黄土高原实施退耕还林(草)工程对粮食安全的影响

退耕还林(草)工程作为黄土高原植被建设的主要措施,对于加速黄土高原生态环境恢复有着巨大的作用。基于耕地压力指数,以陕西省延安中尺度水土保持与生态环境建设试验示范区为实证研究对象,评估了该区退耕还林(草)工程实施以来对粮食安全的影响。结果表明,退耕还林(草)工程实现了以粮食换生态的目的,使北部森林草原区耕地压力下降了75.5%,南部森林区则基本持平。2003年以来,由于退耕还林(草)工程粮食补贴政策的变化以及随着该工程的结束,复垦现象时有发生。2004—2009年北部森林草原区和南部森林区耕地压力较2003年分别增加了1.8～4.8倍和1.1～1.7倍。南部森林区2007年后耕地压力大于1,应引起重视。今后仍需保证粮食补贴的长期性与稳定性,确保生态恢复可持续发展。

Cultivated Grassland Development on the Tibetan Plateau:Current Status,Challenges,Suggestions

The Tibetan Plateau is vital for animal husbandry in China,and relies heavily on its natural grasslands.However,grassland degradation,increasing livestock numbers,and uneven grazing practices are exacerbating the grass-livestock imbalance.Cultivated grasslands are a key strategy to address this issue.In this review,we evaluate the current status,challenges,and suggestions for developing and managing Tibetan Plateau cultivated grasslands.While discernible advancements have been made in the cultivated grasslands in this region,persistent challenges exist.These challenges stem from issues like low awareness and enthusiasm among farmers and herders,uneven cultivated grassland distribution,and limited scientific and technological contributions.Based on these challenges,we propose strengthening the promotion of artificial forage,implementing a rationalized grassland layout,and improving the scientific and technological contributions to forage species selection,sowing,management,and storage.In summary,cultivated grasslands in the Tibetan Plateau offer promising prospects but still face significant challenges.Overcoming these obstacles will require innovative approaches to unlock the full potential of cultivated grasslands in this unique ecological niche.

Assessing and Comparing Smallholders’Vulnerability to Climate Change among Countries in the Pan-Third Pole Region

A comprehensive assessment of climate change vulnerability is imperative for formulating effective adaptation strategies and advancing sustainable development goals.As one of the most climate-vulnerable regions globally,the Pan-Third Pole area lacks transnational vulnerability assessments,which poses a significant obstacle to efficient climate adaptation.This study conducted transnational comparisons based on primary micro-survey data collected uniformly across Nepal,Cambodia,Thailand,and Myanmar,which are all located in the Pan-Third Pole region.Evaluating and comparing the vulnerabilities employed an extended framework of climate change indicators.The findings reveal substantial variations in vulnerability among the countries,with Cambodia exhibiting the highest vulnerability,followed by Thailand,Myanmar,and Nepal in descending order,primarily due to differences in exposure.Household exposure to climate change also varied significantly.Sensitivity scores decreased in the order of Nepal>Cambodia>Thailand>Myanmar,with demographic factors,tap water accessibility,and land being the major contributors and sources of differentiation among the countries.Regarding adaptability,Thailand demonstrated the highest adaptability,with human and financial capital as the key differentiators.The outcomes underscore the need for tailored policy measures addressing the diverse vulnerabilities,including enhancing household disaster prevention and capital protection.Furthermore,targeted international investments are crucial for improving adaptability among smallholders in this unique region.

