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: ① 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; ② 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; ③ 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.