Climate-Driven Effects on NPP in the Tibetan Plateau Alpine Grasslands Diminish with Increasing Elevation

Temperature and precipitation are important abiotic factors affecting net primary productivity (NPP) in grassland ecosystems. However, findings on how elevation influences the effects of these factors on NPP in alpine grasslands are not yet consistent. In addition, the impact of varied patterns of c...

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Main Authors: Ze Tang, Yangjian Zhang, Ming Lei, Zhaolei Li, Guang Zhao, Yao Chen, Wenquan Zhu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Remote Sensing
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/24/4754
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author Ze Tang
Yangjian Zhang
Ming Lei
Zhaolei Li
Guang Zhao
Yao Chen
Wenquan Zhu
author_facet Ze Tang
Yangjian Zhang
Ming Lei
Zhaolei Li
Guang Zhao
Yao Chen
Wenquan Zhu
author_sort Ze Tang
collection DOAJ
description Temperature and precipitation are important abiotic factors affecting net primary productivity (NPP) in grassland ecosystems. However, findings on how elevation influences the effects of these factors on NPP in alpine grasslands are not yet consistent. In addition, the impact of varied patterns of climate change on NPP sensitivity with elevation remain unclear. Therefore, alpine grassland on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) was selected to profile the spatial and temporal patterns of NPP from 2001 to 2022, and subsequently to reveal the effects of temperature and precipitation on the sensitivity of NPP with altitudinal gradient. The results showed that (1) 91% of the TP grassland experienced positive NPP trends, and the NPP trends followed a unimodal curve with elevation, with the largest mean value at 2500 m; (2) a positive correlation between precipitation and NPP dominated the grassland NPP up to an elevation of 3400 m, and a positive correlation between temperature and NPP dominated the grassland NPP above an elevation of 3400 m; (3) temperature, precipitation, and their interaction explained, on average, 21% of the temporal variation in the NPP of TP grassland, and the explanatory capacity decreased significantly with elevation; and (4) elevation, temperature, and precipitation variations together explained 35% of the NPP sensitivity of the TP grasslands. This study reveals the altitudinal characteristics of NPP in grasslands affected by climate, and reminds us to take elevation into account when carrying out grassland management.
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issn 2072-4292
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publishDate 2024-12-01
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series Remote Sensing
spelling doaj-art-87b8f41b22024df1a9325b87fbbd135c2025-08-20T02:51:07ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922024-12-011624475410.3390/rs16244754Climate-Driven Effects on NPP in the Tibetan Plateau Alpine Grasslands Diminish with Increasing ElevationZe Tang0Yangjian Zhang1Ming Lei2Zhaolei Li3Guang Zhao4Yao Chen5Wenquan Zhu6Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, ChinaCenter for Eco-Environmental Accounting, Chinese Academy of Environmental Planning, Beijing 100041, ChinaCollege of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecosystem Network Observation and Modeling, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, ChinaInternational Joint Research Laboratory for Global Change Ecology, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475004, ChinaFaculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, ChinaTemperature and precipitation are important abiotic factors affecting net primary productivity (NPP) in grassland ecosystems. However, findings on how elevation influences the effects of these factors on NPP in alpine grasslands are not yet consistent. In addition, the impact of varied patterns of climate change on NPP sensitivity with elevation remain unclear. Therefore, alpine grassland on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) was selected to profile the spatial and temporal patterns of NPP from 2001 to 2022, and subsequently to reveal the effects of temperature and precipitation on the sensitivity of NPP with altitudinal gradient. The results showed that (1) 91% of the TP grassland experienced positive NPP trends, and the NPP trends followed a unimodal curve with elevation, with the largest mean value at 2500 m; (2) a positive correlation between precipitation and NPP dominated the grassland NPP up to an elevation of 3400 m, and a positive correlation between temperature and NPP dominated the grassland NPP above an elevation of 3400 m; (3) temperature, precipitation, and their interaction explained, on average, 21% of the temporal variation in the NPP of TP grassland, and the explanatory capacity decreased significantly with elevation; and (4) elevation, temperature, and precipitation variations together explained 35% of the NPP sensitivity of the TP grasslands. This study reveals the altitudinal characteristics of NPP in grasslands affected by climate, and reminds us to take elevation into account when carrying out grassland management.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/24/4754net primary productivityclimate changeelevation gradientalpine grasslandTibetan Plateau
spellingShingle Ze Tang
Yangjian Zhang
Ming Lei
Zhaolei Li
Guang Zhao
Yao Chen
Wenquan Zhu
Climate-Driven Effects on NPP in the Tibetan Plateau Alpine Grasslands Diminish with Increasing Elevation
Remote Sensing
net primary productivity
climate change
elevation gradient
alpine grassland
Tibetan Plateau
title Climate-Driven Effects on NPP in the Tibetan Plateau Alpine Grasslands Diminish with Increasing Elevation
title_full Climate-Driven Effects on NPP in the Tibetan Plateau Alpine Grasslands Diminish with Increasing Elevation
title_fullStr Climate-Driven Effects on NPP in the Tibetan Plateau Alpine Grasslands Diminish with Increasing Elevation
title_full_unstemmed Climate-Driven Effects on NPP in the Tibetan Plateau Alpine Grasslands Diminish with Increasing Elevation
title_short Climate-Driven Effects on NPP in the Tibetan Plateau Alpine Grasslands Diminish with Increasing Elevation
title_sort climate driven effects on npp in the tibetan plateau alpine grasslands diminish with increasing elevation
topic net primary productivity
climate change
elevation gradient
alpine grassland
Tibetan Plateau
url https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/24/4754
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AT zhaoleili climatedriveneffectsonnppinthetibetanplateaualpinegrasslandsdiminishwithincreasingelevation
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AT yaochen climatedriveneffectsonnppinthetibetanplateaualpinegrasslandsdiminishwithincreasingelevation
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