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Nonlinear variations of forest leaf area index over China during 1982–2010 based on EEMD method

International Journal of Biometeorology volume 61, pages 977–988 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Variations in leaf area index (LAI) are critical to research on forest ecosystem structure and function, especially carbon and water cycle, and their responses to climate change. Using the ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) method and global inventory modeling and mapping studies (GIMMS) LAI3g dataset from 1982 to 2010, we analyzed the nonlinear feature and spatial difference of forest LAI variability over China for the past 29 years in this paper. Results indicated that the national-averaged forest LAI was characterized by quasi-3- and quasi-7-year oscillations, which generally exhibited a rising trend with an increasing rate. When compared with 1982, forest LAI change by 2010 was more evident than that by 1990 and 2000. The largest increment of forest LAI occurred in Central and South China, while along the southeastern coastal areas LAI increased at the fastest pace. During the study period, forest LAI experienced from decrease to increase or vice versa across much of China and varied monotonically for only a few areas. Focusing on regional-averaged trend processes, almost all eco-geographical regions showed continuously increasing trends in forest LAI with different magnitudes and speeds, other than tropical humid region and temperate humid/subhumid region, where LAI decreased initially and increased afterwards.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41571043), the Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (41530749), and the National Science and Technology Support Program (grants 2012BAC19B02).

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Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 11A, Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, China

    Yunhe Yin, Danyang Ma, Shaohong Wu & Erfu Dai

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19A Yuquan Road, Shijingshan District, Beijing, 100049, China

    Danyang Ma

  3. Sino-French Institute for Earth System Science, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, No.5 Yiheyuan Road, Beijing, 100871, China

    Zaichun Zhu

  4. Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, 675 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA, 02215, USA

    Ranga B. Myneni

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  1. Yunhe Yin
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  2. Danyang Ma
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  3. Shaohong Wu
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  4. Erfu Dai
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  5. Zaichun Zhu
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  6. Ranga B. Myneni
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Correspondence to Yunhe Yin.

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Yin, Y., Ma, D., Wu, S. et al. Nonlinear variations of forest leaf area index over China during 1982–2010 based on EEMD method. Int J Biometeorol 61, 977–988 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-016-1277-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-016-1277-x

Keywords

  • Leaf area index
  • Forest
  • Variations
  • EEMD method