Abstract
The effect of vegetation on the water-heat exchange in the freezing-thawing processes of active layer is one of the key issues in the study of land surface processes and in predicting the response of alpine ecosystems to climate change in permafrost regions. In this study, we used the simultaneous heat and water model to investigate the effects of plant canopy on surface and subsurface hydrothermal dynamics in the Fenghuoshan area of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau by changing the leaf area index (LAI) and keeping other variables constant. Results showed that the sensible heat, latent heat and net radiation are increased with an increase in the LAI. However, the ground heat flux decreased with an increasing LAI. The annual total evapotranspiration and vegetation transpiration ranged from −16% to 9% and −100% to 15%, respectively, in response to extremes of doubled and zero LAI, respectively. There was a negative feedback between vegetation and the volumetric unfrozen water content at 0.2 m through changing evapotranspiration. The simulation results of soil temperature and moisture suggest that better vegetation conditions are conducive to maintaining the thermal stability of the underlying permafrost, and the advanced initial thawing time and increasing thawing rate of soil ice with the increase in the LAI may have a great influence on the timing and magnitude of supra-permafrost groundwater. This study quantifies the impact of vegetation change on surface and subsurface hydrothermal processes and provides a basic understanding for evaluating the impact of vegetation degradation on the water-heat exchange in permafrost regions under climate change.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Abbreviations
- Acronym:
-
Description
- LAI:
-
Leaf area index
- R n :
-
Net radiation
- H :
-
Sensible heat
- LE:
-
Latent heat
- G o :
-
Ground heat flux
- E total :
-
Total evaportranspiration
- E trans :
-
Vegetation transpiration
- E soil :
-
Soil evaporation
- θ 0.2 :
-
Volumetric unfrozen water content at 0.2 m
- T soil :
-
Soil temperature
- M soil :
-
Volumetric soil unfrozen water content
- RLC:
-
Ratio of LAI changing
- T ao :
-
The first day when the soil temperature was greater than 0 °C for 7 consecutive days
- T bo :
-
The first day when the soil temperature was less than 0 °C for 7 consecutive days
- ΔT max :
-
The difference between summer ground temperature peak value and initial thawing temperature (0 °C)
- ΔT min :
-
The difference between the initial freezing temperature (0 °C) and the minimum ground temperature at completely frozen period
References
Baldocchi D, Xu L, Kiang N (2004). How plant functional-type, weather, seasonal drought, and soil physical properties alter water and energy fluxes of an oak-grass savanna and an annual grassland. Agric For Meteorol 123(1–2): 13–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2003.11.006
Chang J, Wang GX, Gao Y, et al. (2014). The influence of seasonal snow on soil thermal and water dynamics under different vegetation covers in a permafrost region. J Mt Sci 11(3): 727–745. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-013-2893-0
Chang J, Wang GX, Guo, LM (2019). Simulation of soil thermal dynamics using an artificial neural network model for a permafrost alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Permafrost Periglac 30(3): 195–207. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.2003
Chang J, Wang GX, Mao TX (2015) Simulation and prediction of suprapermafrost groundwater level variation in response to climate change using a neural network model. J Hydrol 529: 1211–1220. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2015.09.038
Chen RS, Lv SH, Kang ES, et al. (2006). A Distributed Water-Heat Coupled (DWHC) model for mountainous watershed of an inland river basin (I): model structure and equations. Adv Earth Sci (08): 806–818 (In Chinese).
