The Influences of Climate Change and Human Activities on Vegetation Dynamics in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Huang, Ke; Zhang, Yangjian; Zhu, Juntao; Liu, Yaojie; Zu, Jiaxing; Zhang, Jing

doi:10.3390/rs8100876

Cited by 240 publications

(168 citation statements)

References 78 publications

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“…Zhu, Zhang, et al () conducted a field experiment in a Tibetan alpine meadow and found warming caused a seasonal shift of ecosystem C exchange. Huang et al () verified that the vegetation dynamics in the TP were influenced by climate and human activities. Areas dominated by human activities are much smaller than those dominated by climate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change Trends and Impacts on Vegetation Greening Over the Tibetan Plateau

et al. 2019

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The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is an ecologically fragile region that is sensitive to climate change. In the context of global climate change, the climate change trends of the TP and the vegetation dynamic response need to be investigated. Based on in situ meteorological data, Satellite Pour l'Observation de la Terre vegetation data, and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer land cover data, a comprehensive analysis was conducted to determine the trends of climate parameters in the TP region at different time scales (long term: 1960–2014; midterm: 1980–2014; short term 1999–2014). A consistent warming trend was observed for different temporal scales, while a warming slowdown was identified during 1999 and 2014. The warming rate was also shown to be much higher in the high‐altitude regions (>4,000 m), especially at midterm and short‐term time scales. A new cloud‐free time series of vegetation index data sets was reconstructed, and the vegetation density showed a general increasing trend along with a warming trend in the TP. The regions showing significant increases accounted for 7.63% of the total Tibetan territory. The major significant greening trend of the TP was mainly caused by climate factors. The reforestation projects may have played a minor role in the vegetation greening in specific regions of the TP. In addition, various vegetation types showed markedly different responses to climate changes. The grassland in semiarid regions, which accounted for 41.9% of the territory of the TP, was identified to be very sensitive to variations in both temperature and precipitation.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Change Trends and Impacts on Vegetation Greening Over the Tibetan Plateau

et al. 2019

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“…From these results, it seems that temperature is inhibiting the growth of vegetation. However, it is well known that this phenomenon occurs in arid and semi-arid areas, with less precipitation [22]. The total precipitation in Beijing is 500-600 mm per year, which makes Beijing a semi-humid region.…”

Section: Possible Influential Factors For Vegetation Change Trendsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Sun et al and Huang et al concluded that temperature and precipitation are both significant in impacting vegetation variation with high spatial and temporal heterogeneity, and that temperature exhibits a negative influence, while precipitation exhibits a positive influence on vegetation in the Tibetan Plateau based on the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) [22,23]. With the growing population and economy, many studies have gradually concluded that the human-induced activities are the dominant factors affecting vegetation greening and browning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human Activity Influences on Vegetation Cover Changes in Beijing, China, from 2000 to 2015

et al. 2017

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For centuries, the rapid development of human society has already made human activity the dominant factor in the terrestrial ecosystem. As the city of greatest importance in China, the capital Beijing has experienced eco-environmental changes with unprecedented economic and population growth during the past few decades. To better understand the ecological transition and its correlations in Beijing, Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) and Operational Land Imager (OLI) images were used to investigate vegetation coverage changes using a dimidiate pixel model. Piecewise linear regression, bivariate-partial correlation analysis, and factor analysis were applied to the probing of the relationship between vegetation coverage changes and climatic/human-induced factors. The results showed that from 2000 to 2005, 2005 to 2010, and 2010 to 2015, Beijing experienced both restoration (6.33%, 10.08%, and 12.81%, respectively) and degradation (13.62%, 9.35%, and 9.49%, respectively). The correlation analysis results between climate and vegetation changes demonstrated that from 2000 to 2015, both the multi-year annual mean temperature (r = −0.819, p < 0.01) and the multi-year annual mean precipitation (r = 0.653, p < 0.05) had a significantly correlated relationship with vegetation change. The Beijing-Tianjin Sandstorm Source Control Project (BTSSCP) has shown beneficial spatial effects on vegetation restoration; the total effectiveness in conservation areas (84.94 in 2000-2010) was much better than non-BTSSCP areas (34.34 in 2000-2010). The most contributory socioeconomic factors were the population (contribution = 54.356%) and gross domestic product (GDP) (contribution = 30.677%). The population showed a significantly negative correlation with the overall vegetation coverage (r = −0.684, p < 0.05). The GDP was significantly negatively correlated with vegetation in Tongzhou, Daxing, Central city, Fangshan, Shunyi, and Changping (r = −0.601, p < 0.01), while positively related in Huairou, Miyun, Pinggu, Mentougou and Yanqing (r = 0.614, p < 0.01). These findings confirm that human activity is a very significant factor in impacting and explaining vegetation changes, and that some socioeconomic influences on vegetation coverage are highly spatially heterogeneous, based on the context of different areas.

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“…Commonly, regional vegetation dynamics are related closely to changes in local climate conditions and human activities [4][5][6]. However, it is difficult to distinguish the influence of these two driving factors when both function in the process of vegetation growth [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Driving Forces in Vegetation Dynamics Using Net Primary Productivity as the Indicator: A Case Study in Jinghe River Basin in the Loess Plateau

Wang

Liu

et al. 2018

Forests

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An objective and effective method to distinguish the influence of climate change and human activities on vegetation dynamics has great significance in the design and implementation of ecosystem restoration projects. Based on the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) remote data and the Miami and Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA) model, this study simulated and used net primary productivity (NPP) as an indicator to identify vegetation dynamics and their driving forces in the Jinghe River basin from 2000 to 2014. The results showed that: (1) The vegetation in the Jinghe River basin, which accounted for 84.4% of the study area, showed an increasing trend in NPP; (2) Human activities contributed most to vegetation restoration, which accounted for 54.5% of the areas; 24.0% of the areas showed an increasing trend in the NPP that was dominated by climate factors. Degradation dominated by human activities accounted for 4.3% of the study area, and degradation dominated by climate factors resulted in 17.2%; (3) The rate of vegetation degradation in areas dominated by climate factors rose with increased slope, where the arid climate caused shortages of water resources, and the human-dominated vegetation restoration activities exacerbated the vegetation's water demand further, which surpassed the carrying capacity of regional water resources and led ultimately to vegetation degradation. We recommend that future ecological restoration programs pay more attention to maintaining the balance between ecosystem restoration and water resource demand to maximize the benefits of human activities and ensure the vegetation restoration is ecologically sustainable.

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The Influences of Climate Change and Human Activities on Vegetation Dynamics in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Cited by 240 publications

References 78 publications

Climate Change Trends and Impacts on Vegetation Greening Over the Tibetan Plateau

Climate Change Trends and Impacts on Vegetation Greening Over the Tibetan Plateau

Human Activity Influences on Vegetation Cover Changes in Beijing, China, from 2000 to 2015

Assessing the Driving Forces in Vegetation Dynamics Using Net Primary Productivity as the Indicator: A Case Study in Jinghe River Basin in the Loess Plateau

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