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Topographical and hydrological effects on meso-scale vegetation in desert steppe, Mongolia

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Abstract

This study investigated the seasonal variations of the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and its relationships with climatic variables and topography in a small-scale (20 km×20 km) area (i.e., Tsogt-Ovoo village) within the desert steppe zone of Mongolia using in-situ observed climate data and satellite remote sensing data. We found that the topography is very important for vegetation growth in the desert steppe although the summer precipitation is the constraining factor. The unexpectedly high NDVI (up to 0.56), as well as the high aboveground biomass, in the valley bottom was primarily resulted from the topography-modulated redistribution of overland flow after relatively heavy precipitation events during the growing season. This makes the valley bottoms in desert steppes not only reliable feeding resources for livestock but also heavens for wild lives. But, the detected large standard deviation of annual maximum NDVI (NDVImax) from 2000 to 2013 in the valley bottom in response to rather variable precipitation implies that the valley bottoms under desert steppe climates are more vulnerable to climatic change.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science RONPAKU Program (MECS-11319), a Budget Request of Tottori University, and sponsored by special coordination funds from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of the Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Information and Research Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment, Ulaanbaatar, 15160, Mongolia

    Batdelger Gantsetseg

  2. Faculty of Engineering, Kagawa University, Takamatsu, 761-0396, Japan

    Batdelger Gantsetseg & Masahide Ishizuka

  3. Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, Tottori, 680-0001, Japan

    Yasunori Kurosaki

  4. Japan Meteorological Business Support Center, Tokyo, 101-0054, Japan

    Masao Mikami

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  1. Batdelger Gantsetseg
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  2. Masahide Ishizuka
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  3. Yasunori Kurosaki
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  4. Masao Mikami
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Correspondence to Batdelger Gantsetseg.

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Gantsetseg, B., Ishizuka, M., Kurosaki, Y. et al. Topographical and hydrological effects on meso-scale vegetation in desert steppe, Mongolia. J. Arid Land 9, 132–142 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-016-0090-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-016-0090-z

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