Arid Zone Research ›› 2022, Vol. 39 ›› Issue (5): 1333-1344.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2022.05.01

• Weather and Climate • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Temporal and spatial variations of precipitation concentration degree and precipitation concentration period on the Loess Plateau from 1960 to 2019

AN Bin1,2(),XIAO Weiwei1,2,ZHU Ni1,2,LIU Yufeng3   

  1. 1. School of Tourism & Environment/Academician and Expert Workstation of Shanxi Province, Ankang University, Ankang 725000, Shaanxi, China
    2. Engineering Technology Research Center for Water Resource Protection and Utilization of Hanjiang River, Ankang 725000, Shaanxi, China
    3. College of Resource & Environment and Historical Culture, Xianyang Normal University, Xianyang 712000, Shaanxi, China
  • Received:2022-04-11 Revised:2022-05-22 Online:2022-09-15 Published:2022-10-25

Abstract:

With global warming as a foundation, it is significantly important that the law of precipitation concentration degree (PCD) and precipitation concentration period (PCP) changes for the Loess Plateau are clarified for the conservation of regional soil and water and utilization of water resources. Based on the daily precipitation observation data compiled from 55 meteorological stations on the Loess Plateau from 1960 to 2019, the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of PCD and PCP on the Loess Plateau in the last 60 years, along with before and after the project of returning farmland to forest (grassland), were analyzed using trend analysis, spatial interpolation, and correlation analysis. The average annual precipitation, PCD, and PCI on the Loess Plateau had a decreasing (downward) trend from 1960 to 2019 according to the results. In addition, the PCD gradually weakened, and the PCI shifted to an earlier date. The spatial distribution characteristics of annual precipitation, PCD and PCI on the Loess Plateau were complex. Annual precipitation and the PCD decreased from southeast to northwest, while PCP gradually decreased from east to west. However, the difference was not significant. The variation trend of the PCP had an alternating distribution law of “decline rise decline” from northeast to southwest. Overall, the PCP had a trend of delaying in the east and advancing in the west. After the project of returning farmland to forest (grassland) was completed, the average annual precipitation increased, the PCD weakened, and the PCP was postponed. The precipitation on the Loess Plateau is distributed alternately from east to west, and its change trend is mainly more. The distribution law of PCD is “low high low” from northeast to southwest, and its variation trend is mainly low. The PCP is mainly on the high side, and the range of the high side is more in the south than the north and more in the east than the west, and the trend change is mainly on the high side. The PCD, PCI, and annual precipitation in the Loess Plateau are mainly positively correlated.

Key words: precipitation concentration degree (PCD), precipitation concentration period (PCP), returning farmland to forest (grassland) project, ecological zoning, Loess Plateau