Abstract
Grasslands are the dominant ecosystem of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), and they play an important role in climate regulation and represent an important ecological barrier in China. However, the spatial differentiation characteristics of net primary productivity (NPP) and normalized differential vegetation index (NDVI) and the main influencing factors that vary with grassland type on the QTP are not clear. In this study, standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI), digital elevation model (DEM), precipitation, temperature, slope, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and grazing intensity were considered the driving factors. First, a grey relational degree analysis was performed to test for the quantitative relationships between NPP, NDVI and factors. Then, the geographical detector method was applied to analyze the interaction relationships of the factors. Finally, based on the geographically weighted regression (GWR) model, the influence of factors varied with grassland type on the NPP and NDVI was revealed from the perspective of spatial differentiation. The results were as follows: (1) The NPP and NDVI had roughly the same degrees of correlation with each impact factor by the grey relational degree analysis, each factor was closely related to the NPP and NDVI, and the relational degree between grazing intensity and NPP was greater than that between grazing intensity and NDVI. (2) The interaction relationships between influencing factors and NPP and NDVI varied with the grassland type and presented bivariate enhancement and nonlinear enhancement, and the interaction effects between grazing intensity and any factor on each grassland type had a greater impact on NPP. (3) The main influencing factors of the spatial heterogeneity of NPP were grazing intensity and PAR, which were “high from northeast to southwest, low from northwest to southeast” and “low in the middle and high around”. The main influencing factors on the NDVI were precipitation and PAR, which were “low in the middle and high around” and “high in the north, low in the south”.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
An, R., Wang, H. L., Feng, X. Z., Wu, H., Wang, Z., Wang, Y., et al. (2017). Monitoring rangeland degradation using a novel local NPP scaling based scheme over the “Three-River Headwaters” region, hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Quaternary International, 444, 97–114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2016.07.050.
Bai, Y., Guo, C., Degen, A. A., Ahmad, A. A., Wang, W., Zhang, T., et al. (2020). Climate warming benefits alpine vegetation growth in Three-River Headwater Region, China. Science of the Total Environment, 742, 140574. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140574.
Bartholome, E., & Belward, A. S. (2005). GLC2000: a new approach to global land cover mapping from Earth observation data. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 26(9), 1959–1977. https://doi.org/10.1080/01431160412331291297.
Cao, J., Adamowski, J. F., Deo, R. C., Xu, X. Y., Gong, Y. F., & Feng, Q. (2019). Grassland degradation on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau: reevaluation of causative factors. Rangeland Ecology & Management, 72(6), 988–995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rama.2019.06.001.
Chen, S. Y., Liang, T. G., Xie, H. J., Feng, Q. S., Huang, X. D., & Yu, H. (2014). Interrelation among climate factors, snow cover, grassland vegetation, and lake in the Nam Co basin of the Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, 8, 084694. https://doi.org/10.1117/1.jrs.8.084694.
Chen, Y. Z., Chen, L. Y., Cheng, Y., Ju, W. M., Chen, H. Y. H., & Ruan, H. H. (2020). Afforestation promotes the enhancement of forest LAI and NPP in China. Forest Ecology and Management, 462, 117990. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2020.117990.
China, N. B. o. S. o. (2017). China Statistics Yearbook. Beijing: China Statistics Press.
Deng, J. L. (1982). Control-problems of grey systems. Systems & Control Letters, 1(5), 288–294. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0167-6911(82)80025-x.
Dixon, A. P., Faber-Langendoen, D., Josse, C., Morrison, J., & Loucks, C. J. (2014). Distribution mapping of world grassland types. Journal of Biogeography, 41(11), 2003–2019. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.12381.
Dong, S. K., & Sherman, R. (2015). Enhancing the resilience of coupled human and natural systems of alpine rangelands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Rangeland Journal, 37(1), I–III. https://doi.org/10.1071/rj14117.
Dong, S., Li, Y., Ganjurjav, H., Gao, Q., Gao, X., Zhang, J., et al. (2020). Grazing promoted soil microbial functional genes for regulating C and N cycling in alpine meadow of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, 303, 107111. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2020.107111.