A Functional Land Use Classification for Ecological, Production and Living Spaces in the Taihang Mountains

A combination of rapid industrialization, economic development and urbanization has caused a series of issues such as resource shortages, ecosystem destruction, environmental pollution and tension between human needs and land conservation. In order to promote balanced development of human, resources, ecosystems, the environment, and the economy and society, it is vital to conceptualize ecological spaces, production spaces and living spaces. Previous studies of ecological-production-living spaces focused mainly on urban and rural areas; few studies have examined mountainous areas. The Taihang Mountains, a key area between the North China Plain and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area providing ecological shelter and the safeguarding of crucial water sources, suffer from increasing problems of fragile environment, inappropriate land use and tensions in the human-land relationship. However, studies of the ecological, production, and living spaces in the Taihang Mountains are still lacking. Therefore, this study, based on the concept of ecological-production-living spaces and using data from multiple sources, took the Taihang Mountains as the study area to build a functional land classification system for ecological-production-living spaces. After the classification system was in place, spatial distribution maps for ecological, production and living spaces were delineated. This space mapping not only characterized the present land use situation, but also established a foundation for future land use optimization. Results showed that the area of ecological space was 78,440 km^2, production space 51,861 km^2 and living space 6,646 km^2, accounting for 57.28%, 37.87% and 4.85% of the total area, respectively. Ecological space takes up the most area and is composed mainly of forests and grasslands. Additionally, most of the ecological space is located in higher elevation mountainous areas, and plays an important role in regulating and maintaining ecological security. Production space, mostly farmlands sustaining livelihoods inside and outside the region, is largely situated in lower elevation plains and hilly areas, as well as in low-lying mountainous basins. Living space has the smallest area and is concentrated mainly in regions with relatively flat terrain and convenient transportation for human settlements.

Declining Precipitation Enhances the Effect of Warming on Phenological Variation in a Semiarid Tibetan Meadow Steppe

Vegetation phenology is a sensitive indicator of global warming,especially on the Tibetan Plateau.However,whether climate warming has enhanced the advance of grassland phenology since 2000 remains debated and little is known about the warming effect on semiarid grassland phenology and interactions with early growing season precipitation.In this study,we extracted phenological changes from average NDVI in the growing season（GNDVI） to analyze the relationship between changes in NDVI,phenology and climate in the Northern Tibetan Damxung grassland from 2000 to 2014.The GNDVI of the grassland declined.Interannual variation of GNDVI was mainly affected by mean temperature from late May to July and precipitation from April to August.The length of the growing season was significantly shortened due to a delay in the beginning of the growing season and no advancement of the end of the growing season,largely caused by climate warming and enhanced by decreasing precipitation in spring.Water availability was the major determinant of grass growth in the study area.Warming increased demand for water when the growth limitation of temperature to grass was exceeded in the growing season.Decreased precipitation likely further exacerbated the effect of warming on vegetation phenology in recent decades due to increasing evapotranspiration and water limitations.The comprehensive effects of global warming and decreasing precipitation may delay the phenological responses of semiarid alpine grasslands.

Characterizing the Spatio-temporal Dynamics and Variability in Climate Extremes over the Tibetan Plateau during 1960–2012

Extreme climate events play an important role in studies of long-term climate change. As the Earth’s Third Pole, the Tibetan Plateau(TP) is sensitive to climate change and variation. In this study on the TP, the spatiotemporal changes in climate extreme indices(CEIs) are analyzed based on daily maximum and minimum surface air temperatures and precipitation at 98 meteorological stations, most with elevations of at least 4000 m above sea level, during 1960–2012. Fifteen temperature extreme indices(TEIs) and eight precipitation extreme indices(PEIs) were calculated. Then, their long-term change patterns, from spatial and temporal perspectives, were determined at regional, eco-regional and station levels. The entire TP region exhibits a significant warming trend, as reflected by the TEIs. The regional cold days and nights show decreasing trends at rates of-8.9 d(10 yr)-1(days per decade) and-17.3 d(10 yr)-1, respectively. The corresponding warm days and nights have increased by 7.6 d(10 yr)-1 and 12.5 d(10 yr)-1, respectively. At the station level, the majority of stations indicate statistically significant trends for all TEIs, but they show spatial heterogeneity. The eco-regional TEIs show patterns that are consistent with the entire TP. The growing season has become longer at a rate of 5.3 d(10 yr)^-1. The abrupt change points for CEIs were examined, and they were mainly distributed during the 1980 s and 1990 s. The PEIs on the TP exhibit clear fluctuations and increasing trends with small magnitudes. The annual total precipitation has increased by 2.8 mm(10 yr)^-1(not statistically significant). Most of the CEIs will maintain a persistent trend, as indicated by their Hurst exponents. The developing trends of the CEIs do not show a corresponding change with increasing altitude. In general, the warming trends demonstrate an asymmetric pattern reflected by the rapid increase in the warming trends of the cold TEIs, which are of greater magnitudes than those of the warm TEIs. This finding indicates a positive shift in the distribution of the daily minimum temperatures throughout the TP. Most of the PEIs show weak increasing trends, which are not statistically significant. This work aims to delineate a comprehensive picture of the extreme climate conditions over the TP that can enhance our understanding of its changing climate.

