Research on the Soil Carbon Storage of Alpine Grassland under Different Land Uses in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

In this article, we mainly analysis the soil carbon storage of the alpine grassland under different land uses in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The samples of this investigation include six experimental fields which are fenced mowing grassland, artificial grassland, winter and spring grazing meadowland, summer and autumn mild grazing land, summer and autumn moderate grazing pasture and summer and autumn severe grazing land and seven soil layers included 0 cm-5 cm, 5 cm-10 cm, 10 cm-20 cm, 20 cm-30 cm, 30 cm-50 cm, 50 cm-70 cm and 70 cm-100 cm. The results show that the soil carbon storage in different soil layers will gradually reduce and the difference was remarkable （P 〈 0.05）. What is more, the soil carbon storage of alpine grassland under different land uses has following sequence： winter and spring grazing grassland 〉 summer and autumn mild grazing land 〉 artificial grassland 〉 summer and autumn moderate grazing meadowland 〉 summer and autumn severe grazing pasture 〉 fenced mowing meadow, and the significant difference between them is remarkable （P 〈 0.05）.

Coarse fragment content influences estimates of soil C and N stocks of alpine grassland on the northeastern edge of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau,China

Soil organic carbon(SOC)and total nitrogen(TN)stocks are usually calculated with samples collected using core samplers.Although the calculation considers the effects of gravel in soil samples,other coarse fragments such as stones or boulders in soil may not be collected due to the restricted diameter of core samplers.This would cause an incorrect estimation of soil bulk density and ultimately SOC and TN stocks.In this study,we compared the relative volume of coarse fragment and bulk density of fine earth determined by large size soil sampler with three core samplers.We also investigated the uncertainties in estimation of SOC and TN stocks caused by this soil sampler procedure in three typical alpine grasslands on the northeast edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau(QTP),China.Results show that(1)the relative volume and size of coarse fragment collected by large size sampler were significantly(p<0.05)higher and larger than those of core samplers,while bulk density of fine earth,SOC and TN stocks show opposite patterns in all grassland types;(2)SOC and TN stocks determined by core samplers were 17%-45%and 18%-46%higher than larger size sampler for three typical alpine grasslands;and(3)bulk density of fine earth,SOC and TN stocks exponentially decreased with the increasing of coarse fragment content.We concluded that core sampler methods significantly underestimated the volume occupied by coarse fragment but overestimated SOC and TN stocks.Thus,corrections should be made to the results from core samplers using large size samplers on regions with gravel and stone-rich soils in future studies.

Analysis for Soil Characteristics of Degraded Grassland on Alpine Meadow

[Objective]The aim of this study is to explore the effects of grassland degradation on soil physical and chemical properties.[Method]The ratio of plant root to soil and soil texture on Alpine Meadow were investigated in this study,and soil available N,P,K,Cu,Zn,organic matter and pH value were also analyzed by routine analysis of soil nutrients in different degraded grasslands.[Result]With the intensification of degraded gradient and the soil depth,the ratio of plant root to soil was decreased gradually.The highest ratio of plant root to soil was in 0-10 cm depth of soil in grassland with different degraded gradients,while its ratio of plant root to soil changed from 0.001 to 0.040 with soil type of loam.Soil chemical characteristic changed in different degraded gradients.The content of available N,P,K reduced significantly with the soil depth and the intensification of degraded gradients.The content of Cu and Zn was relatively lack in degraded grassland.[Conclusion]There is no significant correlation between nutrition content or pH value and the succession degree of degraded grassland.

Study on the Technology of Restoration and Giving a New Lease of Life to the Alpine Grassland Vegetation in the Constuction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway

This article gives a summary and analasis to experimental study on the restoration and giving a new lease of life to the alpine grassland vegetation along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. Through on-the-spot investigation and vegetaion storation experimental study to the constructive fetching soil ground in Tuotuo River experiment section in the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the result shows: after the activities of the construction, soil conditions on the fetching soil ground have changed a lot, the soil quality has obviously degraded. In order to do well the vegetaton storation and reconstruction in the process of the construction of the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, the backfilling of the surface soil should really be done well. According to the result of on -the-spot experiment, the Elymus dahuricus Turcz and Poa annua Linn are all more suitable to the fetching soil environment on the alpine grassland, the plant can normally grow in the growing season. The timing selection of the vegetation should fully use feature of both rain and heat in the same season, thus can improve the percentage of success.

