内蒙古温带草原土壤微生物生物量碳的空间分布及驱动因素

【目的】探索内蒙古温带草原土壤微生物生物量碳的空间分布特征以及驱动因素。【方法】在内蒙古自治区境内沿着年均温、年降水梯度选择17个草原样点,在土壤剖面上分0-10 cm、10-20 cm、20-40 cm、40-60 cm、60-100 cm五层,分别采集土壤样品,测定土壤微生物生物量碳以及主要的环境和生物影响因子,分析不同草地类型以及不同土壤深度土壤微生物生物量碳的差异,探索非生物因子和生物因子对土壤微生物量碳的影响。【结果】草甸草原土壤微生物量碳最高,典型草原次之,荒漠草原最低。在0-10 cm土壤中,草地类型间的微生物量碳变异系数高于草甸草原和典型草原,低于荒漠草原;在0-100 cm土壤中,草甸草原样点间的微生物量碳的变异系数低于典型草原和荒漠草原。土壤微生物量碳与年降水、土壤含水量、粘粒含量、土壤养分元素、地上生物量、地下生物量呈显著正相关,与年均温和土壤p H值呈显著负相关关系。随着土壤深度的增加,土壤微生物量碳显著减少,非生物因子与微生物量碳的相关性减弱,草地类型间以及同一草地类型不同样点间的变异系数增加。0-10 cm土壤微生物量碳与10-40 cm土壤微生物量碳的相关指数高于0.5,与40-100 cm的土壤微生物量碳的相关指数小于0.3。【结论】内蒙古温带草原土壤微生物量碳的垂直分布呈现一定的规律性,且非生物因子对微生物量碳的影响也呈现垂直减弱的规律。     

宁夏典型温性天然草地固碳特征

本文研究了宁夏草甸草原、温性草原、草原化荒漠和荒漠草原4种温性典型天然草地生态系统碳储量及其构成特征。结果表明: 草甸草原、温性草原、草原化荒漠和荒漠草原植被总生物量分别为1178.91、481.22、292.80和209.09 g·m^-2。其中,地下根系生物量是构成草甸草原和温性草原植被总生物量的主体,分别占总生物量的73.1%和56.6%;地上植被生物量是构成草原化荒漠和荒漠草原植被总生物量的主体,分别占总生物量的50.3%和47.6%;枯落物生物量占比较低,分别仅为8.5%、8.0%、6.4%和16.2%。草甸草原、温性草原、草原化荒漠和荒漠草原4种天然草地生态系统碳储量分别为13.90、5.94、2.69和2.37 kg·m^-2,其中植被碳储量分别为470.26、192.23、117.17、83.36 g·m^-2,0～40 cm土层土壤有机碳储量分别为13.43、5.75、2.58和2.29 kg·m^-2,土壤有机碳储量是构成宁夏典型天然草地碳储量的主体,分别占到了生态系统碳储量的96.6%、96.8%、95.6%和96.5%。4种草地类型植被总生物量、植被碳储量、土壤有机碳储量和生态系统碳储量均表现为:草甸草原＞温性草原＞草原化荒漠＞荒漠草原。     

人类活动对锡林郭勒地区主要草原土壤有机碳分布的影响

 内蒙古锡林郭勒地区3类主要草原土壤有机碳含量呈现规律性变化,其顺序为：黑钙土>栗钙土>棕钙土。同时,有机碳沿土壤剖面自上而下逐渐降低,且主要分布在0～15cm处。草甸草原植被下的黑钙土不同层次有机碳含量因农垦分别损失34％～38％,损失主要发生在0～35cm处。分析结果表明,放牧强度在短时期内对典型草原植被下的栗钙土有机碳含量没有显著影响。     

