nter-annual Changes in Eurasian Continent NDVI and Its ensitivity to the Large-scale Climate Variations in the Last 20 Years

The influence of climate change on the terrestrial vegetation health (condition) is one of the most significant problems of global change study. The vegetation activity plays a key role in the global carbon cycle. The authors investigated the relationship of the advanced very high resolution radiometer-normalized difference vegetation index (AVHRR-NDVI) with the large-scale climate variations on the inter-annual time scale during the period 1982-2000 for the growing seasons (April-October). A singular value decomposition analysis was applied to the NDVI and surface air temperature data in the time-domain to detect the most predominant modes coupling them. The first paired-modes explain 60.9%, 39.5% and 24.6% of the squared covariance between NDVI and temperature in spring (April-May), summer (June-August), and autumn (September-October), respectively, which implies that there is the highest NDVI sensitivity to temperature in spring and the lowest in autumn. The spatial centers, as revealed by the maximum or minimum vector values corresponding to the leading singular values, indicate the high sensitive regions. Only considering the mode 1, the sensitive center for spring is located in western Siberia and the neighbor eastern Europe with a sensitivity of about 0.308 0 NDVI/℃. For summer, there are no predominantly sensitive centers, and on average for the relatively high center over 1000-1200 E by 450-600 N, the sensitivity is 0.248 0 NDVI/℃. For autumn, the center is located over the high latitudes of eastern Asia (1100-1400 E, 550-650 N), and the sensitivity is 0.087 5 NDVI/℃. The coherent patters as revealed by the singular decomposition analysis remain the same when coarser resolution NDVI data were used, suggesting a robust and stable climate/vegetation relationship.     

近30年来青藏高原高寒草地NDVI动态变化对自然及人为因子的响应

草地生态系统是陆地生态系统的重要组成部分，在调节气候、水土保持、防风固沙、保护生物多样性等方面发挥着重要作用。青藏高原是全球海拔最高的独特地域单元，平均海拔超过4000 m，素有“世界第三极”之称，亦是我国重要的生态安全屏障，其对气候变化敏感且易受人类活动的影响，属于气候变化敏感区和生态脆弱带。近年来，由于气候变化和人类活动的不断加剧，青藏高原区域气候和环境发生了重大变化，气候变暖、水污染、草地退化和沙化等问题已严重阻碍了当地社会经济的可持续发展。高寒草地是青藏高原主要的植被类型，在气候变化和人类活动加剧的背景下，青藏高原高寒草地植被的动态变化受到人们的广泛关注。归一化植被指数（Normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI）因能有效地反映植被覆盖程度和生长状况而被广泛应用于植被动态的研究中。气温与降水被认为是影响青藏高原植被动态的主要气候因子，放牧强度与人口数量则是主要人为因子。因此，研究高寒草地植被对气候变化和人类活动的响应机制对预测未来草地变化有着重要的意义。基于青藏高原生长季草地的NDVI、气温、降水、放牧强度及人口数量等数据，在县区尺度上，采用趋势分析法探究了1982—2013年青藏高原143个县区生长季草地NDVI动态变化、气候变化及人类活动的变化，同时采用面板数据模型分析了32年来青藏高原143个县区气候、人为因子变化对草地NDVI变化的相对贡献。研究结果显示：（1）青藏高原高寒草地生长季NDVI总体呈增长趋势，草地植被生长状态呈现“整体改善、局部退化”趋势；（2）青藏高原生长季平均气温与降水量整体增加，气候呈现“暖湿化”趋势；（3）在长时间尺度上，气候因子主导了青藏高原高寒草地NDVI的变化，降雨和气温的增加促进草地NDVI的增加，放牧强度的持续增加则导致草地NDVI的减少。     

