Arid Zone Research ›› 2019, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (2): 459-466.

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Dynamic State of Desert Vegetation Productivity and Its Relationship with Water-Heat Factors in China

LIU Xue-jia1, DONG Lu2, ZHAO Jie3, DU Zi-qiang2, ZHANG Hong1   

  1. 1.  College of Environment and Resources,Shanxi University,Taiyuan 030006,Shanxi,China; 2.  Institute of Loess Plateau Research,Shanxi University,Taiyuan 030006,Shanxi,China; 3.  College of Natural Resources and Environment,Northwest A&F University,Yangling 712100,Shaanxi,China

  • Received:2018-06-04 Revised:2018-10-08 Online:2019-03-15 Published:2019-03-12

Abstract:

In this paper, the CASA (Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach) model was used to estimate the NPP of desert vegetation in its growing season from 1982 to 2015, and the linear regression and GIS spatial analysis methods were applied to analyze the spatiotemporal variation of NPP. The purposes of the study were to explore the net primary productivity of desert vegetation and its correlation with water-heat factors in China’s arid regions in recent three decades. The sliding correlation coefficient was used to analyze the relationship between NPP and water-heat factors. The results showed that:    The average NPP per unit area was 42 g·m-2·a-1, and the overall level of NPP was low. Spatially, it was higher in the northwestern and eastern margins but lower in the central, southern and mid-eastern regions;   The average annual NPP of desert vegetation was 5.78×1013 g·a-1. For the interannual variation, the linear change rate of the total NPP of desert vegetation was 1.64×1012 g·(10a)-1 (P=0.054) in China from 1982 to 2015, desert vegetation was generally improved, but the total change trend was staged. The total amount of NPP showed an extremely significant growth trend (1.25×1012 g·a-1, P<0.01) during the period of 1982-1993, it was significantly decreased from 1993 to 2006 (-0.64×1012 g·a-1, P<0.01), and increased slowly during the period of 2006-2015 (0.17×1012 g·a-1, P>0.05). From the perspective of spatial change, 47.65% NPP of desert vegetation was in an increase trend, which was mainly distributed in the Alashan Plateau, north piedmont of the Tianshan Mountains, western marginal zone of the Tarim Basin, southeastern marginal zone of the Qaidam Basin, south piedmont of the Altun Mountains, and Kunlun Mountains;   From the perspective of the change of correlation between desert vegetation NPP and climatic factors with the time, the sliding correlation coefficient between NPP and temperature was negatively correlated with the time, but positively correlated between NPP and precipitation and dryness. There was no significant variation of sliding correlation coefficient between NPP and total solar radiation with the time. In general, the correlation between desert vegetation and water-heat factors was further weakened during the study period, that is, the desert vegetation NPP was increasingly insensitive to the change of climatic factors. 

Key words: net primary productivity, desert vegetation, climatic factor, sliding correlation, hydrothermic factor