Volume fractal dimension of soil particles and relationships with soil physical-chemical properties and plant species diversity in an alpine grassland under different disturbance degrees

Fractal geometry is an important method in soil science,and many studies have used fractal theory to examine soil properties and the relationships with other eco-environmental factors.However,there have been few studies examining soil particle volume fractal dimension in alpine grasslands.To study the volume fractal dimension of soil particles （D） and its relationships with soil salt,soil nutrient and plant species diversity,we conducted an experiment on an alpine grassland under different disturbance degrees：non-disturbance （N0）,light disturbance （L）,moderate disturbance （M） and heavy disturbance （H）.The results showed that （1） Ds varied from 2.573 to 2.635 among the different disturbance degrees and increased with increasing degrees of disturbance.（2） Shannon-Wiener diversity index,Pielou＇s evenness index and Margalef richness index reached their highest values at the M degree,indicating that moderate disturbance is beneficial to the increase of plant species diversity.（3） In the L and M degrees,there was a significant positive correlation between D and clay content and a significant negative correlation between D and soil organic matter （SOM）.In the H degree,D was significantly and positively correlated with total salt （TS）.The results suggested that to a certain extent,D can be used to characterize the uniformity of soil texture in addition to soil fertility characteristics.（4） For the L degree,there was a significant negative correlation between D and the Shannon-Wiener diversity index; while for the M degree,there was a significant negative correlation between D and Pielou＇s evenness index.

Fluxes of methane,carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide in an alpine wetland and an alpine grassland of the Tianshan Mountains,China

Methane （OH4）, carbon dioxide （CO2） and nitrous oxide （N2O） are known to be major greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. To identify the flux dynamics of these greenhouse gases is, therefore, of great significance. In this paper, we conducted a comparative study on an alpine grassland and alpine wetland at the Bayinbuluk Grassland Eco-system Research Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences. By using opaque, static, manual stainless steel chambers and gas chromatography, we measured the fluxes of CH4, N2O and CO2 from the grassland and wetland through an in situ monitoring study from May 2010 to October 2012. The mean flux rates of CH4, N2O and CO2 for the experimental alpine wetland in the growing season （from May to October） were estimated at 322.4 μg/（m2.h）, 16.7 μg/（m2.h） and 76.7 mg/（m2.h）, respectively; and the values for the alpine grassland were -88.2 μg/（m2.h）, 12.7 μg/（m2.h）, 57.3 mg/（m2.h）, respectively. The gas fluxes showed large seasonal and annual variations, suggesting weak fluxes in the non-growing season. The relationships between these gas fluxes and environmental factors were analyzed for the two alpine ecosystems. The results showed that air temperature, precipitation, soil temperature and soil moisture can greatly influence the fluxes of CH4, N2O and CO2, but the alpine grassland and alpine wetland showed different feedback mechanisms under the same climate and environmental conditions.

Fluxes of CO_2,CH_4 and N_2O from alpine grassland in the Tibetan Plateau

Using stat ic chamber technique, fluxes of CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O were measured in the alpine grassland area from July 2000 to July 2001, d eterminations of mean fluxes showed that CO 2 and N 2 O were gene rally released from the soil, while the alpine grassland accounted for a weak CH 4 sink. Fluxes of CO 2 , CH 4 and N 2 O ranged widely. The highest CO 2 emission occurred in August, whereas a lmost 90% of the whole year emission occurred in the growing season. But the variations of CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes did not show any clear patterns over the one-year-experim ent. During a daily variation, the maximum CO 2 emission occurred at 16:00, and then decreased to the minimum emi ssion in the early morning. Daily pattern analyses indicated that the variation in CO 2 fluxes was positively related to air temperatures (R 2 =0.73) and soil temperatures at a depth of 5 cm (R 2 =0.86), whereas daily variations in CH 4 and N 2 O fluxes were poorly explained by soil temperatures and climatic va riables. CO 2 emissions in this area were much lower than other grasslands in plain areas .