Fayiah, M., Dong, S. K., Li, Y., Xu, Y. D., Gao, X. X., Li, S., et al. (2019). The relationships between plant diversity, plant cover, plant biomass and soil fertility vary with grassland type on Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment, 286, 106659. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2019.106659.
Gao, Y. H., Zhou, X., Wang, Q., Wang, C. Z., Zhan, Z. M., Chen, L. F., et al. (2013). Vegetation net primary productivity and its response to climate change during 2001-2008 in the Tibetan Plateau. Science of the Total Environment, 444, 356–362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.12.014.
Gao, X. X., Dong, S. K., Li, S., Xu, Y. D., Liu, S. L., Zhao, H. D., et al. (2020). Using the random forest model and validated MODIS with the field spectrometer measurement promote the accuracy of estimating aboveground biomass and coverage of alpine grasslands on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Ecological Indicators, 112, 106114. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106114.
Jia, X., Zhou, W., Lei, T., Jing, L., & Shen, Y. (2020). Impact analysis of expressway construction on ecological carrying capacity in the Three-River Headwater Region. Journal of Traffic and Transportation Engineering-English Edition, 7(5), 700–714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtte.2020.09.003.
Kumar, S., Lal, R., & Liu, D. S. (2012). A geographically weighted regression kriging approach for mapping soil organic carbon stock. Geoderma, 189, 627–634. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2012.05.022.
Lehnert, L. W., Wesche, K., Trachte, K., Reudenbach, C., & Bendix, J. (2016). Climate variability rather than overstocking causes recent large scale cover changes of Tibetan pastures. Scientific Reports, 6, 24367. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep24367.
Li, Y., Dong, S., Wen, L., Wang, X., & Wu, Y. (2013). Assessing the soil quality of alpine grasslands in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau using a modified soil quality index. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 185(10), 8011–8022. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-013-3151-1.
Li, Y., Dong, S. K., Wen, L., Wang, X. X., & Wu, Y. (2014). Soil carbon and nitrogen pools and their relationship to plant and soil dynamics of degraded and artificially restored grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Geoderma, 213, 178–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2013.08.022.
Li, L., Fassnacht, F. E., Storch, I., & Burgi, M. (2017a). Land-use regime shift triggered the recent degradation of alpine pastures in Nyanpo Yutse of the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Landscape Ecology, 32(11), 2187–2203. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-017-0510-2.
Li, S. C., Wang, Z. F., & Zhang, Y. L. (2017b). Crop cover reconstruction and its effects on sediment retention in the Tibetan Plateau for 1900-2000. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 27(7), 786–800. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-017-1406-4.
Li, C. B., Peng, Y. F., Nie, X. Q., Yang, Y. H., Yang, L. C., Li, F., et al. (2018a). Differential responses of heterotrophic and autotrophic respiration to nitrogen addition and precipitation changes in a Tibetan alpine steppe. Scientific Reports, 8, 16546. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-34969-5.
Li, S. C., Zhang, Y. L., Wang, Z. F., & Li, L. H. (2018b). Mapping human influence intensity in the Tibetan Plateau for conservation of ecological service functions. Ecosystem Services, 30, 276–286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.10.003.
Li, C. X., de Jong, R., Schmid, B., Wulf, H., & Schaepman, M. E. (2019). Spatial variation of human influences on grassland biomass on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Science of the Total Environment, 665, 678–689. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.01.321.
Liang, W., Yang, Y. T., Fan, D. M., Guan, H. D., Zhang, T., Long, D., et al. (2015). Analysis of spatial and temporal patterns of net primary production and their climate controls in China from 1982 to 2010. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 204, 22–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2015.01.015.
Liang, T. G., Yang, S. X., Feng, Q. S., Liu, B. K., Zhang, R. P., Huang, X. D., et al. (2016). Multi-factor modeling of above-ground biomass in alpine grassland: A case study in the Three-River Headwaters Region, China. Remote Sensing of Environment, 186, 164–172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2016.08.014.