过去20年中国耕地生长季起始期的时空变化

多时相遥感数据能够较好地描述区域尺度的植被物候和生长季节的变化特征.利用NDVI时序数据,采用非对称性高斯函数拟合方法重建平滑曲线,分别提取了我国20世纪80年代初、90年代初和21世纪初等3个时期为我国耕地第一生长季起始期,计算3个时期平均生长起始期,并分析了我国耕地第一生长季起始期的区域空间分异规律;然后,从区域和省份两个尺度分析了20世纪80年代初至90年代初和20世纪90年代初至21世纪初两个阶段我国耕地生长季起始期动态变化趋势和空间格局.结果表明,我国不同区域耕地第一生长季起始期存在十分明显的空间差异,清楚地呈现出一个从南向北逐渐推迟的空间特征;从不同区域看,在20世纪80年代初至90年代初和20世纪90年代初至21世纪初两个时期,我国耕地第一生长季起始期变化都是提前和推迟并存,不同区域变化程度不一;从不同省份看,在过去20年间,我国绝大多数省份耕地第一生长季起始期都表现为总体提前的趋势,但不同省份的起始期变化具有差异性.影响我国耕地生长季起始期变化的因素很多,如何区别气候变化等自然因子和人类活动因子对耕地生长季起始期变化的影响是一个值得深入研究的问题.     

Elephant spatial use in wet and dry savannas of southern Africa

The influence of elephants on woody vegetation cover varies from place to place. In part this may be due to the way elephants utilize space across landscapes and within their home ranges in response to the availability and distribution of food. We used location data from 18 cows at six study sites across an east to west rainfall gradient in southern Africa to test whether wet- and dry-season home-range sizes, evenness of space use within seasonal home ranges and range overlap between seasons and between years, differed between wet and dry savannas. We then tested whether the quantity, distribution and seasonal stability in vegetation productivity, a coarse measure of food for elephants, explained differences. Elephants in wet savannas had smaller wet- and dry-season home ranges and also returned to a higher proportion of previously visited grid cells between seasons and between years than elephants living in dry savannas. Wet-season home-range sizes were explained by seasonal vegetation productivity while dry-season home-range sizes were explained by heterogeneity in the distribution of vegetation productivity. The influence of the latter on dry-season home ranges differed among structural vegetation classes. Range overlap between seasons and between years was related to inter-seasonal and inter-annual stability in vegetation productivity, respectively. Evenness of elephant spatial use within home ranges did not differ between savanna types, but it was explained by seasonal vegetation productivity and heterogeneity in the distribution of vegetation productivity during the wet season. Differences in elephant spatial use patterns between wet and dry savannas according to vegetation structure and season may need to be included in the development of site-specific objectives and management approaches for African elephants.     

我国不同季节陆地植被NPP对气候变化的响应

阐明不同季节陆地植被净第一性生产力（NPP）对全球变化的响应将有助于理解陆地生态系统和气候系统之间的相互作用以及NPP变化机制。本文使用1982－1999年间的AVHRR／NDVI、气温、降水以及太阳辐射等资料,结合植被分布图和土壤质地图,利用生态过程模型,研究不同季节我国陆地植被NPP的年际变化及其地理分异。结果表明,在1982－1999年的18年间,4个季节的NPP都呈显著增加趋势。其中,春季是NPP增加速率最快的季节,夏季是NPP增加量最大的季节,不同植被类型对全球变化的响应有很大差异。常绿阔叶林,常绿针叶林和落叶针叶林NPP的增加主要由生长季节的提前所致。而落叶阔叶林、针阔混交林、矮林灌丛,温带草原及草甸,稀树草原、高寒植被,荒漠以及人工植被NPP的增加主要来自生长季生长加速的贡献。从区域分布看,在四季中春季NPP增加量最大的地区主要集中在东部季风区域;夏季NPP增量最大的地区包括西北干旱区域和青藏高原的大部分地区,小兴安岭－长白山区,三江平原,松辽平原,四川盆地,雷州半岛,长江中下游部分地区以及江南山地东部;而秋季植被NPP增加量最大的地区主要有云南高原－西藏东部和呼伦湖的周围等地区。不同植被和地理区域NPP的这些响应方式与区域气候特征及其变化趋势有关。     

Projecting future grassland productivity to assess the sustainability of potential biofuel feedstock areas in the Greater Platte River Basin