Effects of Temperature,Soil Moisture,Soil Type and Their Interactions on Soil Carbon Mineralization in Zoigê Alpine Wetland,Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Wetland stores substantial amount of carbon and may contribute greatly to global climate change debate. However, few researches have focused on the effects of global climate change on carbon mineralization in Zoige alpine wetland, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is one of the most important peatlands in China. Through incubation experiment, this paper studied the effects of temperature, soil moisture, soil type （marsh soil and peat soil） and their interactions on CO2 and CH4 emission rates in Zoige alpine wetland. Results show that when the temperature rises from 5℃ to 35℃, CO2 emission rates increase by 3.3-3.7 times and 2.4-2.6 times under non-inundation treatment, and by 2.2-2.3 times and 4.1-4.3 times under inundation treatment in marsh soil and peat soil, respectively. Compared with non-inundation treatment, CO2 emission rates decrease by 6%-44%, 20%-60% in marsh soil and peat soil, respectively, under inundation treatment. CO2 emission rate is significantly affected by the combined effects of the temperature and soil type （p 〈 0.001）, and soil moisture and soil type （p 〈 0.001）, and CH4 emission rate was significantly affected by the interaction of the temperature and soil moisture （p 〈 0.001）. Q10 values for CO2 emission rate are higher at the range of 5 ℃-25℃ than 25 ℃-35℃, indicating that carbon mineralization is more sensitive at low temperature in Zoige alpine wetland.

N-P fertilization did not reduce AMF abundance or diversity but alter AMF composition in an alpine grassland infested by a root hemiparasitic plant

Fertilization has been shown to have suppressive effects on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi(AMF) and root hemiparasites separately in numerous investigations, but its effects on AMF in the presence of root hemiparasites remain untested. In view of the contrasting nutritional effects of AMF and root hemiparasites on host plants, we tested the hypothesis that fertilization may not show strong suppressive effects on AMF when a plant community was infested by abundant hemiparasitic plants. Plants and soil samples were collected from experimental field plots in Bayanbulak Grassland, where N and P fertilizers had been applied for three continuous years for control against a spreading root hemiparasite, Pedicularis kansuensis. Shoot and root biomass of each plant functional group were determined. Root AMF colonization levels, soil spore abundance, and extraradical hyphae length density were measured for three soil depths(0 e10 cm, 10 e20 cm, 20 e30 cm). Partial 18 S r RNA gene sequencing was used to detect AMF diversity and community composition. In addition, we analyzed the relationship between relative abundance of different AMF genera and environmental factors using Spearman's correlation method. In contrast to suppressive effects reported by many previous studies, fertilization showed no significant effects on AMF root colonization or AMF species diversity in the soil. Instead, a marked increase in soil spore abundance and extraradical hyphae length density were observed. However, fertilization altered relative abundance and AMF composition in the soil. Our results support the hypothesis that fertilization does not significantly influence the abundance and diversity of AMF in a plant community infested by P. kansuensis.

Accurate Quantification of Grassland Cover Density in an Alpine Meadow Soil Based on Remote Sensing and GPS

The principles of remotely estimating grassland cover density in an alpine meadow soil from space lie in the synchronous collection of in situ samples with the satellite pass and statistically linking these cover densities to their image properties according to their geographic coordinates. The principles and procedures for quantifying grassland cover density from satellite image data were presented with an example from Qinghai Lake, China demonstrating how quantification could be made more accurate through the integrated use of remote sensing and global positioning systems (GPS). An empirical model was applied to an entire satellite image to convert pixel values into ground cover density. Satellite data based on 68 field samples was used to produce a map of ten cover densities. After calibration a strong linear regression relationship (r2 = 0.745) between pixel values on the satellite image and in situ measured grassland cover density was established with an 89% accuracy level. However, to minimize positional uncertainty of field samples, integrated use of hyperspatial satellite data and GPS could be utilized. This integration could reduce disparity in ground and space sampling intervals, and improve future quantification accuracy even more.

Climatic and geographic factors affect ecosystem multifunctionality through biodiversity in the Tibetan alpine grasslands

Ecosystem multifunctionality(EMF), the simultaneous provision of multiple ecosystem functions, is often affected by biodiversity and environmental factors. We know little about how the interactions between biodiversity and environmental factors affect EMF. In this case study, a structural equation model was used to clarify climatic and geographic pathways that affect EMF by varying biodiversity in the Tibetan alpine grasslands. In addition to services related to carbon, nitrogen, and water cycling, forage supply, which is related to plantproductivity and palatability, was included in the EMF index. The results showed that 72% of the variation in EMF could be explained by biodiversity and other environmental factors. The ratio of palatable richness to all species richness explained 8.3% of the EMF variation. We found that air temperature, elevation, and latitude all affected EMF, but in different ways. Air temperature and elevation impacted the aboveground parts of the ecosystem, which included plant height, aboveground biomass, richness of palatable species, and ratio of palatable richness to all species richness. Latitude affected EMF by varying both aboveground and belowground parts of the ecosystem, which included palatable speciesrichness and belowground biomass. Our results indicated that there are still uncertainties in the biodiversity–EMF relationships related to the variable components of EMF, and climatic and geographic factors. Clarification of pathways that affect EMF using structural equation modeling techniques could elucidate the mechanisms by which environmental changes affect EMF.

