Fragmented patch patterns accelerate evapotranspiration: Implications for alpine meadow restoration
Landscape patch patterns are extensively used to reflect the functions and states of ecosystems, significantly influencing eco-hydrological processes. Fragmented patch patterns are common in alpine meadows on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), potentially leading to the redistribution of water resou...
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Elsevier
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25007393 |
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| author | Wei Zhang Jinglin Zhang |
| author_facet | Wei Zhang Jinglin Zhang |
| author_sort | Wei Zhang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Landscape patch patterns are extensively used to reflect the functions and states of ecosystems, significantly influencing eco-hydrological processes. Fragmented patch patterns are common in alpine meadows on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), potentially leading to the redistribution of water resources by altering material and energy flows. However, there is a paucity of direct observational evidence regarding the impact of fragmented patch patterns on land surface evapotranspiration, and little is known about their effects at the plot scale. Here, we first investigated alpine meadow patch patterns and the corresponding spatial distribution of evapotranspiration through unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) remote sensing. We then analyzed the role of fragmented patch patterns on alpine meadow evapotranspiration at both patch and plot scales. The results indicated that: 1) The proposed method based on UAV imagery was able to estimate evapotranspiration with satisfactory accuracy (R2 = 0.75, P < 0.001); 2) Evapotranspiration among typical alpine meadow patch types was noticeably different (P < 0.01), with isolated vegetation patches (IV) exhibiting markedly higher values compared to bare soil patches (BP) and original vegetation patches (OV); 3) Most landscape metrics for BP and the patch density index for IV showed positive correlations with evapotranspiration, while the percent of total area and connectivity indices for OV demonstrated negative correlations. Our findings suggest that fragmented patch patterns exacerbate water loss in alpine meadows through excessive evapotranspiration from IV. Restoring vegetation coverage of BP around IV is crucial for the management of degraded alpine meadows. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b9a6701e9802433faba7d526819e4ec9 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj-art-b9a6701e9802433faba7d526819e4ec92025-08-20T03:29:10ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2025-08-0117711380910.1016/j.ecolind.2025.113809Fragmented patch patterns accelerate evapotranspiration: Implications for alpine meadow restorationWei Zhang0Jinglin Zhang1School of Geographic Information and Tourism, Chuzhou University, 1 Huifeng West Road, Chuzhou 239000, China; Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Physical Geographic Environment, Chuzhou University, 1 Huifeng West Road, Chuzhou 239000, ChinaSchool of Geographic Information and Tourism, Chuzhou University, 1 Huifeng West Road, Chuzhou 239000, China; Anhui Engineering Research Center of Remote Sensing and Geoinformatics, 1 Huifeng West Road, Chuzhou 239000, China; Anhui Center for Collaborative Innovation in Geographical Information Integration and Application, 1 Huifeng West Road, Chuzhou 239000, China; Corresponding author at: School of Geographic Information and Tourism, Chuzhou University, 1 Huifeng West Road, Chuzhou 239000, China.Landscape patch patterns are extensively used to reflect the functions and states of ecosystems, significantly influencing eco-hydrological processes. Fragmented patch patterns are common in alpine meadows on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP), potentially leading to the redistribution of water resources by altering material and energy flows. However, there is a paucity of direct observational evidence regarding the impact of fragmented patch patterns on land surface evapotranspiration, and little is known about their effects at the plot scale. Here, we first investigated alpine meadow patch patterns and the corresponding spatial distribution of evapotranspiration through unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) remote sensing. We then analyzed the role of fragmented patch patterns on alpine meadow evapotranspiration at both patch and plot scales. The results indicated that: 1) The proposed method based on UAV imagery was able to estimate evapotranspiration with satisfactory accuracy (R2 = 0.75, P < 0.001); 2) Evapotranspiration among typical alpine meadow patch types was noticeably different (P < 0.01), with isolated vegetation patches (IV) exhibiting markedly higher values compared to bare soil patches (BP) and original vegetation patches (OV); 3) Most landscape metrics for BP and the patch density index for IV showed positive correlations with evapotranspiration, while the percent of total area and connectivity indices for OV demonstrated negative correlations. Our findings suggest that fragmented patch patterns exacerbate water loss in alpine meadows through excessive evapotranspiration from IV. Restoring vegetation coverage of BP around IV is crucial for the management of degraded alpine meadows.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25007393Alpine meadowPatchinessUAVEvapotranspirationLandscape indices |
| spellingShingle | Wei Zhang Jinglin Zhang Fragmented patch patterns accelerate evapotranspiration: Implications for alpine meadow restoration Ecological Indicators Alpine meadow Patchiness UAV Evapotranspiration Landscape indices |
| title | Fragmented patch patterns accelerate evapotranspiration: Implications for alpine meadow restoration |
| title_full | Fragmented patch patterns accelerate evapotranspiration: Implications for alpine meadow restoration |
| title_fullStr | Fragmented patch patterns accelerate evapotranspiration: Implications for alpine meadow restoration |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fragmented patch patterns accelerate evapotranspiration: Implications for alpine meadow restoration |
| title_short | Fragmented patch patterns accelerate evapotranspiration: Implications for alpine meadow restoration |
| title_sort | fragmented patch patterns accelerate evapotranspiration implications for alpine meadow restoration |
| topic | Alpine meadow Patchiness UAV Evapotranspiration Landscape indices |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X25007393 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT weizhang fragmentedpatchpatternsaccelerateevapotranspirationimplicationsforalpinemeadowrestoration AT jinglinzhang fragmentedpatchpatternsaccelerateevapotranspirationimplicationsforalpinemeadowrestoration |