荒漠草原与典型草原NPP、碳积累对不同降雨年份和利用方式的响应

不同草原利用方式正在影响着内蒙古的草原生态系统,而且在未来降水空间格局变化的背景下,它们共同决定了生态系统植被类型、净初级生产力(NPP)和生态系统碳积累。选取内蒙古中部两个重要的草地类型:荒漠草原和典型草原,研究不同草原利用方式(围栏禁牧、划区轮牧、割草、自由放牧)植物群落在降雨量不同的两个生长季节地上(ANPP)、地下净初级生产力(BNPP)的变化,同时也评估了植物群落的碳积累,研究结果表明:1)在降雨量亏缺年份,与围封相比,荒漠草原自由放牧区ANPP、BNPP及碳积累分别下降了57.1%、51.7%和56.0%,而典型草原自由放牧区分别下降了18.4%、25.1%和17.9%。2)在降雨量充足年份,与围封相比,荒漠草原划区轮牧区ANPP、BNPP以及碳积累分别增加了18.2%、9.8%和21.9%,而典型草原各处理下围封禁牧区ANPP仍是最高;3)两种草地类型下,降雨量对自由放牧的调控作用高于其它草地利用方式;4)荒漠草原ANPP在丰雨年是欠雨年的2倍,而典型草原仅增加了79.0%,降雨量对荒漠草原生产力的季节调控作用远高于典型草原。在未来全球气候变暖和降水格局变化的情况下,荒漠草原降雨量是影响荒漠植物群落NPP和碳积累的主导因子。     

荒漠草原人工灌丛化对蒸散发及其组分的影响——以盐池县为例

我国西北防沙治沙工程中大量的种植中间锦鸡儿(Caragana intermedia)会导致荒漠草原发生灌丛化现象,研究人工灌丛化对荒漠草原蒸散发的影响,不仅能够揭示半干旱区人为活动对生态系统水循环的影响机理,还可以指导区域生态治理实践。以宁夏盐池县荒漠草原为例,基于植被的生理生态参数和荒漠草原水热条件,采用生物地球化学模型(Biome Bio-Geochemical Cycles,Biome-BGC)和地球呼吸系统模拟模型(Breathing Earth System Simulator,BESS)结合的方法,模拟荒漠草原生态系统人工灌丛引入前后蒸散发及其组分的变化,定量研究荒漠草原人工灌丛化对区域生态水文循环中蒸散发的影响。结果表明,人工灌丛的引入使植被结构及特征发生了变化,叶面积指数(Leaf Area Index,LAI)年最大值由0.20增加为0.67,改变了植被年内与年际变化特征。荒漠草原人工灌丛化后,生态系统年均蒸散发由251.74 mm增加到了281.42 mm;人工灌丛化对生长季的蒸散发增强明显,8月蒸散发峰值时,日均蒸散发由1.27 mm/d增加到1.56 mm/d。灌丛化过程使生态系统蒸腾量平均增加了1.35倍,蒸发量增加了1.06倍,改变了生态系统蒸散发的组分结构,导致蒸发比例降低、蒸腾比例增高。由此可知,荒漠草原在防沙治沙和生态治理中大量种植灌木的现象,加大了区域生态系统的蒸散发,并改变了水分耗散结构,从而对生态系统地气水汽交换有较大影响,研究结论对荒漠草原生态治理及未来的植被重建有一定的借鉴意义。     

Primary Productivity and Precipitation-Use Efficiency in Temperate Grassland in the Loess Plateau of China

