Temperate dryland vegetation changes under a warming climate and strong human intervention — With a particular reference to the district Xilin Gol, Inner Mongolia, China

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)

LI, H.

Key Lab. of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Inst. of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, Chine

YANG, X.

Key Lab. of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Inst. of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, Chine

Description :
The AA. aimed to provide a reliable evaluation of the recent status and trends of desertification in the Xilin Gol district of eastern Inner Mongolia located in the east portion of Asian mid-latitude desert belt. Data sources included the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time series from the period 1982 to 2006 and climate records from 17 local weather stations, supported by more recent ground checking. The results show that there is little significant decrease of vegetation greenness on annual time scales under recent warming climate; however a human-induced browning trend occurs in May and June, associated with limited water availability. Results indicate that year round warming exacerbates water deficits in spring and early summer damaging vegetation. This impact is especially pronounced in desert steppe areas. Although both temperature and precipitation are projected to increase over the study area in coming decades, this work demonstrates that it is unlikely that vegetation losses from degradation will be reduced under the current climate change trends.

Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Catena (Giessen), issn : 0341-8162, 2014, n°. 119, p. 9-20, nombre de pages : 12, Références bibliographiques : 72 ref.

Date :
2014

Editeur :
Pays édition : Allemagne, Cremlingen-Destedt, Catena

Langue :
Anglais