Diversity of Plant Species of Alpine Grassland in Nakchu of Tibet, China

Characteristics of plant species diversity of two types of grassland communities (alpine meadow and alpine grassland) was examined and the relationship between species diversity and community dynamics was determined using GPS positioning and in situscrutinization of community of alpine grassland in Nakchu prefecture of Tibet Autonomous Region. The result indicated that: ① there was an unobvious difference between grassland communities in terms of richness index of plant, evenness index, dominant index and diversity index. The species diversity index followed the order Kobresia humilis meadow >Stipa purpurea steppe>K. littledalei meadow; ② the original community created high diversity, while the degenerative community suffering from serious disturbance was of low diversity; ③ the diversity of community plants was closely related to changes of species biomass, and the growth and decline of species in the community; ④ grazing disturbance is a key factor of community dynamics, leading to coexistence of various secondary successions of communities, diversified suitable habitats and species diversity. improvements

Estimation of Regional Evapotranspiration in Alpine Area and Its Response to Land Use Change:A Case Study in Three-River Headwaters Region of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China

Three-River Headwaters （TRH） region involved in this paper refers to the source region of the Changjiang （Yangtze） River, the Huanghe （Yellow） River and the Lancang River in China. Taking the TRH region of the Qing- hai-Tibet Plateau as a case, the annual evapotranspiration （ET） model developed by Zhang et al. （2001） was applied to evaluate mean annual ET in the alpine area, and the response of annual ET to land use change was analyzed. The plant-available water coefficient （w） of Zhang＇s model was revised by using vegetation-temperature condition index （VTCI） before annual ET was calculated in alpine area. The future land use scenario, an input of ET model, was spa- tially simulated by using the conversion of land use and its effects at small regional extent （CLUE-S） to study the re- sponse of ET to land use change. Results show that the relative errors between the simulated ET and that calculated by using water balance equation were 3.81% and the index of agreement was 0.69. This indicates that Zhang＇s ET model based on revised plant-available water coefficient is a scientific and practical tool to estimate the annual ET in the al- pine area. The annual ET in 2000 in the study area was 221.2 ram, 11.6 mm more than that in 1980. Average annual ET decreased from southeast to northwest, but the change of annual ET between 1980 and 2000 increased from southeast to northwest. As a vast and sparsely populated area, the population in the TRH region was extremely unbalanced and land use change was concentrated in very small regions. Thus, land use change had little effect on total annual ET in the study area but a great impact on its spatial distribution, and the effect of land use change on ET decreased with in- creasing precipitation. ET was most sensitive to the interconversion between forest and unused land, and was least sen- sitive to the interconversion between cropland and low-covered grassland.

Characterization of alpine meadow surface crack and its correlation with root-soil properties

Quantifying surface cracks in alpine meadows is a prerequisite and a key aspect in the study of grassland crack development.Crack characterization indices are crucial for the quantitative characterization of complex cracks,serving as vital factors in assessing the degree of cracking and the development morphology.So far,research on evaluating the degree of grassland degradation through crack characterization indices is rare,especially the quantitative analysis of the development of surface cracks in alpine meadows is relatively scarce.Therefore,based on the phenomenon of surface cracking during the degradation of alpine meadows in some regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,we selected the alpine meadow in the Huangcheng Mongolian Township,Menyuan Hui Autonomous County,Qinghai Province,China as the study area,used unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV)sensing technology to acquire low-altitude images of alpine meadow surface cracks at different degrees of degradation(light,medium,and heavy degradation),and analyzed the representative metrics characterizing the degree of crack development by interpreting the crack length,length density,branch angle,and burrow(rat hole)distribution density and combining them with in situ crack width and depth measurements.Finally,the correlations between the crack characterization indices and the soil and root parameters of sample plots at different degrees of degradation in the study area were analyzed using the grey relation analysis.The results revealed that with the increase of degradation,the physical and chemical properties of soil and the mechanical properties of root-soil composite changed significantly,the vegetation coverage reduced,and the root system aggregated in the surface layer of alpine meadow.As the degree of degradation increased,the fracture morphology developed from"linear"to"dendritic",and eventually to a complex and irregular"polygonal"pattern.The crack length,width,depth,and length density were identified as the crack characterization indices via analysis of variance.The results of grey relation analysis also revealed that the crack length,width,depth,and length density were all highly correlated with root length density,and as the degradation of alpine meadows intensified,the underground biomass increased dramatically,forming a dense layer of grass felt,which has a significant impact on the formation and expansion of cracks.