Liu, Y. Y., Zhang, Z. Y., Tong, L. J., Khalifa, M., Wang, Q., Gang, C. C., et al. (2019). Assessing the effects of climate variation and human activities on grassland degradation and restoration across the globe. Ecological Indicators, 106, 105504. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105504.
Liu, X., Ma, Z., Huang, X., & Li, L. (2020). How does grazing exclusion influence plant productivity and community structure in alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau? Global Ecology and Conservation, 23, e01066. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01066.
Martinez, Y. M., Coll, D. G., Aguayo, M., & Casas-Ledon, Y. (2019). Effects of landcover changes on net primary production (NPP)-based exergy in south-central of Chile. Applied Geography, 113, 102101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2019.102101.
McMillen, D. P. (2004). Geographically weighted regression: The analysis of spatially varying relationships. American Journal of Agricultural Economics, 86(2), 554–556. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0002-9092.2004.600_2.x.
Miehe, G., Schleuss, P. M., Seeber, E., Babel, W., Biermann, T., Braendle, M., et al. (2019). The Kobresia pygmaea ecosystem of the Tibetan highlands - origin, functioning and degradation of the world's largest pastoral alpine ecosystem Kobresia pastures of Tibet. Science of the Total Environment, 648, 754–771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.164.
Mo, X. G. (2020). Grassland productivity on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau since 1980. National Tibetan Plateau Data Center. https://doi.org/10.11888/Ecolo.tpdc.270430.
Mou, X. M., Yu, Y. W., Li, X. G., & Degen, A. A. (2020). Presence frequency of plant species can predict spatial patterns of the species in small patches on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Global Ecology and Conservation, 21, e00888. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00888.
Na, R. S., Du, H. B., Na, L., Shan, Y., He, H. S., Wu, Z. F., et al. (2019). Spatiotemporal changes in the Aeolian desertification of Hulunbuir Grassland and its driving factors in China during 1980-2015. CATENA, 182, 104123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2019.104123.
Song, X. D., Brus, D. J., Liu, F., Li, D. C., Zhao, Y. G., Yang, J. L., et al. (2016). Mapping soil organic carbon content by geographically weighted regression: a case study in the Heihe River Basin, China. Geoderma, 261, 11–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2015.06.024.
Su, R., Yu, T., Dayananda, B., Bu, R., Su, J. H., & Fan, Q. Y. (2020). Impact of climate change on primary production of Inner Mongolian grasslands. Global Ecology and Conservation, 22, e00928. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e00928.
Sun, J., Cheng, G. W., & Li, W. P. (2013). Meta-analysis of relationships between environmental factors and aboveground biomass in the alpine grassland on the Tibetan Plateau. Biogeosciences, 10(3), 1707–1715. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-10-1707-2013.
Sun, W. C., Wang, Y. Y., Fu, Y. S. H., Xue, B. L., Wang, G. Q., Yu, J. S., et al. (2019). Spatial heterogeneity of changes in vegetation growth and their driving forces based on satellite observations of the Yarlung Zangbo River Basin in the Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Hydrology, 574, 324–332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.04.043.
Sun, Y., Liu, S., Shi, F., An, Y., Li, M., & Liu, Y. (2020). Spatio-temporal variations and coupling of human activity intensity and ecosystem services based on the four-quadrant model on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Science of the Total Environment, 743, 140721. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140721.
Van Cuong, N., & Ng, C. T. (2020). Variable selection under multicollinearity using modified log penalty. Journal of Applied Statistics, 47(2), 201–230. https://doi.org/10.1080/02664763.2019.1637829.
Wang, Y. D., Mosbrugger, V., & Zhang, H. (2005). Early to Middle Jurassic vegetation and climatic events in the Qaidam Basin, northwest China. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 224(1-3), 200–216. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2005.03.035.
Wang, J. F., Li, X. H., Christakos, G., Liao, Y. L., Zhang, T., Gu, X., et al. (2010). Geographical detectors-based health risk assessment and its application in the neural tube defects study of the Heshun region, China. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 24(1), 107–127. https://doi.org/10.1080/13658810802443457.