Modeling Aboveground Biomass Using MODIS Images and Climatic Data in Grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau

Accurate quantification of aboveground biomass of grasslands in alpine regions plays an important role in accurate quantification of global carbon cycling.The monthly normalized difference vegetation index（NDVI）,enhanced vegetation index（EVI）,mean air temperature（Ta）,≥5℃ accumulated air temperature（AccT）,total precipitation（TP）,and the ratio of TP to AccT（TP/AccT） were used to model aboveground biomass（AGB） in grasslands on the Tibetan Plateau.Three stepwise multiple regression methods,including stepwise multiple regression of AGB with NDVI and EVI,stepwise multiple regression of AGB with Ta,AccT,TP and TP/AccT,and stepwise multiple regression of AGB with NDVI,EVI,Ta,AccT,TP and TP/Acc T were compared.The mean absolute error（MAE） and root mean squared error（RMSE） values between estimated AGB by the NDVI and measured AGB were 31.05 g m^（-2） and 44.12 g m^（-2）,and 95.43 g m^（-2） and 131.58 g m^（-2） in the meadow and steppe,respectively.The MAE and RMSE values between estimated AGB by the AccT and measured AGB were 33.61 g m^（-2） and 48.04 g m^（-2） in the steppe,respectively.The MAE and RMSE values between estimated AGB by the vegetation index and climatic data and measured AGB were 28.09 g m^（-2） and 42.71 g m^（-2）,and 35.86 g m^（-2） and 47.94 g m^（-2）,in the meadow and steppe,respectively.The study finds that a combination of vegetation index and climatic data can improve the accuracy of estimates of AGB that are arrived at using the vegetation index or climatic data.The accuracy of estimates varied depending on the type of grassland.

Vegetation Pattern in Northern Tibet in Relation to Environmental and Geo-spatial Factors

Environmental and Geo-spatial factors have long been considered as crucial determinants of species composition and distributions. However,quantifying the relative contributions of these factors for the alpine ecosystems is lacking. The Tibetan Plateau has a unique ecological environment and vegetation types. Our objectives are to quantify the spatial distributions of plant communities on the Northern Tibetan Alpine grasslands and to explore the relationships between vegetation composition,Geo-spatial factors and environmental factors. We established 63 field plots along a 1200-km gradient on the Northern Tibetan Plateau Alpine Grassland and employed the two-way indicator species analysis（TWINSPAN） and the detrended canonical correspondence analysis（DCCA）. Fourteen communities of alpine grassland were identifiable along the transect and consisted of three vegetation types： Alpine meadow,Alpine steppe,and desert steppe. Vegetation composition and spatial distribution appeared to be largely determined by mean annual precipitation and less influenced by temperature. A large fraction（73.5%） of the variation in vegetation distribution was explained by environmental variables along this transect,somewhat less by Geo-spatial factors（56.3%）. The environmental and Geo-spatial factors explained 29.6% and 12.3% of the total variation,respectively,while their interaction explained 43.9%. Our findings provide strong empirical evidence for explaining biological and environmental synergetic relationships in Northern Tibet.

