Spatio-temporal patterns of precipitation-use efficiency of vegetation and their controlling factors in Inner Mongolia

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1258.2014.00001

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims Precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) is an important indicator for understanding how net primary productivity (NPP) in arid and semi-arid ecosystems responds to variations in precipitation. The objective of this study was to determine the spatio-temporal patterns and responses to climatic and biotic factors of PUEat a regional scale.
Methods CASA (Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach) model was used to simulate NPP in Inner Mongolia during 2001-2010 based on the MOD13A1 data and spatially interpolated meteorological data. PUEwas calculated as the ratio of NPPto annual precipitation. The effects of fraction of vegetation cover (FVC) and leaf area index (LAI) on PUE were also investigated. The FVCwas calculated with the dimidiate pixel model based on the MOD13A1 data. LAIdata were acquired as the MODIS LAI products.
Important findings The multi-year averagePUE of Inner Mongolia was 0.94 g C·m^-2·mm^-1, exhibiting apparent increasing trend at an average rate of 0.55 g C·m^-2·mm^-1 per 10° with changes in longitude from 105° E to 120° E. The spatial patterns ofPUEshowed significant differences among vegetation types. The PUE was highest in shrubs and lowest in desert. The spatial distribution of PUEresponded differentially to climatic factors in different precipitation ranges. Where precipitation was less than 75 mm, PUEshowed a significant negative correlation with temperature and precipitation (R² = 0.226, p < 0.05). In the area with precipitation of 175-300 mm, PUE exhibited a significant positive correlation with temperature and precipitation (R² = 0.878, p < 0.001), and increased significantly ( R² = 0.94, p < 0.001) with precipitation at a rate of 0.57 g C·m ^-2·mm^-1 per 100 mm. In the area where precipitation was higher than 475 mm, PUE increased spatially with increasing temperature and decreasing precipitation. In this precipitation range, the effect of temperature on spatial variance of PUEwas 8.61 times of that of precipitation. The inter-annual variation of PUEalso had different responses to climatic factors in different precipitation ranges. Where precipitation was less than 220 mm, PUE displayed a positive correlation with precipitation and a negative correlation with temperature. In the area with precipitation of 220-310 mm, precipitation had a much greater effect than temperature on the inter-annual variations of PUE.Where precipitation was higher than 310 mm, PUE showed positive correlations with both temperature and precipitation. In relatively humid parts of this precipitation range, however, thePUE showed a poor correlation with precipitation, but a stronger correlation with temperature. FVCwas linearly related with the spatial distribution (R² = 0.73, p < 0.001) and inter-annual variations of PUE(R² = 0.11, p < 0.001). LAIshowed a linear relationship with the inter-annual variations of PUE(R² = 0.42, p < 0.001) .In the area where LAIwas less than 3.15 and with non-forest vegetation, LAI was linearly related with the spatial distribution of the PUE.

Key words: CASA (Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach) model, fraction of vegetation cover (FVC), leaf area index (LAI), precipitation-use efficiency (PUE)

MU Shao-Jie, ZHOU Ke-Xin, QI Yang, CHEN Yi-Zhao, FANG Ying, ZHU Chao. Spatio-temporal patterns of precipitation-use efficiency of vegetation and their controlling factors in Inner Mongolia[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2014, 38(1): 1-16.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.3724/SP.J.1258.2014.00001

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Figures/Tables 14

Fig. 1 Maps of land cover types in Inner Mongolia (A) and the spatial distribution of meteorological stations and sampling sites (B). C, cropland; D, desert; DBF, deciduous broad-leaved forest; DNF, deciduous needle-leaf forest; DS, desert steppe; ENF, evergreen needle-leaf forest; MF, mixed needle-leaf and broad-leaved forest; MS, meadow steppe; S, shrub; TS, typical steppe; U, urban land; W, water body.

Fig. 2 Comparisons between simulated and observed net primary productivity (NPP) in Inner Mongolia grassland.

Fig. 3 Spatial patterns of annual precipitation (A), annual mean air temperature (B), net primary productivity (NPP) (C) and precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) (D) of the vegetation in Inner Mongolia during 2001-2010.

Fig. 4 Variations of precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) with longitude in Inner Mongolia during 2001-2010.

Fig. 5 Precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) in Inner Mongolia during 2001-2010 for different vegetation types (mean ± SE). C, cropland; D, desert; DBF, deciduous broad-leaved forest; DNF, deciduous needle-leaf forest; DS, desert steppe; ENF, evergreen needle-leaf forest; MF, mixed needle-leaf and broad-leaved forest; MS, meadow steppe; S, shrub; TS, typical steppe. The numbers above the error bars are the PUE for different vegetation types, and the numbers in the brackets are the mean PUE for forest and grassland, respectively. The letters above the error bars indicate significant difference (p < 0.05).

Fig. 6 Pattern of changes in precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) with precipitation (A) and the spatial distribution of areas with different precipitation ranges (B) in Inner Mongolia.

Fig. 7 Patterns of changes in precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) with precipitation by areas with different temperatures in Inner Mongolia. A, Low temperature area. B, Moderate temperature area. C, High temperature area.

Fig. 8 Inter-annual changes of precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) of vegetation in Inner Mongolia during 2001-2010.

Fig. 9 Responses of precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) of vegetation to annual precipitation (A) and annual mean air temperature change (B) in Inner Mongolia during 2001-2010.

Fig. 10 Patterns of changes with precipitation in the correlation coefficient between inter-annual variations of precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) and precipitation (rPUE-P) and the correlation coefficient between inter-annual variations of PUE and air temperature (rPUE-T) in Inner Mongolia during 2001-2010.

Fig. 11 A conceptual model describing the relationship between spatial distribution of precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) and precipitation of vegetation in Inner Mongolia.

Table 1 Correlations among climatic factors and biological indices

	气温 Air temperature	植被覆盖度 FVC	叶面积指数 LAI
降水量 Precipitation	-0.594	0.875	0.725
气温 Air temperature		-0.664	-0.834
植被覆盖度 FVC			0.853

Fig. 12 Correlations of spatial distribution of precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) with fraction of vegetation cover (FVC) (A) and leaf area index (LAI) (B) (mean ± SD).

Fig. 13 Correlations of inter-annual variations in precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) with fraction of vegetation cover (FVC) (A) and leaf area index (LAI) (B) (mean ± SD).

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