Chen SP, Chen JQ, Lin GH, et al. (2009). Energy balance and partition in Inner Mongolia steppe ecosystems with different land use types. Agric For Meteorol 149(11): 1800–1809. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2009.06.009
Christensen TR, Johansson T, Åkerman HJ, et al. (2004). Thawing sub-arctic permafrost: Effects on vegetation and methane emissions. Geophys Res Lett 31(4): L04501. https://doi.org/10.1029/2003GL018680
Fang Y (2013). Managing the Three-Rivers headwater region, China: from ecological engineering to social engineering. Ambio 42(5): 566–576. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-012-0366-2
Flerchinger GN, Saxton KE (1989). Simultaneous heat and water model of a freezing snow-residue-soil system I. Theory and Development. Trans ASAE 32(2): 565–571. https://doi.org/10.13031/2013.31040
Frampton A, Painter SL, Destouni G (2013). Permafrost degradation and subsurface-flow changes caused by surface warming trends. Hydrogeol J 21(1): 271–280. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10040-012-0938-z
Gao B, Yang DW, Qin Y, et al. (2018). Change in frozen soils and its effect on regional hydrology, upper Heihe basin, northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Cryosphere 12(2): 657–673. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-657-2018
Gu LL, Yao JM, Hu ZY, et al. (2015) Comparison of the surface energy budget between regions of seasonally frozen ground and permafrost on the Tibetan Plateau. Atmos Res 153: 553–564. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2014.10.012
Gu S, Tang YH, Cui XY, et al. (2008) Characterizing evapotranspiration over a meadow ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. J Geophys Res Atmos 113(D8). https://doi.org/10.1029/2007JD009173
Gu S, Tang YH, Cui XY, et al. (2005). Energy exchange between the atmosphere and a meadow ecosystem on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Agric For Meteorol 129(3): 175–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2004.12.002
Guglielmin M, Evans CJE, Cannone N (2008). Active layer thermal regime under different vegetation conditions in permafrost areas. A case study at Signy Island (Maritime Antarctica). Geoderma 144(1): 73–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2007.10.010
Guo DL, Yang MX (2010). Simulation of soil temperature and moisture in seasonally frozen ground of central Tibetan Plateau by SHAW model. Plateau Meteor 29(06): 1369–1377 (In Chinese).
Halim MA, Chen HYH, Thomas SC (2019). Stand age and species composition effects on surface albedo in a mixedwood boreal forest. Biogeosciences 16(22): 4357–4375. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-16-4357-2019
Han BH, Zhou BR, Yan YQ, et al. (2019). Analysis of vegetation coverage change and its driving factors over Tibetan Plateau from 2000 to 2018. Acta Agrestia Sin 27(06): 1651–1658 (In Chinese). https://doi.org/10.11733/j.issn.1007-0435.2019.06.023
Jorgenson MT, Racine CH, Walters JC, et al. (2001). Permafrost degradation and ecological changes associated with a warming climate in Central Alaska. Clim Change 48(4): 551–579. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005667424292
Karl TR, Trenberth KE (2003). Modern global climate change. Science 302(5651): 1719–1723. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1090228
Kurc SA, Small EE (2004). Dynamics of evapotranspiration in semiarid grassland and shrubland ecosystems during the summer monsoon season, central New Mexico. Water Resour Res 40(9): W09305. https://doi.org/10.1029/2004WR003068
Kurylyk BL, Hayashi M, Quinton WL, et al. (2016). Influence of vertical and lateral heat transfer on permafrost thaw, peatland landscape transition, and groundwater flow. Water Resour Res 52(2): 1286–1305. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR018057
Langford JE, Schincariol RA, Nagare RM, et al. (2020). Transient and Transition Factors in Modeling Permafrost Thaw and Groundwater Flow. Groundwater 58(2): 258–268. https://doi.org/10.1111/gwat.12903
Li DS, Wen Z, Cheng QG, et al. (2019). Thermal dynamics of the permafrost active layer under increased precipitation at the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. J Mt Sci 16(2): 309–322. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-018-5153-5
Li SG, Eugster W, Asanuma J, et al. (2006). Energy partitioning and its biophysical controls above a grazing steppe in central Mongolia. Agric For Meteorol 137(1–2): 89–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2006.03.010
Link TE, Flerchinger GN, Unsworth M, et al. (2004). Simulation of water and energy fluxes in an old-growth seasonal temperate rain forest using the simultaneous heat and water (SHAW) model. J Hydrometeorol 5(3): 443–457. https://doi.org/10.1175/1525-7541(2004)005%3C0443:SOWAEF%3E2.0.CO;2
Luo DL, Jin HJ, He RX, et al. (2018a) Characteristics of water-heat exchanges and inconsistent surface temperature changes at an elevational permafrost site on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. J Geophys Res Atmos 123(18): 10404–10422. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JD028298