A Meta-analysis of the Effects of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers on the Soil Microbial Community

In order to investigate the general tendency of soil microbial community responses to fertilizers, a meta-analysis approach was used to synthesise observations on the effects of inorganic and organic fertilizer addition(N: nitrogen;P: phosphorus;NP: nitrogen and phosphorus;PK: phosphorus and potassium;NPK: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium;OF: organic fertilizer;OF+NPK: organic fertilizer plus NPK) on soil microbial communities. Among the various studies, PK, NPK, OF and OF+NPK addition increased total phospholipid fatty acid(PLFA) by 52.0%, 19.5%, 334.3% and 58.3%, respectively;while NP, OF and OF+NPK addition increased fungi by 5.6%, 21.0% and 8.2%, respectively. NP, NPK and OF addition increased bacteria by 6.4%, 9.8% and 13.3%, respectively;while NP and NPK addition increased actinomycetes by 7.0% and 14.8%, respectively. Addition of ammonium nitrate rather than urea decreased gram-negative bacteria(G–). N addition increased total PLFA、bacteria and actinomycetes in croplands, but decreased fungi and bacteria in forests, and the F/B ratio in grasslands. NPK addition increased total PLFA in forests but not in croplands. The N addition rate was positively correlated with the effects of N addition on gram-positive bacteria(G+) and G–. Therefore, different fertilizers appear to have different effects on the soil microbial community. Organic fertilizers can have a greater positive effect on the soil microbial community than inorganic fertilizers. The effects of fertilizers on the soil microbial community varied with ecosystem types. The effect of N addition on the soil microbial community was related to both the forms of nitrogen that were added and the nitrogen addition rate.

Towards Regional Synergy: Reconciling Rangeland Ecological Functioning with Forage Production of Cultivated Pasture

Animal husbandry and crop farming are specialized for development in separate areas on the Tibetan Plateau. Such a pattern of isolation has led to current concerns of rangeland and farming system degradation due to intensive land use. The crop-livestock integration, however, has been proven to increase food and feed productivity thorough niche complementarity, and is thereby especially effective for promoting ecosystem resilience. Regional synergy has emerged as an integrated approach to reconcile rangeland livestock with forage crop production. It moves beyond the specialized sectors of animal husbandry and intensive agriculture to coordinate them through regional coupling. Therefore, crop-livestock integration(CLI) has been suggested as one of the effective solutions to forage deficit and livestock production in grazing systems. But it is imperative that CLI moves forward from the farm level to the regional scale, in order to secure regional synergism during agro-pastoral development. The national key R & D program, Technology and Demonstration of Recovery and Restoration of Degraded Alpine Ecosystems on the Tibetan Plateau, aims to solve the problems of alpine grassland degradation by building up a grass-based animal husbandry technology system that includes synergizing forage production and ecological functioning, reconciling the relationship between ecology, forage production and animal husbandry, and achieving the win-win goals of curbing grassland degradation and changing the development mode of animal husbandry. It is imperative to call for regional synergy through integrating ecological functioning with ecosystem services, given the alarming threat of rangeland degradation on the Tibetan Plateau. The series of papers in this issue, together with those published previously, provide a collection of rangeland ecology and management studies in an effort to ensure the sustainable use and management of the alpine ecosystems.

Predictability of Functional Diversity Depends on the Number of Traits

Analysis of functional diversity, based on plant traits and community structure, provides a promising approach for exploration of the adaptive strategies of plants and the relationship between plant traits and ecosystem functioning. However, it is unclear how the number of plant traits included influences functional diversity, and whether or not there are quantitatively dependent traits. This information is fundamental to the correct use of functional diversity metrics. Here, we measured 34 traits of 366 plant species in nine forests from the tropical to boreal zones in China. These traits were used to calculate seven functional diversity metrics: functional richness(functional attribute diversity(FAD), modified FAD(MFAD), convex hull hypervolume(FRic)), functional evenness(FEve), and functional divergence(functional divergence(FDiv), functional dispersion(FDis), quadratic entropy(Rao Q)). Functional richness metrics increased with an increase in trait number, whereas the relationships between the trait divergence indexes(FDiv and FDis) and trait number were inconsistent. Four of the seven functional diversity indexes(FAD, MFAD, FRic, and RaoQ) were comparable with those in previous studies, showing predictable trends with a change in trait number. We verified our hypothesis that the number of traits strongly influences functional diversity. The relationships between these predictable functional diversity metrics and the number of traits facilitated the development of a standard protocol to enhance comparability across different studies. These findings can support integration of functional diversity index data from different studies at the site to the regional scale, and they focus attention on the influence of quantitative selection of traits on functional diversity analysis.

