Arid Zone Research ›› 2021, Vol. 38 ›› Issue (5): 1318-1326.doi: 10.13866/j.azr.2021.05.13

• Applied Climate • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Drought-wet variation of Changling Mountain in Southeast of Tengger Desert since 1872

QI Jing1,2(),JIAO Liang1,2(),CHEN Ke1,2,QI Changliang1,2,XUE Ruhong1,2   

  1. 1. College of Geography and Environmental Science, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, Gansu, China
    2. Key Laboratory of Resource Environment and Sustainable Development of Oasis, Gansu Province, Lanzhou 730070, Gansu, China
  • Received:2021-04-23 Revised:2021-07-16 Online:2021-09-15 Published:2021-09-24
  • Contact: Liang JIAO E-mail:2532219116@qq.com;jiaoliang@nwnu.edu.cn

Abstract:

The Changling Mountain in the Southeast of Tengger Desert, which is sensitive to climate change was selected as the study area. The correlation between PDSI (Palmer Drought Index) from May to July and tree-ring width chronology were strongthe (r=0.621, P<0.001). Drought was the main controlling climatic factor of the growth of dominant species Picea crassifolia in Changling Mountain through the analysis of correlation between tree-ring width chronologies and climate factors. By setting up a linear regression equation of tree-ring width chronology and PDSI, the drought-wet variation in the past 146 years was reconstructed. At the same time, there were four dry periods in all (1882-1894, 1915-1936, 1966-1978, and 1989-2015) in the past 146 years based on the reconstructed PDSI interannual variation. The period analysis results showed that the reconstructed sequence had periods of around 2 a, 2.6-3 a and 11 a, indicating that the driving factors of drought-wet variation were El Nino Southern Oscillation and sunspot activity in the study area. The research results provide a scientific basis for discussing the drought and wet variation rules in Northwest China and predicting changes in the subalpine forest ecosystem under the condition future climate change.

Key words: Picea crassifolia, PDSI, drought-wet historical variation, tree-ring width chronology, Changling Mountain, Tengger Desert