Luo DL, Jin HJ, Marchenko SS, et al. (2018b) Difference between near-surface air, land surface and ground surface temperatures and their influences on the frozen ground on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Geoderma 312: 74–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2017.09.037
Magnin F, Josnin JY, Ravanel L, et al. (2017). Modelling rock wall permafrost degradation in the Mont Blanc massif from the LIA to the end of the 21st century. Cryosphere 11(4): 1813–1834. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-1813-2017
O’Donnell JA, Harden JW, McGuire AD, et al. (2011). Exploring the sensitivity of soil carbon dynamics to climate change, fire disturbance and permafrost thaw in a black spruce ecosystem. Biogeosciences 8(5): 1367–1382. https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-8-1367-2011
Porada P, Ekici A, Beer C (2016). Effects of bryophyte and lichen cover on permafrost soil temperature at large scale. Cryosphere 10(5): 2291–2315. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2291-2016
Qian J, Wang GX, Ding YJ, et al. (2006). The land ecological evolutional patterns in the source areas of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers in the past 15 years, China. Environ Monit Assess 116(1–3): 137–156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-006-7232-2
Qin YH, Wu TH, Zhao L, et al. (2017a) Numerical modeling of the active layer thickness and permafrost thermal state across Qinghai — Tibetan Plateau. J Geophys Res Atmos 122(21): 11,604–11,620. https://doi.org/10.1002/2017JD026858
Qin Y, Yang DW, Gao B, et al. (2017b) Impacts of climate warming on the frozen ground and eco-hydrology in the Yellow River source region, China. Sci Total Environ 605–606: 830. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.06.188
Ran YH, Li X, Cheng GD (2018). Climate warming over the past half century has led to thermal degradation of permafrost on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Cryosphere 12(2): 595–608. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-595-2018
Rasmussen LH, Zhang WX, Hollesen J, et al. (2018) Modelling present and future permafrost thermal regimes in Northeast Greenland. Cold Reg Sci Technol 146: 199–213. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2017.10.011
Rowland JC, Travis BJ, Wilson CJ (2011). The role of advective heat transport in talik development beneath lakes and ponds in discontinuous permafrost. Geophys Res Lett 38(17): L17504. https://doi.org/10.1029/2011GL048497
Shur YL, Jorgenson MT (2007). Patterns of permafrost formation and degradation in relation to climate and ecosystems. Permafrost Periglac 18(1): 7–19. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.582
Sitch S, Smith B, Prentice IC, et al. (2003). Evaluation of ecosystem dynamics, plant geography and terrestrial carbon cycling in the LPJ dynamic global vegetation model. Glob Change Biol 9(2): 161–185. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.2003.00569.x
Sjoberg Y, Coon E, Sannel ABK, et al. (2016). Thermal effects of groundwater flow through subarctic fens: A case study based on field observations and numerical modeling. Water Resour Res 52(3): 1591–1606. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015WR017571
Wang GX, Hu HC, Liu GS, et al. (2009). Impacts of changes in vegetation cover on soil water heat coupling in an alpine meadow of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 13(3): 327–341. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-13-327-2009
Wang GX, Liu GS, Li CJ, et al. (2012). The variability of soil thermal and hydrological dynamics with vegetation cover in a permafrost region. Agric For Meteorol 162–163(3): 44–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2012.04.006
Wang GX, Shen YP, Qian J, et al. (2003). Study on the influence of vegetation change on soil moisture cycle in alpine meadow. J Glaciol Geocryol (06): 653–659 (In Chinese). https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1000-0240.2003.06.010
Wang GX, Wang YB, Li YS, et al. (2007). Influences of alpine ecosystem responses to climatic change on soil properties on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. Catena 70(3): 506–514. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2007.01.001
Wang YH, Yang HB, Gao B, et al. (2018) Frozen ground degradation may reduce future runoff in the headwaters of an inland river on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. J Hydrol 564: 1153–1164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.07.078
Wen Z, Niu FJ, Yu QH, et al. (2014). The role of rainfall in the thermal-moisture dynamics of the active layer at Beiluhe of Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. Environ Earth Sci 71(3): 1195–1204. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-013-2523-8
Xiao Y, Zhao L, Li R, et al. (2010). The characteristics of surface albedo in permafrost regions of northern Tibetan Plateau. J Glaciol Geocryol 32(03): 480–488 (In Chinese).