Enzyme Activities and Microbial Communities in Subtropical Forest Soil Aggregates to Ammonium and Nitrate-Nitrogen Additions

A laboratory incubation experiment was established to examine the impacts of nitrate and ammonium nitrogen additions on soil microbial attributes of a subtropical Pinus elliottii forest ecosystem in southern China. Soils were subjected to three different treatments： the control with no nitrogen addition （CK）, the ammonium nitrogen addition （NH4^＋-N）, and the nitrate nitrogen addition （NO23^-N）. Samples from bulk and two different size fractions （macroaggregate （〉250 pm） and microaggregate （53-250 μm）） were analyzed for soil properties, enzyme activities and microbial communities on day 7 and 15 of the incubation. Our study demonstrated that NH4^＋-N had a 9rearer influence on soil microbial activities than NO3-N. NH4^＋-N additions resulted in significant increases in 13-1,4-glucosidase （βG） and β-1,4-N-acetyl glucosaminidase （NAG） enzyme activities in bulk, macroaggregate and microag- gregate soils after 7 and 15 days incubation. NO3^-N additions only significantly increased in βG and NAG enzyme activities in bulk, macroaggregate soils after 7 and 15 days incubation, but not in microaggregate. All NH4^＋-N and NO3-N additions resulted in significant increases in gram-positive bacterial PLFAs in microaggregates. Only a significant correlation between soil nutrient contents and enzyme activities in macroaggregates was founded, which suggests that the soil aggregation structure played an important role in the determining enzyme activities.

Alpine Grassland Aboveground Biomass and Theoretical Livestock Carrying Capacity on the Tibetan Plateau

The accurate simulation and prediction of grassland aboveground biomass (AGB) and theoretical livestock carrying capacity are key steps for maintaining ecosystem balance and sustainable grassland management.The AGB in fenced grassland is not affected by grazing and its variability is only driven by climate change,which can be regarded as the grassland potential AGB (AGB_(p)).In this study,we compiled the data for 345 AGB field observations in fenced grasslands and their corresponding climate data,soil data,and topographical data on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (TP).We further simulated and predicted grassland AGB_(p)and theoretical livestock carrying capacity under the climate conditions of the past (2000-2018) and future two decades (2021-2040) based on a random forest (RF) algorithm.The results showed that simulated AGB_(p)matched well with observed values in the field (R^(2)=0.76,P<0.001) in the past two decades.The average grassland AGB_(p)on the Tibetan Plateau was 102.4g m^(-2),and the inter-annual changes in AGB_(p)during this period showed a non-significant increasing trend.AGB_(p)fluctuation was positively correlated with growing season precipitation (R^(2)=0.57,P<0.001),and negatively correlated with the growing season diurnal temperature range (R^(2)=0.51,P<0.001).The average theoretical livestock carrying capacity was 0.94 standardized sheep units (SSU) ha^(-1)on the TP,in which about 54.1%of the areas showed an increasing trend during the past two decades.Compared with the past two decades,the theoretical livestock carrying capacity showed a decreasing trend in the future,which was mainly distributed in the central and northern TP.This study suggested that targeted planning and management should be carried out to alleviate the forage-livestock contradiction in grazing systems on the Tibetan Plateau.

