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Spatial and temporal variability in the net primary production of grassland in China and its relation to climate factors

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Abstract

As an important component of the terrestrial carbon (C) cycle, variability in net primary productivity (NPP) plays a crucial role in the C input and accumulation in grasslands system. In this study, the spatial and temporal variability of grassland NPP in China during 2001–2010 and its relation to climate factors were analyzed by using a modified model of Carnegie–Ames–Stanford Approach based on the Comprehensive and Sequential Classification System. The results show that monthly grassland NPP increases from January to July. While the seasonal variability of NPP indicates peak productivity in summer. Annual mean grassland NPP follows a significant increasing trend with fluctuation from 2001 to 2010. The spatial pattern of grassland NPP shows increasing gradients from the west to the east and from the north to the south of China. Annual NPP differs significantly among different grassland types, with the highest NPP in the grassland distributed in sub-tropical perhumid evergreen broad leaved forest and tropical-perhumid rain forest. Time-lag correlation analysis at the monthly scale shows that grassland NPP responded more rapidly to changes in temperature than to precipitation. Among the climate factors, grassland NPP shows the strongest correlation at 1-month lag with moisture index K. There is a significant positive correlation between seasonal NPP and K. The seasonal NPP is significantly correlated with >0 °C annual cumulative temperature. The highest and the lowest NPP sensitivity to precipitation, K, and temperature were observed in the grassland distributed in tropical forest and semi-desert. The results indicate a complex mechanism of climate factors that control grassland C sequestration in terrestrial ecosystems.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 31160398 and 31560563), the Natural Science Foundation of Gansu Province, China (Nos. 1606RJZA077, 1606RJZA073, and 1308RJZA262), and the Research Fund of Higher Education of Gansu, China (No. 2015A-074).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Quantitative Biology, College of Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, 730070, China

    Meiling Zhang & Youyi Zhao

  2. Carbon Management and Sequestration Center, School of Environment and Natural Resources, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Meiling Zhang & Rattan Lal

  3. College of Prataculture, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou, 730070, China

    Wenlan Jiang

  4. College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730020, China

    Quangong Chen

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  1. Meiling Zhang
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  2. Rattan Lal
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Correspondence to Meiling Zhang.

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Communicated by William E. Rogers.

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Zhang, M., Lal, R., Zhao, Y. et al. Spatial and temporal variability in the net primary production of grassland in China and its relation to climate factors. Plant Ecol 218, 1117–1133 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-017-0756-4

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