Clarifying spatial variations in aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and precipitation-use efficiency (PUE) of grasslands is critical for effective prediction of the response of terrestrial ecosystem carbon and water cycle to future climate change. Though the combination use of remote sensing products and in situ ANPP measurements, we quantified the effects of climatic [mean annual precipitation (MAP) and precipitation seasonal distribution (PSD)], biotic [leaf area index (LAI)] and abiotic [slope gradient, aspect, soil water storage (SWS) and other soil physical properties] factors on the spatial variations in ANPP and PUE across different grassland types (i.e., meadow steppe, typical steppe and desert steppe) in the Loess Plateau. Based on the study, ANPP increased exponentially with MAP for the entire temperate grassland; suggesting that PUE increased with increasing MAP. Also PSD had a significant effect on ANPP and PUE; where more even PSD favored higher ANPP and PUE. Then MAP, more than PSD, explained spatial variations in typical steppe and desert steppe. However, PSD was the dominant driving factor of spatial variations in ANPP of meadow steppe. This suggested that in terms of spatial variations in ANPP of meadow steppe, change in PSD due to climate change was more important than that in total annual precipitation. LAI explained 78% of spatial PUE in the entire Loess Plateau temperate grassland. As such, LAI was the primary driving factor of spatial variations in PUE. Although the effect of SWS on ANPP and PUE was significant, it was nonetheless less than that of precipitation and vegetation. We therefore concluded that changes in vegetation structure and consequently in LAI and/or altered pattern of seasonal distribution of rainfall due to global climate change could significantly influence ecosystem carbon and water cycle in temperate grasslands.     

Improving the light use efficiency model for simulating terrestrial vegetation gross primary production by the inclusion of diffuse radiation across ecosystems in China

Qualification of gross primary production (GPP) of terrestrial ecosystem over large areas is important in understanding the response of terrestrial ecosystem to global climate change. While light use efficiency (LUE) models were widely used in regional carbon budget estimates, few studies consider the effect of diffuse radiation on LUE caused by clouds using a big leaf model. Here we developed a cloudiness index light use efficiency (CI-LUE) model based on the MOD17 model algorithm to estimate the terrestrial ecosystem GPP, in which the base light use efficiency encompassed the cloudiness index, maximum LUE and clear sky LUE. GPP measured at seven sites from 2003 to 2007 in China were used to calibrate and validate the CI-LUE model. The results showed that at forest sites and cropland site the CI-LUE model outperformed the Vegetation Photosynthesis Model (VPM), Terrestrial Ecosystem Carbon flux model (TEC), MOD17 model algorithm driven by in situ meteorological measurements and MODIS GPP products, especially the R² of simulated GPP against flux measurements at Dinghushan forest site increased from 0.17 (MODIS GPP products) to 0.61 (CI-LUE). Instead, VPM model had the best agreement with GPP measurements followed by CI-LUE model and lastly TEC model at two grassland sites. Meanwhile, GPP calculated by CI-LUE model has less underestimation under cloudy skies in comparison with MOD17 model. This study demonstrated the potential of the CI-LUE model in improving GPP simulations resulting from the inclusion of diffuse radiation in regulating the base light use efficiency and maximum light use efficiency.     

中国北方草地植物群落季节生长格局模拟

中国北方草地横跨干旱、半干旱及亚湿润干旱气候区,水分是限制中国北方草地植物群落生产力的主要气候因子.采用基于水分平衡过程的、简单的植物群落模型,利用460个气象站40年气象数据的月平均值,模拟中国北方7种草地类型的季节及年生长、叶片投影盖度(FPC)、蒸发系数(k)及净第一性生产力(NPP).野外观测数据对模型的验证显示模拟结果与观测值相符较好.温性草地自东向西,青藏高原自东南向西北,植物群落的k、NPP与FPC呈递减趋势,显示了中国温性草地自东向西,青藏高原自东南向西北逐渐干旱的水分梯度;其中高寒草甸的3个模拟参数值均最高,高寒草原FPC次于高寒草甸,而NPP却与温性典型草原相近,温性典型荒漠的3个参数最低.高寒草甸、高寒草原、温性草甸草原、温性典型草原、温性荒漠草原、温性草原化荒漠和温性典型荒漠等7种类型草地的畜群承载力约为每公顷5.2、2.3、3.6、2.1、1.0、0.6和0.2只羊单位,区域最适恢复植被盖度分别以93%、79% 、56%、50%、44%、38%和37%为宜.     