Climatic Changes Dominant Interannual Trend in Net Primary Productivity of Alpine Vulnerable Ecosystems

The Three-River Headwaters(TRH), which is the source area of Yangtze River, Yellow River and Lancang River, is vulnerable and sensitive, and its alpine ecosystem is considered an important barrier for China’s ecological security. Understanding the impact of climate changes is essential for determining suitable measures for ecological environmental protection and restoration against the background of global climatic changes. However, different explanations of the interannual trends in complex alpine ecosystems have been proposed due to limited availability of reliable data and the uncertainty of the model itself. In this study, the remote sensing-process coupled model(GLOPEM-CEVSA) was used to estimate the net primary productivity(NPP) of vegetation in the TRH region from 2000 to 2012. The estimated NPP significantly and linearly correlated with the above-ground biomass sampled in the field(the multiple correlative coefficient R2 = 0.45, significant level P < 0.01) and showed better performance than the MODIS productivity product, i.e. MOD17 A3,(R2 = 0.21). The climate of TRH became warmer and wetter during 1990-2012, and the years 2000 to 2012 were warmer and wetter than the years1990–2000. Responding to the warmer and wetter climate, the NPP had an increasing trend of 13.7 g m^–2(10 yr)^–1 with a statistical confidence of 86%(P = 0.14). Among the three basins, the NPP of the Yellow River basin increased at the fastest rate of 17.44 g m^–2(10 yr)^–1(P = 0.158), followed by the Yangtze River basin, and the Lancang River, which was the slowest with a rate of 12.2 g m^–2(10 yr)^–1 and a statistical confidence level of only 67%. A multivariate linear regression with temperature and precipitation as the independent variables and NPP as the dependent variable at the pixel level was used to analyze the impacts of climatic changes on the trend of NPP. Both temperature and precipitation can explain the interannual variability of 83% in grassland NPP in the whole region, and can explain high, medium and low coverage of 78%, 84% and 83%, respectively, for grassland in the whole region. The results indicate that climate changes play a dominant role in the interannual trend of vegetation productivity in the alpine ecosystems on Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. This has important implications for the formulation of ecological protection and restoration policies for vulnerable ecosystems against the background of global climate changes.

A Meta-analysis of the Effects of Warming and Elevated CO_2 on Soil Microbes

Soil microbes play important roles in terrestrial ecosystem carbon and nitrogen cycling. Climatic warming and elevated CO2 are two aspects of climatic change. In this study, we used a meta-analysis approach to synthesise observations related to the effects of warming and elevated CO2 on soil microbial biomass and community structure. Ecosystem types were mainly grouped into forests and grasslands. Warming methods included open top chambers and infrared radiators. Experimental settings included all-day warming, daytime warming and nighttime warming. Warming increased soil actinomycetes and saprotrophic fungi, while elevated CO2 decreased soil gram-positive bacteria(G+). Mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation were negatively correlated with warming effects on gram-negative bacteria(G–) and total phospholipid fatty acid(PLFA), respectively. Elevation was positively correlated with the warming effect on total PLFA, bacteria, G+ and G–. Grassland exhibited a positive response of total PLFA and actinomycetes to warming, while forest exhibited a positive response in the ratio of soil fungi to bacteria(F/B ratio) to warming. The open top chamber method increased G–, while the infrared radiator method decreased the F/B ratio. Daytime warming rather than all-day warming increased G–. Our findings indicated that the effects of warming on soil microbes differed with ecosystem types, warming methods, warming times, elevation and local climate conditions.