Effects of Nitrogen Application on Plant Growth and Soil Inorganic Nitrogen Content in Alpine Grasslands

In order to further determine the nitrogen demand of plants in alpine grassland ecosystem,different nitrogen levels( 0,1,2,4,8,16,24,32 g/m2)were designed through field control to study the responses of different plant functional groups( grass,sedge and weed) to different nitrogen application levels in the aboveground biomass and soil inorganic nitrogen( nitrate nitrogen and ammonium nitrogen).The results showed that with the increase of nitrogen application rate,the aboveground biomass of different functional groups increased linearly,and the soil inorganic nitrogen content increased with the increase of nitrogen application rate,among which treatments N16,N24 and N32 increased significantly in soil nitrate nitrogen content( P < 0.05).The results showed that the optimal nitrogen content in alpine grasslands was 8 g/m^2,which could not only promote plant growth,but also effectively control soil nitrate nitrogen content.

Response of Biomass Spatial Pattern of Alpine Vegetation to Climate Change in Permafrost Region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China

Alpine ecosystems in permafrost region are extremely sensitive to climate changes.To determine spatial pattern variations in alpine meadow and alpine steppe biomass dynamics in the permafrost region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China,calibrated with historical datasets of above-ground biomass production within the permafrost region's two main ecosystems,an ecosystem-biomass model was developed by employing empirical spatialdistribution models of the study region's precipitation,air temperature and soil temperature.This model was then successfully used to simulate the spatio-temporal variations in annual alpine ecosystem biomass production under climate change.For a 0.44°C decade-1 rise in air temperature,the model predicted that the biomasses of alpine meadow and alpine steppe remained roughly the same if annual precipitation increased by 8 mm per decade-1,but the biomasses were decreased by 2.7% and 2.4%,respectively if precipitation was constant.For a 2.2°C decade-1 rise in air temperature coupled with a 12 mm decade-1 rise in precipitation,the model predicted that the biomass of alpine meadow was unchanged or slightly increased,while that of alpine steppe was increased by 5.2%.However,in the absence of any rise in precipitation,the model predicted 6.8% and 4.6% declines in alpine meadow and alpine steppe biomasses,respectively.The response of alpine steppe biomass to the rising air temperatures and precipitation was significantly lesser and greater,respectively than that of alpine meadow biomass.A better understanding of the difference in alpine ecosystem biomass production under climate change is greatly significant with respect to the influence of climate change on the carbon and water cycles in the permafrost regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Soil microbial community composition and its driving factors in alpine grasslands along a mountain elevational gradient

Understanding the vertical distribution patterns of soil microbial community and its driving factors in alpine grasslands in the humid regions of the Tibet Plateau might be of great significance for predicting the soil microbial community of this type of vegetation in response to environmental change. Using phospholipid fatty acids （PLFA）, we investigated soil microbial community composition along an elevational gradient （3094-4131 m above sea level） on Mount Yajiageng, and we explored the impact of plant functional groups and soil chemistry on the soil microbial community. Except for Arbuscular Mycorrhizal fungi （AM fungi） biomarker 18：2ω6,9 increasing significantly, other biomarkers did not show a consistent trend with the elevational gradient. Microbial biomass quantified by total PLFAs did not show the elevational trend and had mean values ranging from 1.64 to 4.09 ktmol per g organic carbon （OC）, which had the maximum value at the highest site. Bacterial PLFAs exhibited a similar trend with total PLFAs, and its mean values ranged from 0.82 to 1.81 μmol （g OC）-1. The bacterial to fungal biomass ratios had the minimum value at the highest site, which might be related to temperature and soil total nitrogen （TN）. The ratios of Gram-negative to Gram-positive bacteria had a significantly negative correlation with soil TN and had the maximum value at the highest site. Leguminous plant coverage and soil TN explained 58% of the total variation in the soil microbial community and could achieve the same interpretation as the whole model. Other factors may influence the soil microbial community through interaction with leguminous plant coverage and soil TN. Soil chemistry and plant functional group composition in substantial amounts explained different parts of the variation within the soil microbial community, and the interaction between them had no impact on the soil microbial community maybe beeause long-term grazing greatly reduces litter. In sum, although there were obvious differences in soil microbial communities along the elevation gradient, there were no clear elevational trends found in general. Plant functional groups and soil chemistry respectively affect the different aspects of soil microbial community. Leguminous plant coverage and soil TN had important effects in shaping soil microbial community.