Yao JM, Gu LL, Zhao L, et al. (2013). Comparatively observational study of the surface albedo between the permafrost region and the seasonally frozen soil region. Acta Meteorol Sin 71(01): 176–184 (In Chinese with English abstract). https://doi.org/10.11676/qxxb2013.015
Yi SH, McGuire AD, Harden J, et al. (2009). Interactions between soil thermal and hydrological dynamics in the response of Alaska ecosystems to fire disturbance. J Geophys Res Biogeosci 114(G2): 92–103. https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JG000841
Yin GA, Niu FJ, Lin ZJ, et al. (2016). Performance comparison of permafrost models in Wudaoliang Basin, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. J Mt Sci 13(7): 1162–1173. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-015-3745-x
You QG, Xue X, Peng F, et al. (2017) Surface water and heat exchange comparison between alpine meadow and bare land in a permafrost region of the Tibetan Plateau. Agric For Meteorol 232: 48–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2016.08.004
You QG, Xue X, Peng F, et al. (2014) Comparison of ecosystem characteristics between degraded and intact alpine meadow in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China. Ecol Eng 71: 133–143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2014.07.022
Zhang ML, Wen Z, Dong JH, et al. (2018). Coupled water-vapor-heat transport in shallow unsaturated zone of active layer in permafrost regions. Rock Soil Mech 39(02): 561–570 (In Chinese). https://doi.org/10.16285/j.rsm.2017.1128
Zhang PC, Shao GF, Zhao G, et al. (2000). Ecology — China’s forest policy for the 21st century. Science 288(5474): 2135–2136. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.288.5474.2135
Zhang W, Wang GX, Zhou J, et al. (2012). Simulating the water-heat processes in permafrost regions in the Tibetan Plateau based on CoupModel. J Glaciol Geocryol 34(05): 1099–1109 (In Chinese).
Zhang X, Liu XQ, Zhang LF, et al. (2019) Comparison of energy partitioning between artificial pasture and degraded meadow in three-river source region on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau: A case study. Agric For Meteorol 271: 251–263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2019.02.046
Zhang YL, Cheng GD, Li X, et al. (2017). Influences of frozen ground and climate change on hydrological processes in an alpine watershed: a case study in the upstream area of the Hei’he River, Northwest China. Permafrost Periglac 28(2): 420–432. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1928
Zhang YS, Ohata T, Zhou J, et al. (2011). Modelling plant canopy effects on annual variability of evapotranspiration and heat fluxes for a semi-arid grassland on the southern periphery of the Eurasian cryosphere in Mongolia. Hydrol Process 25(8): 1201–1211. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.7885
Zhang Y, Wang GX, Wang YB (2010). Response of biomass spatial pattern of alpine vegetation to climate change in permafrost region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China. J Mt Sci 7(4): 301–314. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-010-2011-5
Zhao L, Li R, Ding YJ (2008). Simulation on the soil water-thermal characteristics of the active layer in Tanggula range. J Glaciol Geocryol 30(06): 930–937 (In Chinese).
Zhong L, Ma YM, Xue YK, et al. (2019). Climate change trends and impacts on vegetation greening over the Tibetan Plateau. J Geophys Res Atmos 124(14): 7540–7552. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD030481
Zhou J, Kinzelbach W, Cheng GD, et al. (2013). Monitoring and modeling the influence of snow pack and organic soil on a permafrost active layer, Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of China. Cold Reg Sci Technol (90–91): 38–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2013.03.003
Zhou J, Wang GX, Li X, et al. (2008). Energy-water balance of meadow ecosystem in cold frozen soil areas. J Glaciol Geocryol 30(03): 398–407 (In Chinese).
Zou DF, Zhao L, Sheng Y, et al. (2017). A new map of permafrost distribution on the Tibetan Plateau. Cryosphere 11(6): 2527–2542. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-2527-2017
Acknowledgement
This study was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (No. 41671015, No. 42071027, No. 41890821).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Guo, Lm., Chang, J., Xu, Hl. et al. Modelling plant canopy effects on water-heat exchange in the freezing-thawing processes of active layer on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. J. Mt. Sci. 18, 1564–1579 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-020-6335-5
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-020-6335-5