The Bowen Ratio of an Alpine Grassland in Three-River Headwaters, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, from 2001 to 2018

The Bowen ratio(β) is used to quantify heat transfer from the land surface into the air, which is becoming a hot topic in research on the biogeophysical effects of land use and cover changes. The Three-River Headwaters(TRH), as a sensitive and fragile region, was selected as the study area. The β for 2001–2018 was estimated from the evapotranspiration product(ETMOD16) of MODIS and the net radiation of the land surface through the albedo from GLASS. The ETMOD16 data were evaluated against the observation data(ETOBS) at two alpine grassland flux towers obtained from ChinaFLUX. The interannual trend of the β was analyzed by multiple linear regression(MLR) and structure model(SEM) with the multiple factors of precipitation, temperature, humidity, albedo, and normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI, MOD09 Q1). The results show that the ETMOD16 values were significantly correlated with ETOBS, with a correlation coefficient above 0.70(P < 0.01) for the two sites. In 2001–2018, the regional mean β was 2.52 ± 0.77 for the whole grassland, and its spatial distribution gradually increased from the eastern to western region. The interannual β showed a downward trend with a slope of-0.025 and a multiple regression coefficient(R^(2)) of 0.21(P = 0.056). Most of the variability(51%) in the interannual β can be explained by the linear regression of the above multiple factors, and the temperature plays a dominant role for the whole region. The SEM analysis further shows that an increasing NDVI results in a decreasing albedo with a path coefficient of-0.57, because the albedo was negatively correlated with NDVI(R^(2) = 0.52, P < 0.01), which indicates a negative and indirect effect on β from vegetation restoration. An obvious warming climate was found to prompt more evapotranspiration, and restoring vegetation makes the land surface receive more radiation, which both resulted in a decreasing trend in the annual β. This study revealed the biogeophysical mechanisms of vegetation restoration under a changing climate, and demonstrated the Bowen ratio can be applied as an indicator of climate-regulating functions in ecosystem assessments.

Comparative Study of the Impact of Drought Stress on P.centrasiaticum at the Seedling Stage in Tibet

Pennisetum centrasiaticum is widely distributed in arid and semi-arid areas of Tibet. Its rhizome system is developed and has strong resistance to adversity. In this study, the physiological characteristics and drought resistance of P.centrasiaticum seedlings from 12 drought-stressed sites in Tibet were examined at the Lhasa Plateau Ecosystem Research Station of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. PEG-6000 solution with five levels of water potential(0, –0.7, –1.4, –2.1, and –2.8 MPa) was used to simulate drought stress, and malondialdehyde(MDA), proline(Pro) and chlorophyll contents were determined. The balance between production and elimination of reactive oxygen species in P.centrasiaticum was destroyed, leading to membrane lipid peroxidation and the production of MDA, and accelerating the decomposition of chlorophyll. P.centrasiaticum absorbed water from the outside to resist drought by secreting proline and other osmotic regulating substances. The Pro and chlorophyll contents in P.centrasiaticum showed a temporary rising trend, and then decreased with the decrease in water potential. MDA content increased with the decrease in water potential. By using the membership function method, the drought resistance of P.centrasiaticum seedlings from the 12 areas was evaluated, and the results showed that the drought resistance at the sites went from strong to weak in this order: Xietongmen > Linzhou > Sog > Damxung > Tingri > Namling > Gyirong > Linzhi > Purang > Dingjie > Longzi > Sa’gya. The drought resistance of P.centrasiaticum was strong in Xietongmen, Linzhou and Sog. Whether P.centrasiaticum from these three areas is suitable for cultivation in arid and semi-arid areas of Tibet needs further study.

The Effect of Higher Warming on Vegetation Indices and Biomass Production is Dampened by Greater Drying in an Alpine Meadow on the Northern Tibetan Plateau

