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Simulating Impacts of Ice Storms on Forest Ecosystems
Published on: June 30, 2020
Assessing climate impact on forest cover in areas undergoing substantial land cover change using Landsat imagery
Qinli Yang1, Heng Zhang2, Wanshan Peng2
1School of Resources and Environment, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China, No. 2006 Xiyuan Ave, West Hi-Tech Zone, Chengdu 611731, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Nanjing, China, No. 225 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing 210029, PR China.
Abstract:
In this study, we propose to assess climate impact on forest cover (represented by EVI) at multiple scales in areas undergoing substantial land cover change, using Landsat imagery with human-induced land cover change effect excluded. Taking the Qingliu River catchment located in a subtropical humid monsoon area in China as a case study, the results indicate that EVI increases significantly (p < 0.01) during 1989-2014 with a magnitude of 0.026/decade. Spatial distribution of EVI is distinct in summer and growing season. Temperature and precipitation show high partial correlations with EVI, with better partial correlation found between EVI and temperature. Their partial correlations with EVI on monthly scale are higher than those on annual scale. Besides, precipitation and pan evaporation show accumulative lag effects (4 months) on forest EVI, while temperature has no lag effect. Finally, an empirical formula is established to quantify the relationship among EVI and its main driving factors (temperature and precipitation) by considering the precipitation threshold (200 mm). The findings should provide scientific supports for local forest management and ecosystem services, and should also support the hydrological effect assessment of vegetation cover change under climate change for the study area.
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Work Done During Volume Change
Consider a gas confined to a cylinder fitted with a movable piston at one end. If the gas expands from volume V1 to volume V2, it exerts a force on the piston, such that the piston moves by a distance dr.
The work done by the gas on the piston can be expressed as
Net Change Theorem

