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Spatial and seasonal characterization of net primary productivity and climate variables in southeastern China using MODIS data

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Abstract

We developed a sophisticated method to depict the spatial and seasonal characterization of net primary productivity (NPP) and climate variables. The role of climate variability in the seasonal variation of NPP exerts delayed and continuous effects. This study expands on this by mapping the seasonal characterization of NPP and climate variables from space using geographic information system (GIS) technology at the pixel level. Our approach was developed in southeastern China using moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) data. The results showed that air temperature, precipitation and sunshine percentage contributed significantly to seasonal variation of NPP. In the northern portion of the study area, a significant positive 32-d lagged correlation was observed between seasonal variation of NPP and climate (P<0.01), and the influences of changing climate on NPP lasted for 48 d or 64 d. In central southeastern China, NPP showed 16-d, 48-d, and 96-d lagged correlation with air temperature, precipitation, and sunshine percentage, respectively (P<0.01); the influences of air temperature and precipitation on NPP lasted for 48 d or 64 d, while sunshine influence on NPP only persisted for 16 d. Due to complex topography and vegetation distribution in the southern part of the study region, the spatial patterns of vegetation-climate relationship became complicated and diversiform, especially for precipitation influences on NPP. In the northern part of the study area, all vegetation NPP had an almost similar response to seasonal variation of air temperature except for broad crops. The impacts of seasonal variation of precipitation and sunshine on broad and cereal crop NPP were slightly different from other vegetation NPP.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Agricultural Remote Sensing and Information Application, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310029, China

    Dai-liang Peng, Jing-feng Huang & Zhan-yu Liu

  2. Center for Earth Observation and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100190, China

    Dai-liang Peng

  3. Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Ecological Health, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310029, China

    Jing-feng Huang & Zhan-yu Liu

  4. Key Laboratory of Agricultural Remote Sensing and Information System of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310029, China

    Jing-feng Huang & Zhan-yu Liu

  5. Department of Soil, Water, and Environmental Science, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    Alfredo R. Huete

  6. Institute of Anhui Meteorology, Hefei, 230031, China

    Tai-ming Yang

  7. Institute of Jiangsu Meteorology, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Ping Gao

  8. Institute of Shandong Meteorology, Jinan, 250031, China

    Yan-chun Chen

  9. Institute of Fujian Meteorology, Fuzhou, 350001, China

    Hui Chen

  10. Shanghai Climate Centre, Shanghai, 200030, China

    Jun Li

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  1. Dai-liang Peng
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  2. Jing-feng Huang
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  3. Alfredo R. Huete
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  4. Tai-ming Yang
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  6. Yan-chun Chen
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  7. Hui Chen
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  8. Jun Li
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  9. Zhan-yu Liu
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Correspondence to Dai-liang Peng or Zhan-yu Liu.

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Project supported by the National High-Tech Research and Development Program (863) of China (No. 2006AA120101), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 40871158 and 40875070), and the Key Technologies Research and Development Program of China (No. 2006BAD10A01)

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Peng, Dl., Huang, Jf., Huete, A.R. et al. Spatial and seasonal characterization of net primary productivity and climate variables in southeastern China using MODIS data. J. Zhejiang Univ. Sci. B 11, 275–285 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B0910501

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1631/jzus.B0910501

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