Comparative Assessment of Grassland Dynamic and Its Response to Drought Based on Multi-Index in the Mongolian Plateau

Abstract

This study applied grassland related multi-index and assessed the effects of climate change by investigating grassland responses to drought. This process was performed to study grassland vegetation dynamic accurately and evaluate the effect of drought in the Mongolian Plateau (MP). The spatial–temporal characteristics of grassland dynamic in terms of coverage (Fv), surface bareness (Fb), and net primary production (NPP) from 2000 to 2013 were explored. We implemented the maximum Pearson correlation to analyze the grassland vegetation in response to drought by using self-calibrating Palmer Drought Severity Index (scPDSI). Results show that Fv and NPP present an increasing trend (0.18 vs. 0.43). Fb showed a decreasing trend with a value of −0.16. The grassland Fv and NPP positively correlated with scPDSI, with a value of 0.12 and 0.85, respectively, and Fb was −0.08. The positive correlation between Fv and NPP accounted for 84.08%, and the positive correlation between Fv and scPDSI accounted for 93.88%. On the contrary, the area with a negative correlation between Fb and scPDSI was 57.43%. The grassland in the MP showed a recovery tendency. The increase in grassland caused by positive reaction was mainly distributed in the middle of Mongolia (MG), whereas that caused by counter response was mainly distributed in the east and west MG and northeast Inner Mongolia autonomous region of China (IM). The relevant results may provide useful information for policymakers about mitigation strategies against the inverse effects of drought on grassland and help to ease the losses caused by drought.

Increasing precipitation promoted vegetation growth in the Mongolian Plateau during 2001–2018

“…In the Mongolian Plateau, vegetation change is strongly affected by climate change and human activities (Meng et al, 2019). During the past decades, overgrazing and mining are the main drivers for grassland degradation in Mongolia (Zhang et al, 2022b). In China, grassland restoration has been implemented over the past decades (Cai et al, 2020;Wei et al, 2023).…”

Periodical Progress in Ecophysiology and Ecology of Grassland

“…Zhang and Wang et al, (2022) [ 2 ] investigated the responses of plants, soil bacteria, and fungal diversity to climate change (especially rainfall patterns and air temperature) in the desert grassland of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China. The results indicated that increased precipitation promoted root biomass growth more than aboveground living biomass, and changing precipitation and increasing temperature, as well as their interaction, primarily altered the plant diversity, soil bacteria and fungal diversity but had no significant impact on plant biomass production, organic carbon, total nitrogen and total phosphorus contents of plants.…”