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Energy exchange of an alpine grassland on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

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  • Earth Sciences
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Science Bulletin

Abstract

The seasonal variability in the surface energy exchange of an alpine grassland on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau was investigated using eddy covariance measurements. Based on the change of air temperature and the seasonal distribution of precipitation, a winter season and wet season were identified, which were separated by transitional periods. The annual mean net radiation (R n) was about 39 % of the annual mean solar radiation (R s). R n was relatively low during the winter season (21 % of R s) compared with the wet season (54 % of R s), which can be explained by the difference in surface albedo and moisture condition between the two seasons. Annually, the main consumer of net radiation was latent heat flux (LE). During the winter season, sensible heat flux (H) was dominant because of the frozen soil condition and lack of precipitation. During the wet season, LE expended 66 % of R n due to relatively high temperature and sufficient rainfall coupled with vegetation growth. Leaf area index (LAI) had important influence on energy partitioning during wet season. The high LAI due to high soil water content (θ v) contributed to high surface conductance (g c) and LE, and thus low Bowen ratio (β). LE was strongly controlled by R n from June to August when g c and θ v were high. During the transitional periods, H and LE were nearly equally partitioned in the energy balance. The results also suggested that the freeze–thaw condition of soil and the seasonal distribution of precipitation had important impacts on the energy exchange in this alpine grassland.

摘要

文利用观测数据分析研究了玛曲草原地表能量交换的季节变化特征。玛曲草原年均净辐射占年均入射太阳辐射的39 %,冬季净辐射占入射太阳辐射的21 %,雨季净辐射占入射太阳辐射的54 %。冬季和雨季净辐射的不同占比主要由2个季节的地表反照率和湿度状况的差异引起。全年来看,潜热通量是净辐射的主要消耗者。冬季由于土壤冻结加之降水稀少,感热通量在能量分配中占据主导地位。而雨季相对较高的气温、充足的降水及植被茂盛的生长力使得潜热通量占主导地位。在4月和10月这2个过渡季,感热通量和潜热通量在能量分配中具有相近的占比。

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2010CB951701, 2011CB952002), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41205006, 41275016), and the Foundation for Excellent Youth Scholars of CAREERI, Chinese Academy of Sciences. We sincerely thank Xiaohui Peng and Tianning Chen for their contribution in the field work.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Land Surface Process and Climate Change in Cold and Arid Regions, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Lunyu Shang, Yu Zhang, Shihua Lü & Shaoying Wang

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  1. Lunyu Shang
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  2. Yu Zhang
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  3. Shihua Lü
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  4. Shaoying Wang
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Correspondence to Lunyu Shang.

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Shang, L., Zhang, Y., Lü, S. et al. Energy exchange of an alpine grassland on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Sci. Bull. 60, 435–446 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-014-0685-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-014-0685-8

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