Abstract
Frozen ground degradation under a warming climate profoundly influences the growth of alpine vegetation in the source region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. This study investigated spatiotemporal variations in the frozen ground distribution, the active layer thickness (ALT) of permafrost (PF) soil and the soil freeze depth (SFD) in seasonally frozen soil from 1980 to 2018 using the temperature at the top of permafrost (TTOP) model and Stefan equation. We compared the effects of these variations on vegetation growth among different frozen ground types and vegetation types in the source region of the Yellow River (SRYR). The results showed that approximately half of the PF area (20.37% of the SRYR) was projected to degrade into seasonally frozen ground (SFG) during the past four decades; furthermore, the areal average ALT increased by 3.47 cm/yr, and the areal average SFD decreased by 0.93 cm/yr from 1980 to 2018. Accordingly, the growing season Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) presented an increasing trend of 0.002/10yr, and the increase rate and proportion of areas with NDVI increase were largest in the transition zone where PF degraded to SFG (the PF to SFG zone). A correlation analysis indicated that variations in ALT and SFD in the SRYR were significantly correlated with increases of NDVI in the growing season. However, a rapid decrease in SFD (< −1.4 cm/10yr) could have reduced the soil moisture and, thus, decreased the NDVI. The NDVI for most vegetation types exhibited a significant positive correlation with ALT and a negative correlation with SFD. However, the steppe NDVI exhibited a significant negative correlation with the SFD in the PF to SFG zone but a positive correlation in the SFG zone, which was mainly limited by water condition because of different change rates of the SFD.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson J E, Douglas T A, Barbato R A et al., 2019. Linking vegetation cover and seasonal thaw depths in interior Alaska permafrost terrains using remote sensing. Remote Sensing of Environment, 233: 111363. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2019.111363
Barry R G, Gan T Y, 2011. The Global Cryosphere: Past, Present and Future. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cable J M, Ogle K, Bolton W R et al., 2014. Permafrost thaw affects boreal deciduous plant transpiration through increased soil water, deeper thaw, and warmer soils. Ecohydrology, 7(3): 982–997. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1423
Cuo L, Zhang Y X, Bohn T J et al., 2015. Frozen soil degradation and its effects on surface hydrology in the northern Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 120(16): 8276–8298. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JD023193
Dente L, Vekerdy Z, Wen J et al., 2012. Maqu network for validation of satellite-derived soil moisture products. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 17: 55–65. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2011.11.004
Du Jiaqiang, Shu Jianmin, Wang Yurhui et al., 2014. Comparison of GIMMS and MODIS normalized vegetation index composite data for Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Chinese Journal of Applied Ecology, 25(2): 533–544. (in Chinese)
Evans S G, Ge S M, 2017. Contrasting hydrogeologic responses to warming in permafrost and seasonally frozen ground hillslopes. Geophysical Research Letters, 44(4): 1803–1813. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL072009
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), World Soil Information, Institute of Soil Science (ISRIC), Joint Research Centre of the European Commission (JRC), 2009. Harmonized World Soil Database (Version 1.1). Available at: http://www.fao.org/land-water/databases-and-software/hwsd/en/
Feng Y Q, Liang S H, Kuang X X et al., 2019. Effect of climate and thaw depth on alpine vegetation variations at different permafrost degrading stages in the Tibetan Plateau, China. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 51(1): 155–172. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2019.1605798
Frauenfeld O W, Zhang T J, 2011. An observational 71-year history of seasonally frozen ground changes in the Eurasian high latitudes. Environmental Research Letters, 6(4): 044024. doi: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/6/4/044024
Ganjurjav H, Gao Q Z, Gornish E S et al., 2016. Differential response of alpine steppe and alpine meadow to climate warming in the central Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Agricultural and forest Meteorology, 223: 233–240. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2016.03.017
Gao B, Yang D W, Qin Y et al., 2018. Change in frozen soils and its effect on regional hydrology, upper Heihe basin, northeastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. The Cryosphere, 12(2): 657–673. doi: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-657-2018
Gu L L, Yao J M, Hu Z Y et al., 2015. Comparison of the surface energy budget between regions of seasonally frozen ground and permafrost on the Tibetan Plateau. Atmospheric Research, 153: 553–564. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2014.10.012