呼伦贝尔草原MODIS NDVI的时空变化特征

基于2000—2008年的MODIS NDVI数据,研究了呼伦贝尔草原4种主要草原类型（低地草甸、温性草原、温性草甸草原和山地草甸）年NDVI_max的空间变化趋势、波动程度、出现时间.结果表明：2000—2008年,呼伦贝尔草原植被趋于恶化的形势较严峻;研究区类草原NDVI_max平均值的年际波动明显,特别是温性草原NDVI_max平均值的年际最大波动接近50%;在各等级草原面积的变化上,尽管NDVI_max在(0.4,1］之间的草原平均面积约占研究区总面积的91%,说明呼伦贝尔草原植被状况总体较好,但NDVI_max值在(0.2,0.4]、(0.8,1］之间的草原面积趋于减少,NDVI_max在(0.4,0.8］之间的中高盖度草原面积趋于增加,总体形势不容乐观;66.25%的研究区草原植被状况趋于恶化,33.75%趋于好转;62.85%研究区的NDVI_max出现在每年第193天至第225天（即7月中旬至8月初）,该时期是呼伦贝尔草原植被最重要的生长季节.     

Allocation of mass and stability of soil aggregate in different types of Nei Mongol grasslands

Aims Soil aggregate is an important component of soil structure, playing an important role in the physical and biological protection mechanism of soil organic carbon (SOC) through isolating SOC from microorganisms. As far as we know, there are few studies, however, on exploring the spatial distribution of soil aggregate at the regional scale. Our objective was to investigate the mass allocation and stability of soil aggregate in different types of Nei Mongol grasslands. Methods We have established 78 sites with a size of 10 m × 10 m across the transect of Nei Mongol grasslands and collected soil samples from different soil depth up to 1 m. We used wet sieving method to separate different sizes of aggregate partition and used mean mass diameter (MMD) and geometric mean diameter (GMD) in order to evaluate the stability of soil aggregate. The two-way ANOVA was used to test the difference of mass percentage and stability of soil aggregate in different grassland types and soil depths. In addition, a linear regression analysis was used to analyze the correlations of mass percentage and stability of soil aggregate with both mean annual precipitation (MAP) and mean annual temperature (MAT). Important findings The results showed that the mass percentages of soil aggregate were highest in meadow steppe, while almost equal in typical steppe and desert steppe. However, no significant patterns were found along the soil depth. The mass percentage of soil aggregate fractions were positively correlated with MAP in all soil layers, but negatively correlated with MAT except the layer of 70-100 cm. For the stability of soil aggregate, at 0-10 and 10-20 cm, MMD and GMD of meadow steppe were significantly greater than those of typical and desert steppes, whereas no significant differences among three grassland types were found for other soil layers. Besides, MMD and GMD in meadow steppe and typical steppe gradually decreased along the soil depth.     

Effects of vegetation control on ecosystem water use efficiency within and among four grassland ecosystems in China

Through 2–3-year (2003–2005) continuous eddy covariance measurements of carbon dioxide and water vapor fluxes, we examined the seasonal, inter-annual, and inter-ecosystem variations in the ecosystem-level water use efficiency (WUE, defined as the ratio of gross primary production, GPP, to evapotranspiration, ET) at four Chinese grassland ecosystems in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and North China. Representing the most prevalent grassland types in China, the four ecosystems are an alpine swamp meadow ecosystem, an alpine shrub-meadow ecosystem, an alpine meadow-steppe ecosystem, and a temperate steppe ecosystem, which illustrate a water availability gradient and thus provide us an opportunity to quantify environmental and biological controls on ecosystem WUE at different spatiotemporal scales. Seasonally, WUE tracked closely with GPP at the four ecosystems, being low at the beginning and the end of the growing seasons and high during the active periods of plant growth. Such consistent correspondence between WUE and GPP suggested that photosynthetic processes were the dominant regulator of the seasonal variations in WUE. Further investigation indicated that the regulations were mainly due to the effect of leaf area index (LAI) on carbon assimilation and on the ratio of transpiration to ET ( T /ET). Besides, except for the swamp meadow, LAI also controlled the year-to-year and site-to-site variations in WUE in the same way, resulting in the years or sites with high productivity being accompanied by high WUE. The general good correlation between LAI and ecosystem WUE indicates that it may be possible to predict grassland ecosystem WUE simply with LAI. Our results also imply that climate change-induced shifts in vegetation structure, and consequently LAI may have a significant impact on the relationship between ecosystem carbon and water cycles in grasslands.     