Wang, J. F., Zhang, T. L., & Fu, B. J. (2016a). A measure of spatial stratified heterogeneity. Ecological Indicators, 67, 250–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2016.02.052.
Wang, X., Yi, S., Wu, Q., Yang, K., & Ding, Y. (2016b). The role of permafrost and soil water in distribution of alpine grassland and its NDVI dynamics on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Global and Planetary Change, 147, 40–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2016.10.014.
Wang, Z. Q., Zhang, Y. Z., Yang, Y., Zhou, W., Gang, C. C., Zhang, Y., et al. (2016c). Quantitative assess the driving forces on the grassland degradation in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, in China. Ecological Informatics, 33, 32–44. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2016.03.006.
Wang, C. Y., Wei, M., Wu, B. D., Wang, S., & Jiang, K. (2019). Alpine grassland degradation reduced plant species diversity and stability of plant communities in the Northern Tibet Plateau. Acta Oecologica-International Journal of Ecology, 98, 25–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2019.05.005.
Wang, D., Li, X. X., Zou, D. F., Wu, T. H., Xu, H. Y., Hu, G. J., et al. (2020a). Modeling soil organic carbon spatial distribution for a complex terrain based on geographically weighted regression in the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. CATENA, 187, 104399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2019.104399.
Wang, Y., Ren, Z., Ma, P. P., Wang, Z. M., Niu, D. C., Fu, H., et al. (2020b). Effects of grassland degradation on ecological stoichiometry of soil ecosystems on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Science of the Total Environment, 722, 137910. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137910.
Wu, J. S., Li, J. C., Peng, J., Li, W. F., Xu, G., & Dong, C. C. (2015). Applying land use regression model to estimate spatial variation of PM2.5 in Beijing, China. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 22(9), 7045–7061. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3893-5.
Xie, S., Mo, X., Hu, S., & Liu, S. (2020). Contributions of climate change, elevated atmospheric CO2 and human activities to ET and GPP trends in the Three-North Region of China. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 295, 108183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2020.108183.
Xu, H. J., Wang, X. P., & Zhang, X. X. (2016). Alpine grasslands response to climatic factors and anthropogenic activities on the Tibetan Plateau from 2000 to 2012. Ecological Engineering, 92, 251–259. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2016.04.005.
Xu, X. T., Liu, H. Y., Wang, W., & Song, Z. L. (2018). Patterns and determinants of the response of plant biomass to addition of nitrogen in semi-arid and alpine grasslands of China. Journal of Arid Environments, 153, 11–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2018.01.002.
Yan, Y. C., Liu, X. P., Wen, Y. Y., & Ou, J. P. (2019). Quantitative analysis of the contributions of climatic and human factors to grassland productivity in northern China. Ecological Indicators, 103, 542–553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.04.020.
Yang, Q. Q., Yuan, Q. Q., Li, T. W., Shen, H. F., & Zhang, L. P. (2017a). The relationships between PM2.5 and meteorological factors in China: seasonal and regional variations. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(12), 1510. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14121510.
Yang, Z. L., Zhang, Q., Su, F. L., Zhang, C. H., Pu, Z. C., Xia, J. Y., et al. (2017b). Daytime warming lowers community temporal stability by reducing the abundance of dominant, stable species. Global Change Biology, 23(1), 154–163. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.13391.
Yang, D. Y., Wang, X. M., Xu, J. H., Xu, C. D., Lu, D. B., Ye, C., et al. (2018). Quantifying the influence of natural and socioeconomic factors and their interactive impact on PM2.5 pollution in China. Environmental Pollution, 241, 475–483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2018.05.043.
Yang, H. T., Zhang, Y. B., Zhong, L. Z., Zhang, X. J., & Ling, Z. W. (2020). Exploring spatial variation of bike sharing trip production and attraction: a study based on Chicago's Divvy system. Applied Geography, 115, 102130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2019.102130.