Alpine grassland fPAR change over the Northern Tibetan Plateau from 2002 to 2011

In this study, two different methods including Digital Camera and Reference Panel （DCRP） and traditional in situ fPAR observation for measuring the in situ point fPAR of very short alpine grass vegetation were compared, and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer （MODIS） fPAR products were evaluated and validated by in situ point data on the alpine grassland over the Northern Tibetan Plateau, which is sensitive to climate change and vulnerable to anthropogenic activities. Results showed that the MODIS alpine grassland fPAR product, examined by using DCRP, and traditional in situ fPAR observation had a significant relationship at the spatial and temporal scales. The decadal MODIS fPAR trend analysis showed that, average growing season fPAR increased by 1.2 × 10^-4 per year and in total increased 0.86% from 2002 to 2011 in alpine grassland, when most of the fPAR increments occurred in southeast and center of the Northern Tibetan Plateau, the alpine grassland tended to recover from degradation slightly. However, climatic factors have influenced the various alpine grassland vegetation fPAR over a period of 10 years; precipitation significantly affected the alpine meadow fPAR in the eastern region, whereas temperature considerably influenced the alpine desert steppe fPAR in the west region. These findings suggest that the regional heterogeneity in alpine grassland fPAR results from various environmental factors, except for vegetation characteristics, such as canopy structure and leaf area.

A remote sensing monitoring method for alpine grasslands desertification in the eastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau

Alpine grassland is the typical vegetation in the eastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau,which has important ecological service functions,and also supports the development of alpine stock farming.In recent years,under both the natural and human disturbance,alpine grasslands in this area have appeared to different degrees of desertification.A diagnosis of the desertification degree serves as the basis for grassland ecological restoration.This study constructs a comprehensive index based on remote sensing called alpine grassland desertification index(AGDI)to monitor the areas and degree of desertification.The most relevant indicators of desertification,namely,vegetation fraction,aboveground biomass,soil moisture,and land surface temperature,were selected to establish AGDI.The geographical detector is used to reselect and assess these indicators.The results show that the overall verification accuracy of AGDI is 82.05%.In particular,the accuracy of identifying severe desertification is the highest.Our study confirms that the desertification of alpine grasslands in the eastern Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is characterized by fragmentation.Thus,Landsat-8 OLI data with a spatial resolution of 30 m is more suitable than MODIS data for alpine grasslands desertification monitoring.The research results can provide a methodological reference for monitoring desertification of alpine grasslands and other grassland regions in the world.

Spatial-temporal dynamics of alpine grassland coverage and its response to climate warming in Mt.Qomolangma Nature Preserve during 2000-2019

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP)has the largest and highest alpine grassland ecosystem in the world,which is considered to be the most sensitive and vulnerable ecosystem to climate change.Its dynamic changes and driving mechanism have always been widely researched.The Qomolangma National Nature Preserve(QNNP),with the largest altitude difference in the world,was selected as the study area to analyse the spatial-temporal dynamics of grassland coverage and the different characteristics of elevation gradients at the southern slope(SS)and northern slope(NS)with MODIS MOD13Q1 NDVI and MOD11A2 land surface temperature data from 2000to 2019 using the Mann-Kendall trend test and Theil-Sen slope methods.Further,the response mechanism of grassland coverage to climate warming is discussed.The results revealed that from 2000 to 2019,the grassland coverage change in the study area is mainly stable.The increased area proportion of grassland coverage on the southern slope is significantly higher than that on the northern slope,and the decreased area proportion of grassland coverage on the northern slope is significantly greater than that on the southern slope.The change characteristics of grassland coverage in the QNNP exhibit an obvious elevation gradient;the higher the elevation,the greater the increased area proportion of grassland coverage,particularly on the SS.The land surface temperature can be used as a proxy for analysing the temporal and spatial variation trends of air temperature in the QNNP.With the increase of the altitude,the land surface temperature rise rate on both the southern slope and northern slope exhibited an increasing trend,and the sensitivity of grassland coverage to temperature rise was higher on the northern slope.The water condition was the decisive factor for the horizontal and vertical spatial heterogeneity of the dynamic change of grassland coverage,and the melting of glaciers and thawing of permafrost were important sources of water for grassland growth in the QNNP.Climate warming promotes the growth of grassland in areas with a sufficient water supply,but adversely affects the growth of grassland in areas with insufficient water supplies,which will be further intensified by human activities.