Biomass carbon stocks and their changes in northern China’s grasslands during 1982–2006

Grassland covers approximately one-third of the area of China and plays an important role in the global terrestrial carbon (C) cycle. However, little is known about biomass C stocks and dynamics in these grasslands. During 2001–2005, we conducted five consecutive field sampling campaigns to investigate above-and below-ground biomass for northern China’s grasslands. Using measurements obtained from 341 sampling sites, together with a NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) time series dataset over 1982–2006, we examined changes in biomass C stock during the past 25 years. Our results showed that biomass C stock in northern China’s grasslands was estimated at 557.5 Tg C (1 Tg=10¹² g), with a mean density of 39.5 g C m⁻² for above-ground biomass and 244.6 g C m⁻² for below-ground biomass. An increasing rate of 0.2 Tg C yr⁻¹ has been observed over the past 25 years, but grassland biomass has not experienced a significant change since the late 1980s. Seasonal rainfall (January–July) was the dominant factor driving temporal dynamics in biomass C stock; however, the responses of grassland biomass to climate variables differed among various grassland types. Biomass in arid grasslands (i.e., desert steppe and typical steppe) was significantly associated with precipitation, while biomass in humid grasslands (i.e., alpine meadow) was positively correlated with mean January-July temperatures. These results suggest that different grassland ecosystems in China may show diverse responses to future climate changes.     

Estimating net primary productivity of grasslands from field biomass measurements in temperate northern China

Data on field biomass measurements in temperate grasslands of northern China (141 samples from 74 sites) were obtained from 23 Chinese journals, reports and books. Net primary productivity (NPP) of grasslands was estimated using three algorithms (peak live biomass, peak standing crop and maximum minus minimum live biomass), respectively, based on availability of biomass data in sites. 135 samples which have aboveground biomass (AGB) measurements, have peak AGB ranges from 20 to 2021 g m^–2 (mean = 325.3) and the aboveground NPP (ANPP) ranges from 15 to 1647.1 g m^–2 per year (mean = 295.7). 72 samples which have belowground biomass (BGB) measurements, have peak BGB ranges from 226.5 to 12827.5 g m^–2 (mean = 3116) and the belowground NPP (BNPP) ranges from 15.8 to 12827.5 g m^–2 per year (mean = 2425.6). In total 66 samples have the total NPP (TNPP), ranging from 55.3 to 13347.8 g m^–2 per year (mean = 2980.3). Mean peak biomass and NPP varied from different geographical sampling locations, but they had a general rough regularity in ten grasslands. Meadow, mountain and alpine grasslands had high biomass and NPP (sometimes including saline grassland). Forested steppe, saline grassland and desert had median values. Meadowed and typical steppes had low biomass and NPP (sometimes including desert). The lowest biomass and NPP occurred in deserted steppe and stepped desert. Grassland ANPP has significant positive relationships with annual and summer precipitation as well as summer temperature (all p<0.01). However, grassland BNPP and TNPP have more significant negative relationships with summer temperature (p<0.01) than with annual temperature (p<0.05). The analysis of climate – productivity correlations implied that aboveground productivity is more controlled by rainfall, whereas belowground and total productivity is more influenced by temperature in the temperate grasslands of northern China. The present study might underestimate grassland NPP in northern China due to limitation of biomass measurements. Data on relative long-term aboveground and belowground biomass dynamics, as well as data of standing dead matter, litterfall, decomposition and turnover, are required if grassland NPP is to be more accurately estimated and the role of temperate grasslands in the regional to global carbon cycles is to be fully appreciated. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

