need to move northward 100 km per °C warming, or about 300 km per century, an order of magnitude faster than range extension in the past. Yet range extension in the future would be less efficient than in the past, because advance disjunct colonies have been extirpated by human disturbance, and because the seed source is reduced due to reductions in tree populations following logging. Many species of trees may not be able to disperse rapidly enough to track climate, and woodland herbs, which have less efficient seed dispersal mechanisms, may be in danger of extinction.     

Adaptation of agriculture to warming in Northeast China

Northeast China comprises Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning Provinces, with a total area of 790,000 km² and a population of about 107 million. Northeast China, located at relatively high latitudes, (from about 39 to 53°N), is one of the coolest regions in China with long and cold winters, a short growth season and frequent cold extreme events, which are adverse to agricultural production. However, since the 1980s, Northeast China has experienced significant warming with annual mean temperature rising by 1.0–2.5°C. The increase of accumulated temperature, the extension of the growth period and the recession of summer cool disasters all contributed to improved conditions for crop growth and led to a northward movement of the agricultural climate zone. In addition, the adaptation to warming including the adjustment of crop composition and structure as well as the adoption of advanced technologies greatly facilitated agricultural development. As a result, total grain production in the region increased rapidly. This paper describes in detail climate change, adaptation measures and final agricultural outcomes, alongside with economic and political factors and the role of different political actors in Northeast China.     

Climate changes in the Lhasa River basin,Tibetan Plateau: irrigation-induced cooling along with a warming trend

Characterizing the response of temperature variables to agricultural irrigation is expected to be an important challenge for understanding the full impact of water management on regional climate change. In this paper, the trend analysis and abrupt change test were applied to detect the global warming effect. Then, the quantitative irrigation-induced cooling effects on temperature variables between April and August from 1970 to 2010 in the Lhasa River basin were estimated using historical time series of gridded meteorological records and a map of the area equipped for irrigation. Trends in the maximum temperature (Tmax) were statistically positive, and a significant increasing trend for the minimum temperature (Tmin) was detected at the 0.01 and 0.05 confidence levels. No abrupt changing point of warming was detected in the time series for Tmax. The abrupt changes in Tmin in the irrigation concentration period took place in 1995, 5 years later than the corresponding change in April. Affected by global warming, the increase in temperature was the largest in July and August, when the irrigation-induced cooling effect was also the most significant. The irrigation-induced cooling effect for Tmax and Tmin in April–August (except for June) ranged from − 0.017 to − 0.009 °C/decade and from − 0.011 to − 0.001 °C/decade, respectively, and the cooling effect for diurnal temperature range (DTR) ranged from − 0.011 to 0 °C/decade. The cooling effect on temperature reached above 0.01 °C in July and August, but for the growing seasons, the effect was weak, only 0.001 °C. The Tmax and Tmin trends during the whole growing seasons decreased by both 0.002 °C/decade, respectively, with a 10% increase in irrigation land proportion. Even in July and August, the trends were expected to decrease by about 0.005 °C/decade with a 10% increase in irrigation land proportion. The irrigation-induced cooling effect could partially slow global warming.     

梅雨特征量对气候变暖的响应

选取江淮流域梅汛期降水变率一致的34个代表站,划分了1960—1977年(偏冷期)、1978—1996年(过渡期)和1997—2011年(偏暖期)这3个时期,采用统计分析与合成分析的方法,研究了梅雨特征量对气候变暖的响应情况。结果表明:3个时期入梅时间、出梅时间、梅期长度和梅期降水量分别呈现晚-早-晚、早-晚-略晚、短-长-短和少-多-少的变化特点。梅雨强度和梅期雨日数占梅期长度百分比呈现递减趋势。梅期暴雨日数占梅期雨日数百分比、梅期无雨日数占梅期长度百分比和梅期最长连续无雨日数占梅期长度百分比呈现递增趋势。研究了气候变暖后500 hPa大气环流的变化与入梅时间、出梅时间、梅期长度和梅期降水量变化的联系。     

CFCs及其代用品的全球增温潜能

本文用一维辐射·对流模式系统地研究了现有含氯氟烃气体(CFCs)及其可能代用品的辐射强迫、比地面增温效应和全球增温潜能(GWP).结果发现:大多数提议的代用品的GWP值明显小于现有的CFCs.这主要归因于:(1)它们所产生的辐射强迫和比地面增温效应较小,一般只有CFCs的50％—60％;(2)其大气寿命比CFCs短得多.     

Sensitivity of boreal forests to possible climatic warming

General circulation models indicate substantial CO₂ warming in high latitudes. In these regions, which include the boreal coniferous forests, the activity of ecosystems is largely controlled by temperature. The effective temperature sum (degree-days) is used in this study for describing the regional variability in the productivity of boreal ecosystems. Although the concept is simple, it takes into account two basic factors: the length of the growing season and the day-to-day level of activity of the ecosystem. This study examines which areas in the boreal coniferous forests would be most sensitive to a possible climatic warming. The data used in the study are for Finland.A regression is estimated between regional forest growth rate and effective temperature sum. A climatic warming is assumed and the corresponding growth response is calculated, using the regression, for northern and southern areas, and for maritime and continental areas. The response is expressed in terms of (i) absolute increase in growth (grams per m² per year) and (ii) relative increase in growth. The results indicate that a given climatic warming would yield the greatest absolute increase in growth in warm (i.e. southern) and maritime parts of the biome. In terms of the relative growth response the sensitivity would increase northward and toward maritime areas.