This study projects future (e.g., 2050 and 2099) grassland productivities in the Greater Platte River Basin (GPRB) using ecosystem performance (EP, a surrogate for measuring ecosystem productivity) models and future climate projections. The EP models developed from a previous study were based on the satellite vegetation index, site geophysical and biophysical features, and weather and climate drivers. The future climate data used in this study were derived from the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Climate System Model 3.0 ‘SRES A1B’ (a ‘middle’ emissions path). The main objective of this study is to assess the future sustainability of the potential biofuel feedstock areas identified in a previous study. Results show that the potential biofuel feedstock areas (the more mesic eastern part of the GPRB) will remain productive (i.e., aboveground grassland biomass productivity >2750 kg ha^?1 year^?1) with a slight increasing trend in the future. The spatially averaged EPs for these areas are 3519, 3432, 3557, 3605, 3752, and 3583 kg ha^?1 year^?1 for current site potential (2000–2008 average), 2020, 2030, 2040, 2050, and 2099, respectively. Therefore, the identified potential biofuel feedstock areas will likely continue to be sustainable for future biofuel development. On the other hand, grasslands identified as having no biofuel potential in the drier western part of the GPRB would be expected to stay unproductive in the future (spatially averaged EPs are 1822, 1691, 1896, 2306, 1994, and 2169 kg ha^?1 year^?1 for site potential, 2020, 2030, 2040, 2050, and 2099). These areas should continue to be unsuitable for biofuel feedstock development in the future. These future grassland productivity estimation maps can help land managers to understand and adapt to the expected changes in future EP in the GPRB and to assess the future sustainability and feasibility of potential biofuel feedstock areas.     

Vegetation productivity patterns at high northern latitudes: a multi‐sensor satellite data assessment

Satellite‐derived indices of photosynthetic activity are the primary data source used to study changes in global vegetation productivity over recent decades. Creating coherent, long‐term records of vegetation activity from legacy satellite data sets requires addressing many factors that introduce uncertainties into vegetation index time series. We compared long‐term changes in vegetation productivity at high northern latitudes (>50°N), estimated as trends in growing season NDVI derived from the most widely used global NDVI data sets. The comparison included the AVHRR‐based GIMMS‐NDVI version G (GIMMS_g) series, and its recent successor version 3g (GIMMS_3g), as well as the shorter NDVI records generated from the more modern sensors, SeaWiFS, SPOT‐VGT, and MODIS. The data sets from the latter two sensors were provided in a form that reduces the effects of surface reflectance associated with solar and view angles. Our analysis revealed large geographic areas, totaling 40% of the study area, where all data sets indicated similar changes in vegetation productivity over their common temporal record, as well as areas where data sets showed conflicting patterns. The newer, GIMMS_3g data set showed statistically significant (α = 0.05) increases in vegetation productivity (greening) in over 15% of the study area, not seen in its predecessor (GIMMS_g), whereas the reverse was rare (<3%). The latter has implications for earlier reports on changes in vegetation activity based on GIMMS_g, particularly in Eurasia where greening is especially pronounced in the GIMMS_3g data. Our findings highlight both critical uncertainties and areas of confidence in the assessment of ecosystem‐response to climate change using satellite‐derived indices of photosynthetic activity. Broader efforts are required to evaluate NDVI time series against field measurements of vegetation growth, primary productivity, recruitment, mortality, and other biological processes in order to better understand ecosystem responses to environmental change over large areas.     

桂西北喀斯特区域植被变化趋势及其对气候和地形的响应

基于1999—2010年的SPOT NDVI数据,分析了河池市植被变化趋势及空间差异,并结合气象和地形数据分析了植被与气候、地形的关系。结果表明:(1)桂西北喀斯特地区植被变化总体上呈恢复趋势,年均气候因子对植被变化的作用不明显;(2)200—500m的海拔范围内植被恢复显著,但400—500m的海拔范围内有小面积植被退化现象,随着海拔增加,植被变化趋于稳定;(3)6—15°的坡度范围内植被恢复最显著,而2—6°及大于25°坡度范围存在植被退化的现象;(4)不同坡向上的植被恢复差异不明显,但随着坡向由阴坡转阳坡,植被总体恢复呈减小趋势。喀斯特地区人类生态建设取得一定成效,但由于人类活动的负面影响,在海拔400—500m、坡度大于25°的阳坡区域仍存在植被减少的现象。