黄土高原草地植被碳密度的空间分布特征

草地是世界上分布最广的植被类型之一,作为陆地生态系统的重要组成部分,参与了全球碳源/汇及碳循环过程,在全球气候变化中扮演着重要角色,并对其产生重大影响。以黄土高原草地植被为研究对象,结合国家退耕还林草与封山禁牧工程的实施,对封禁前后的天然草地和退化草地,采用样带多点调查与多年定位测定相结合的方法,分析了黄土高原不同类型草地植物活体、凋落物和根系碳密度分布格局与地带性规律,系统研究了黄土高原不同草地类型退化草地和封禁草地生物量与碳密度沿海拔及降水梯度的时空变异特征,阐述了影响草地碳密度分布的主要驱动因子及其作用机理。结果表明:4种草地类型3种处理的草地生物量和碳密度自西北向东南均与降雨量呈指数增长趋势,并随海拔降低而显著降低,且二者呈显著的线性回归关系;各草地类型地上/地下生物量与碳密度分布规律均为荒漠草原<丘陵典型草原<梁塬典型草原<草甸草原;封禁11a草地活体植物、凋落物和根系碳密度总量:荒漠草原为7.066 t/hm2,丘陵典型草原为8.080 t/hm2,梁塬典型草原为15.319 t/hm2,草甸草原为20.982 t/hm2,分别是退化草地的14.8、8.33、6.5倍和15.88倍。充分表明,封禁不仅能使草地植被恢复和生物量提高,而且也是草地生产力和碳密度增加的一条重要途径。由此可见,气候干旱和草地退化是影响草地生物量和碳密度的关键因素,系统研究黄土高原封禁草地生物量增长与碳密度变化过程,将会对未来全球气候变化分析作出重要贡献。     

Allocation of mass and stability of soil aggregate in different types of Nei Mongol grasslands北大核心CSCD

Aims: Soil aggregate is an important component of soil structure, playing an important role in the physical and biological protection mechanism of soil organic carbon (SOC) through isolating SOC from microorganisms. As far as we know, there are few studies, however, on exploring the spatial distribution of soil aggregate at the regional scale. Our objective was to investigate the mass allocation and stability of soil aggregate in different types of Nei Mongol grasslands. Methods: We have established 78 sites with a size of 10 m × 10 m across the transect of Nei Mongol grasslands and collected soil samples from different soil depth up to 1 m. We used wet sieving method to separate different sizes of aggregate partition and used mean mass diameter (MMD) and geometric mean diameter (GMD) in order to evaluate the stability of soil aggregate. The two-way ANOVA was used to test the difference of mass percentage and stability of soil aggregate in different grassland types and soil depths. In addition, a linear regression analysis was used to analyze the correlations of mass percentage and stability of soil aggregate with both mean annual precipitation (MAP) and mean annual temperature (MAT). Important findings: The results showed that the mass percentages of soil aggregate were highest in meadow steppe, while almost equal in typical steppe and desert steppe. However, no significant patterns were found along the soil depth. The mass percentage of soil aggregate fractions were positively correlated with MAP in all soil layers, but negatively correlated with MAT except the layer of 70-100 cm. For the stability of soil aggregate, at 0-10 and 10-20 cm, MMD and GMD of meadow steppe were significantly greater than those of typical and desert steppes, whereas no significant differences among three grassland types were found for other soil layers. Besides, MMD and GMD in meadow steppe and typical steppe gradually decreased along the soil depth.     

