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Severe drought events inducing large decrease of net primary productivity in mainland China during 1982-2015
Jun Li1, Zhaoli Wang2, Chengguang Lai2
1School of Civil Engineering and Transportation, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China.
The Science of the Total Environment
|November 26, 2019
Summary
Droughts significantly impact China's terrestrial net primary productivity (NPP), reducing it by over 30 TgC during severe events. Understanding these drought effects on carbon cycling is crucial for ecosystem management.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Environmental Science
- Climate Science
Background:
- Terrestrial ecosystems in mainland China face frequent drought events.
- Quantitative analysis of drought impacts on Net Primary Productivity (NPP) is insufficient.
- Droughts affect regional and global carbon cycling.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the response of NPP to drought events in China from 1982 to 2015.
- To analyze drought event characteristics and their correlation with NPP variations.
- To quantify the impact of droughts on terrestrial carbon cycling.
Main Methods:
- Utilized the standardized evapotranspiration deficit index (SEDI) to identify drought events.
- Employed a three-dimensional clustering algorithm to analyze drought characteristics.
- Used the Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA) model for NPP data analysis.
Main Results:
- Identified 152 persistent drought events, with 19 lasting over 9 months.
- Severe and long-term droughts (>6 months) caused negative NPP in over 60% of affected areas.
- Strong droughts reduced total NPP by over 30 TgC in major regions, primarily from April to September.
Conclusions:
- Drought characteristics significantly influence NPP responses.
- While short-term/less severe droughts may decrease NPP locally, they don't drastically alter total NPP.
- Severe droughts pose a substantial threat to China's terrestrial carbon sequestration capacity.
Keywords:
Drought eventMainland ChinaNet primary productivityStandardized evapotranspiration deficit indexTerrestrial ecosystemMore Related Videos
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