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The shift in temperature zone boundaries in China based on the changes of the climate growing season in the Qinling Mountains from 1964 to 2015

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Abstract

It is of great significance to study on the shift of temperature zone boundaries for revealing the climate change pattern and its environmental effects. Based on daily average temperature data from 32 standard meteorological stations in the Qinling Mountains from 1964 to 2015, the growing season start and end (GSS and GSE) of the climatic growing season parameters were calculated based on a temperature threshold of 10 °C, and the growing season length (GSL) was obtained by subtracting GSE from GSS. We have analyzed the spatiotemporal variations of these parameters in the Qinling Mountains and the shift rules of the warm temperate zone and northern subtropics zone boundaries in China over the past 52 years. Our research generated three primary results. First, the spatial distribution and changing trends of the GSS, GSE, and GSL were significantly different before and after abrupt changes in temperature. After the abrupt change, the coverages of the three were all gradually expanding to the higher altitude areas. The change rates of the three were faster, the trends were more significant, and the differences between the north and the south were obvious, especially in the northern slope. Second, the boundaries of both the warm temperate zone and the northern subtropical zone in China showed upward position shifts, and the area coverage changed along the northern and southern slopes of the Qinling Mountains, and the change amplitudes were even greater after the abrupt change in temperature. Third, there was a significant north–south difference in the response of China’s temperature zones to climate change. The temperature zone on the northern slope was more sensitive to climate warming. It is worth emphasizing that the shifts of the temperature zones did not change the fact that the Qinling Mountains are the boundary between China’s subtropical and the warm temperate zones. The north subtropical zone is still located on the southern slope of the Qinling Mountains, and the northern slope is still in the warm temperate zone.

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Data availability

The datasets generated the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code availability

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Funding

This work was supported by the Special Scientific Research Program from Education Department of China’s Shaanxi Provincial Government (no.19JK0930) as well as the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (no. 2019M663922XB).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Resource Environment and Historical Culture, Xian Yang Normal University, No.1, Wenlin Road, Xianyang, 712000, China

    Chenhui Deng, Xinping Ma, Wenzheng Li & Meilin Xie

  2. College of Geography and Tourism, Shaanxi Normal University, No.620, Xichang’an Street, Xi’an, 710119, China

    Chenhui Deng

  3. Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Earth Surface System and Environmental Carrying Capacity, College of Urban and Environmental Science, Northwest University, No.1, Xuefu Avenue, Xi’an, 710127, China

    Hongying Bai & Ting Zhao

Authors
  1. Chenhui Deng
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  2. Hongying Bai
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  3. Ting Zhao
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  4. Xinping Ma
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  5. Wenzheng Li
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Contributions

Chenhui Deng conceived and designed the work that led to the submission, acquired data, produced figures, and played an important role in interpreting the results. Hongying Bai helped perform the analysis with constructive discussions. Ting Zhao performed the data analyses. Xinping Ma performed the data collection and curation. Wenzheng Li reviewed and edited the manuscript. Meilin Xie proofread the words. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Chenhui Deng.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Deng, C., Bai, H., Zhao, T. et al. The shift in temperature zone boundaries in China based on the changes of the climate growing season in the Qinling Mountains from 1964 to 2015. Theor Appl Climatol 148, 131–143 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-022-03926-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-022-03926-8

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