藏北高寒草地土壤有机质化学组成对土壤蛋白酶和脲酶活性的影响

土壤酶作为生态系统的生物催化剂, 是土壤有机体的代谢驱动力, 在土壤物质循环和能量转化过程中起着重要作用。该研究以藏北5种不同类型高寒草地(高寒草甸、高寒草原、高寒草甸草原、高寒荒漠草原和高寒荒漠)为研究对象, 利用热裂解气质联用技术(Py-GC/MS)分析不同类型草地土壤有机质化学组成, 并建立其与土壤蛋白酶和脲酶活性之间的相互关系。结果表明, 5种高寒草地土壤(0-15 cm)的酶活性表现出一定差异性, 高寒荒漠草原土壤的脲酶活性显著高于蛋白酶活性, 而其余类型高寒草地的脲酶和蛋白酶活性之间的差异未达到显著水平; 蛋白酶活性在5种高寒草地土壤之间的差异显著, 而脲酶活性在5种草地土壤之间的差异未达到显著水平。相关分析发现, 土壤蛋白酶活性与土壤有机质烷烃、烯烃和芳香烃的相对丰度和糠醛:吡咯的值密切相关, 土壤脲酶活性与土壤有机质化学组成之间相关性未达到显著水平。综上所述, 高寒草地类型和土壤有机质化学组成是影响高寒草地土壤蛋白酶活性的重要因素, 而对土壤脲酶活性的影响均未达到显著水平, 其影响因素有待进一步深入的研究。     

Site-level evaluation of satellite-based global terrestrial gross primary production and net primary production monitoring

Operational monitoring of global terrestrial gross primary production (GPP) and net primary production (NPP) is now underway using imagery from the satellite‐borne Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor. Evaluation of MODIS GPP and NPP products will require site‐level studies across a range of biomes, with close attention to numerous scaling issues that must be addressed to link ground measurements to the satellite‐based carbon flux estimates. Here, we report results of a study aimed at evaluating MODIS NPP/GPP products at six sites varying widely in climate, land use, and vegetation physiognomy. Comparisons were made for twenty‐five 1 km² cells at each site, with 8‐day averages for GPP and an annual value for NPP. The validation data layers were made with a combination of ground measurements, relatively high resolution satellite data (Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus at ～30 m resolution), and process‐based modeling. There was strong seasonality in the MODIS GPP at all sites, and mean NPP ranged from 80 g C m^?2 yr^?1 at an arctic tundra site to 550 g C m^?2 yr^?1 at a temperate deciduous forest site. There was not a consistent over‐ or underprediction of NPP across sites relative to the validation estimates. The closest agreements in NPP and GPP were at the temperate deciduous forest, arctic tundra, and boreal forest sites. There was moderate underestimation in the MODIS products at the agricultural field site, and strong overestimation at the desert grassland and at the dry coniferous forest sites. Analyses of specific inputs to the MODIS NPP/GPP algorithm – notably the fraction of photosynthetically active radiation absorbed by the vegetation canopy, the maximum light use efficiency (LUE), and the climate data – revealed the causes of the over‐ and underestimates. Suggestions for algorithm improvement include selectively altering values for maximum LUE (based on observations at eddy covariance flux towers) and parameters regulating autotrophic respiration.     

Impacts of Diffuse Radiation on Light Use Efficiency across Terrestrial Ecosystems Based on Eddy Covariance Observation in China

Ecosystem light use efficiency (LUE) is a key factor of production models for gross primary production (GPP) predictions. Previous studies revealed that ecosystem LUE could be significantly enhanced by an increase on diffuse radiation. Under large spatial heterogeneity and increasing annual diffuse radiation in China, eddy covariance flux data at 6 sites across different ecosystems from 2003 to 2007 were used to investigate the impacts of diffuse radiation indicated by the cloudiness index (CI) on ecosystem LUE in grassland and forest ecosystems. Our results showed that the ecosystem LUE at the six sites was significantly correlated with the cloudiness variation (0.24≤R²≤0.85), especially at the Changbaishan temperate forest ecosystem (R² = 0.85). Meanwhile, the CI values appeared more frequently between 0.8 and 1.0 in two subtropical forest ecosystems (Qianyanzhou and Dinghushan) and were much larger than those in temperate ecosystems. Besides, cloudiness thresholds which were favorable for enhancing ecosystem carbon sequestration existed at the three forest sites, respectively. Our research confirmed that the ecosystem LUE at the six sites in China was positively responsive to the diffuse radiation, and the cloudiness index could be used as an environmental regulator for LUE modeling in regional GPP prediction.     

