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Effects of climate change on phenology and primary productivity in the desert steppe of Inner Mongolia

Journal of Arid Land volume 7, pages 251–263 (2015)Cite this article

Abstract

Variations in temperature and precipitation affect local ecosystems. Considerable spatial and temporal heterogeneity exists in arid ecosystems such as desert steppes. In this study, we analyzed the spatiotemporal dynamics of climate and vegetation phenology in the desert steppe of Inner Mongolia, China using meteorological data (1961–2010) from 11 stations and phenology data (2004–2012) from 6 ecological observation stations. We also estimated the gross primary production for the period of 1982–2009 and found that the annual mean temperature increased at a rate of 0.47°C/decade during 1961–2010, with the last 10 years being consistently warmer than the 50 years as an average. The most significant warming occurred in winters. Annual precipitation slightly decreased during the 50-year period, with summer precipitation experiencing the highest drop in the last 10 years, and spring precipitation, a rise. Spatially, annual precipitation increased significantly in the northeastern and eastern central areas next to the typical steppe. From 2004 to 2012, vegetation green-up and senescence date advanced in the study area, shortening the growing season. Consequently, the primary productivity of the desert steppe decreased along the precipitation gradient from southeast to northwest. Temporally, productivity increased during the period of 1982–1999 and significantly decreased after 2000. Overall, the last decade witnessed the most dramatic climatic changes that were likely to negatively affect the desert steppe ecosystem. The decreased primary productivity, in particular, decreases ecosystem resilience and impairs the livelihood of local farmers and herdsmen.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Life Sciences, Inner Mongolia University, Hohhot, 010021, China

    Fang Han, Qing Zhang, JianMing Niu, PengTao Liu, Sarula Kang, Jing Zhang & ChangMing Chang

  2. Meteorological Bureau of Inner Mongolia, Hohhot, 010051, China

    Fang Han, PengTao Liu, XingHua Li & YunPeng Li

  3. Sino-US Center for Conservation, Energy and Sustainability Science in Inner Mongolia (SUCCESS), Hohhot, 010021, China

    Qing Zhang & JianMing Niu

  4. Department of Geography and Planning, the State University of New York, Albany, NY, 12222, USA

    Alexander Buyantuev

Authors
  1. Fang Han
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  2. Qing Zhang
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  3. Alexander Buyantuev
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  4. JianMing Niu
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  5. PengTao Liu
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  6. XingHua Li
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  7. Sarula Kang
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  8. Jing Zhang
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  9. ChangMing Chang
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  10. YunPeng Li
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Correspondence to JianMing Niu.

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The first and second authors contribute equally to this work.

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Han, F., Zhang, Q., Buyantuev, A. et al. Effects of climate change on phenology and primary productivity in the desert steppe of Inner Mongolia. J. Arid Land 7, 251–263 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-014-0042-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-014-0042-4

Keywords

  • desert steppe
  • green-up
  • gross primary productivity
  • phenology
  • precipitation
  • temperature