In order to understand whether or not the response of vegetation indices and biomass production to warming varies with warming magnitude,an experiment of field warming at two magnitudes was conducted in an alpine meadow on the northern Tibetan Plateau beginning in late June,2013.The normalized difference vegetation index（NDVI）,green normalized difference vegetation index（GNDVI） and soil adjusted vegetation index（SAVI） data were obtained using a Tetracam Agricultural Digital Camera in 2013–2014.The gross primary production（GPP） and aboveground plant biomass（AGB） were modeled using the surface measured NDVI and climatic data during the growing seasons（i.e.June–September） in 2013–2014.Both low and high warming significantly increased air temperature by 1.54 and 4.00°C,respectively,and significantly increased vapor pressure deficit by 0.13 and 0.31 kP a,respectively,in 2013-2014.There were no significant differences of GNDVI,AGB and ANPP among the three warming treatments.The high warming significantly reduced average NDVI by 23.3%（-0.06）,while the low warming did not affect average NDVI.The low and high warming significantly decreased average SAVI by 19.0%（-0.04） and 27.4%（-0.05）,respectively,and average GPP by 24.2%（i.e.0.21 g C m^（-2） d^（-1）） and 44.0%（i.e.0.39 g C m^（–2） d^（-1））,respectively.However,the differences of the average NDVI,SAVI,and GPP between low and high warming were negligible.Our findings suggest that a greater drying may dampen the effect of a higher warming on vegetation indices and biomass production in alpine meadow on the northern Tibetan Plateau.

Greenness Index from Phenocams Performs Well in Linking Climatic Factors and Monitoring Grass Phenology in a Temperate Prairie Ecosystem

Near-surface remote sensing(e.g.,digital cameras)has played an important role in capturing plant phenological metrics at either a focal or landscape scale.Exploring the relationship of the digital image-based greenness index(e.g.,Gcc,green chromatic coordinate)with that derived from satellites is critical for land surface process research.Moreover,our understanding of how well Gcc time series associate with environmental variables at field stations in North American prairies remains limited.This paper investigated the response of grass Gcc to daily environmental factors in 2018,such as soil moisture(temperature),air temperature,and solar radiation.Thereafter,using a derivative-based phenology extraction method,we evaluated the correspondence between key phenological events(mainly including start,end and length of growing season,and date with maximum greenness value)derived from Gcc,MODIS and VIIRS NDVI(EVI)for the period 2015–2018.The results showed that daily Gcc was in good agreement with ground-level environmental variables.Additionally,multivariate regression analysis identified that the grass growth in the study area was mainly affected by soil temperature and solar radiation,but not by air temperature.High frequency Gcc time series can respond immediately to precipitation events.In the same year,the phenological metrics retrieved from digital cameras and multiple satellites are similar,with spring phenology having a larger relative difference.There are distinct divergences between changing rates in the greenup and senescence stages.Gcc also shows a close relationship with growing degree days(GDD)derived from air temperature.This study evaluated the performance of a digital camera for monitoring vegetation phenological metrics and related climatic factors.This research will enable multiscale modeling of plant phenology and grassland resource management of temperate prairie ecosystems.

Response of Plant Growth and Biomass Accumulation to Short-term Experimental Warming in a Highland Barley System of the Tibet

Highland barley is an important staple food in the Tibet,and the Tibetan Plateau is experiencing obvious climatic warming.However,few studies have examined the warming effects on highland barley growth and biomass allocation under conditions of controlled experimental warming.This limits our ability to predict how highland barley will change as the climate changes in the future.An experiment of field warming at two magnitudes was performed in a highland barley system of the Tibet beginning in late May,2014.Infrared heaters were used to increase soil temperature.At the end of the warming experiment（September 14,2014）,plant growth parameters（plant height,basal diameter,shoot length and leaf number）,biomass accumulation parameters（total biomass,root biomass,stem biomass,leaf biomass and spike biomass）,and carbon and nitrogen concentration parameters（carbon concentration,nitrogen concentration,the ratio of carbon to nitrogen concentration in root,stem,leaf and spike）were sampled.The low-and high-level experimental warming significantly increased soil perimental warming did not significantly change.The low-and high-level experimental warming did not significantly affect plant growth parameters,biomass accumulation parameters,and carbon and nitrogen concentration parameters.There were also no significant differences of plant growth parameters,biomass accumulation parameters,and carbon and nitrogen concentration parameters between the low-and high-level experimental warming.Our findings suggest that the response of highland barley growth,total and component biomass accumulation,and carbon and nitrogen concentration to warming did not linearly change with warming magnitude in the Tibet.