Spatial variations in aboveground net primary productivity along a climate gradient in Eurasian temperate grassland: effects of mean annual precipitation and its seasonal distribution

Concomitant changes of annual precipitation and its seasonal distribution within the context of global climate change have dramatic impacts on aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) of grassland ecosystems. In this study, combining remote sensing products with in situ measurements of ANPP, we quantified the effects of mean annual precipitation (MAP) and precipitation seasonal distribution (PSD) on the spatial variations in ANPP along a climate gradient in Eurasian temperate grassland. Our results indicated that ANPP increased exponentially with MAP for the entire temperate grassland, but linearly for a specific grassland type, i.e. the desert steppe, typical steppe, and meadow steppe from arid to humid regions. The slope of the linear relationship appeared to be steeper in the more humid meadow steppe than that in the drier typical and desert steppes. PSD also had significant effect on the spatial variations in ANPP. It explained 39.4% of the spatial ANPP for the entire grassland investigated, being comparable with the explanatory power of MAP (40.0%). On the other hand, the relative contribution of PSD and MAP is grassland type specific. MAP exhibited a much stronger explanatory power than PSD for the desert steppe and the meadow steppe at the dry and wet end, respectively. However, PSD was the dominant factor affecting the spatial variation in ANPP for the median typical steppe. Our results imply that altered pattern of PSD due to climate change may be as important as the total amount in terms of effects on ANPP in Eurasian temperate grassland.     

Spatio-temporal characteristics of evapotranspiration and water use efficiency in grasslands of Xinjiang北大核心CSCD

Aims: Xinjiang is located in the hinterland of the Eurasian arid areas, with grasslands widely distributed. Grasslands in Xinjiang provide significant economic and ecological benefits. However, research on evapotranspiration (ET) and water use efficiency (WUE) of the grasslands is still relatively weak. This study aimed to explore the spatio-temporal characteristics on ET and WUE in the grasslands of Xinjiang in the context of climate change. Methods: The Biome-BGC model was used to determine the spatio-temporal characteristics of ET and WUE of the grasslands over the period 1979-2012 across different seasons, areas and grassland types in Xinjiang. Important findings: The average annual ET in the grasslands of Xinjiang was estimated at 245.7 mm, with interannual variations generally consistent with that of precipitation. Overall, the value of ET was lower than that of precipitation. The higher values of ET mainly distributed in the Tianshan Mountains, Altai Mountains, Altun Mountains and the low mountain areas on the northern slope of Kunlun Mountains. The lower values of ET mainly distributed in the highland areas of Kunlun Mountains and the desert plains. Over the period 1979-2012, average annual ET was 183.2 mm in the grasslands of southern Xinjiang, 357.9 mm in the grasslands of the Tianshan Mountains, and 221.3 mm in grasslands of northern Xinjiang. In winter, ET in grasslands of northern Xinjiang was slightly higher than that of Tianshan Mountains. Average annual ET ranked among grassland types as: mid-mountain meadow < swamp meadow < typical grassland < desert grassland < alpine meadow < saline meadow. The highest ET value occurred in summer, and the lowest ET value occurred in winter, with ET in spring being slightly higher than that in autumn. The higher WUE values mainly distributed in the areas of Tianshan Mountains and Altai Mountains. The lower WUE values mainly distributed in the highland areas of Kunlun Mountains and part of the desert plains. The average annual WUE in the grasslands of Xinjiang was 0.56 g kg-1, with the seasonal values of 0.43 g kg-1 in spring, 0.60 g kg-1 in summer, and 0.48 g kg-1 in autumn, respectively. Over the period 1979-2012, the values of WUE displayed significant regional differences: the average values were 0.73 g kg-1 in northern Xinjiang, 0.26 g kg-1 in southern Xinjiang, and 0.69 g kg-1 in Tianshan Mountains. There were also significant differences in WUE among grassland types. The values of WUE ranked in the order of mid-mountain meadow < typical grassland < swamp meadow < saline meadow < alpine meadow < desert grassland.