Simulating the vegetation-producing process in small watersheds in the Loess Plateau of China

Small watersheds are the basic composition unit of the Loess Plateau in China. An accurate estimation of vegetation net primary productivity （NPP） is of great significance for eco-benefit evaluation in small watershed management in this region. Here we describe the development and testing of a vegetation-producing process model （VPP） of a small watershed in the Loess Plateau. The model couples three modules： radiation adjustment; soil hydrological processes; and vegetation carbon assimilation. Model validation indicates that the VPP model can be used to estimate the NPP of small watersheds in the region. With the VPP model, we estimated the spatial NPP distributions in the Yangou watershed for 2007. The results show that in the Yangou watershed the NPP is relatively low, averaging 168 g C/（m^2.a）. Trees and shrubs have a higher NPP than crops and grasses. The NPP is larger on the partly shaded and shaded slopes than on the partly sunny and sunny slopes. The NPP on the slopes increases gradually on 0-20° slopes and decreases slightly on slopes steeper than 20°. Our simulation indicates that the vegetation type is the most important factor in determining the NPP distribution in small watersheds in the Loess Plateau.

Response of vegetation net primary productivity to climate change scenarios in the Loess Plateau of China--A case study of the Yangou watershed

Vegetation net primary productivity(NPP)is a sensitive indicator to characterize the response of terrestrial ecosystems to the climate change.Projections of the NPP changes of the Loess Plateau under future climate scenarios have great significances in revealing the interactions among terrestrial ecosystems and climatic systems,as well as instructing future vegetation construction of this region.Here,we carried out a case study on the Yangou watershed in the Loess Plateau.Using the vegetation-producing process model(VPP)established for such small watersheds,we simulated the NPP of the Yangou watershed under different scenarios of climate changes.The results showed that the NPP significandy increased with the precipitation increasing and evidently decreased with the temperature increasing where the climate change occurred in the whole year or in the summer half year.However,where the climate change occurred in the winter half year,the increased precipitation had little effect on the NPP,and the increased temperature significantly reduced the NPP.There were clear differences among the response sensitivities of different vegetation types with trees and shrubs were more sensitive to the changes in temperature and precipitation than crops and grasses.Currently,the most favourable climate change scenario to the NPP in the Yangou watershed was T0P15 under which the precipitation increased by 15%and the temperature did not changed,in the whole year;in the meantime,the most unfavourable climate change scenarios was T2P-15 under which the precipitation declined by 15%and the temperature increased by 2℃,in the whole year.