You, Q., Fraedrich, K., Ren, G., Pepin, N., & Kang, S. (2013). Variability of temperature in the Tibetan Plateau based on homogenized surface stations and reanalysis data. International Journal of Climatology, 33(6), 1337–1347. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.3512.
Zarei, A., Asadi, E., Ebrahimi, A., Jafari, M., Malekian, A., Nasrabadi, H. M., et al. (2020). Prediction of future grassland vegetation cover fluctuation under climate change scenarios. Ecological Indicators, 119, 106858. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106858.
Zeng, C., Zhang, F., Wang, Q. J., Chen, Y. Y., & Joswiak, D. R. (2013). Impact of alpine meadow degradation on soil hydraulic properties over the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Hydrology, 478, 148–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.11.058.
Zhang, W. N., Ganjurjav, H., Liang, Y., Gao, Q. Z., Wan, Y. F., Li, Y., et al. (2015). Effect of a grazing ban on restoring the degraded alpine meadows of Northern Tibet, China. Rangeland Journal, 37(1), 89–95. https://doi.org/10.1071/rj14092.
Zhang, H. Y., Fan, J. W., Wang, J. B., Cao, W., & Harris, W. (2018a). Spatial and temporal variability of grassland yield and its response to climate change and anthropogenic activities on the Tibetan Plateau from 1988 to 2013. Ecological Indicators, 95, 141–151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.05.088.
Zhang, Z. X., Chang, J., Xu, C. Y., Zhou, Y., Wu, Y. H., Chen, X., et al. (2018b). The response of lake area and vegetation cover variations to climate change over the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau during the past 30 years. Science of the Total Environment, 635, 443–451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.04.113.
Zhang, R. P., Guo, J., Liang, T. G., & Feng, Q. S. (2019a). Grassland vegetation phenological variations and responses to climate change in the Xinjiang region, China. Quaternary International, 513, 56–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2019.03.010.
Zhang, W. J., Xue, X., Peng, F., You, Q. G., & Hao, A. H. (2019b). Meta-analysis of the effects of grassland degradation on plant and soil properties in the alpine meadows of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Global Ecology and Conservation, 20, e00774. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00774.
Zhang, Y. L., Liu, L. S., Wang, Z. F., Bai, W. Q., Ding, M. J., Wang, X. H., et al. (2019c). Spatial and temporal characteristics of land use and cover changes in the Tibetan Plateau. Chinese Science Bulletin-Chinese, 64(27), 2865–2875. https://doi.org/10.1360/tb-2019-0046.
Zhang, Z., Wu, L., & Chen, Y. (2020). Forecasting PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations using GMCN(1,N) model with the similar meteorological condition: Case of Shijiazhuang in China. Ecological Indicators, 119, 106871. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106871.
Zheng, Y. T., Han, J. C., Huang, Y. F., Fassnacht, S. R., Xie, S., Lv, E. Z., et al. (2018). Vegetation response to climate conditions based on NDVI simulations using stepwise cluster analysis for the Three-River Headwaters region of China. Ecological Indicators, 92, 18–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.06.040.
Zhou, W., Yang, H., Huang, L., Chen, C., Lin, X. S., Hu, Z. J., et al. (2017). Grassland degradation remote sensing monitoring and driving factors quantitative assessment in China from 1982 to 2010. Ecological Indicators, 83, 303–313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.08.019.
Zhu, L. J., Meng, J. J., & Zhu, L. K. (2020). Applying Geodetector to disentangle the contributions of natural and anthropogenic factors to NDVI variations in the middle reaches of the Heihe River Basin. Ecological Indicators, 117, 106545. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106545.
Funding
The work was supported by the second scientific expedition to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (No. 2019QZKK0405-05), the National Natural Sciences Foundation of China (No. 41571173) and the National Key Research and Development Project (No. 2016YFC0502103).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liu, Y., Liu, S., Sun, Y. et al. Spatial differentiation of the NPP and NDVI and its influencing factors vary with grassland type on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Environ Monit Assess 193, 48 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-08824-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-08824-y