Guo D L, Wang H J, 2013. Simulation of permafrost and seasonally frozen ground conditions on the Tibetan Plateau, 1981–2010. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 118(11): 5216–5230. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/jgrd.50457
Guo J T, Hu Y M, Xiong Z P et al., 2017. Variations in growing-season NDVI and its response to permafrost degradation in Northeast China. Sustainability, 9(4): 551. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/su9040551
Guo Q, Hu Z M, Li S G et al., 2015. Contrasting responses of gross primary productivity to precipitation events in a water-limited and a temperature-limited grassland ecosystem. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 214–215: 169–177. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2015.08.251
Hou Xueyu, 2001. Vegetation Atlas of China (1: 1000000). Beijing: Science Press. (in Chinese)
Hu M Q, Mao F, Sun H et al., 2011. Study of normalized difference vegetation index variation and its correlation with climate factors in the Three-River-Source region. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 13(1): 24–33. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2010.06.003
Iijima Y, Ohta T, Kotani A et al., 2014. Sap flow changes in relation to permafrost degradation under increasing precipitation in an eastern Siberian larch forest. Ecohydrology, 7(2): 117–187. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/eco.1366
Jin H J, He R X, Cheng G D et al., 2009. Changes in frozen ground in the Source Area of the Yellow River on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China, and their eco-environmental impacts. Environmental Research Letters, 4(4): 045206. doi: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/4/4/045206
Klanderud K, 2008. Species-specific responses of an alpine plant community under simulated environmental change. Journal of Vegetation Science, 19(3): 363–372. doi: https://doi.org/10.3170/2008-8-18376
Lawrence D M, Slater A G, Swenson S C, 2012. Simulation of present-day and future permafrost and seasonally frozen ground conditions in CCSM4. Journal of Climate, 25(7): 2207–2225. doi: https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-11-00334.1
Luo D L, Jin H J, Marchenko S et al., 2014. Distribution and changes of active layer thickness (ALT) and soil temperature (TTOP) in the source area of the Yellow River using the GIPL model. Science China Earth Sciences, 57(8): 1834–1845. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-014-4852-1
Miranda V, Pina P, Heleno S et al., 2020. Monitoring recent changes of vegetation in Fildes Peninsula (King George Island, Antarctica) through satellite imagery guided by UAV surveys. Science of the Total Environment, 704: 135295. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135295
Mowll W, Blumenthal D M, Cherwin K et al., 2015. Climatic controls of aboveground net primary production in semi-arid grasslands along a latitudinal gradient portend low sensitivity to warming. Oecologia, 177(4): 959–969. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3232-7
Mu C C, Li L L, Zhang F et al., 2018. Impacts of permafrost on above-and belowground biomass on the northern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, 50(1): e1447192. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1447192
Oliva M, Pereira P, Antoniades D, 2018. The environmental consequences of permafrost degradation in a changing climate. Science of the Total Environment, 616–617: 435–137. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.10.285
Pan F F, Peters-Lidard C D, Sale M J, 2003. An analytical method for predicting surface soil moisture from rainfall observations. Water Resources Research, 2003, 39(11): 1314. doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2003wr002142
Qin Dahe, Stocker T, 2014. Highlights of the IPCC working group I fifth assessment report. Progressus Inquisitiones de Mutatione Climatis, 10(1): 1–6. (in Chinese)
Qin Y, Yang D W, Gao B et al., 2017. Impacts of climate warming on the frozen ground and eco-hydrology in the Yellow River source region, China. Science of the Total Environment, 605–606: 830–841. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.06.188
Ran Y H, Li X, Lu L et al., 2012. Large-scale land cover mapping with the integration of multi-source information based on the dempster-shafer theory. International Journal of Geographical Information Science, 26(1): 169–191. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/13658816.2011.577745
Rode M, Schnepfleitner H, Sass O, 2016. Simulation of moisture content in alpine rockwalls during freeze-thaw events. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 41(13): 1937–1950. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3961
Scott R L, Hamerlynck E P, Jenerette G D et al., 2010. Carbon dioxide exchange in a semidesert grassland through drought-induced vegetation change. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 115(G3): G03026. doi: https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JG001348
Shen X J, An R, Feng L et al., 2018. Vegetation changes in the Three-River Headwaters Region of the Tibetan Plateau of China. Ecological Indicators, 93: 804–812. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2018.05.065
Smith M W, Riseborough D W, 1996. Permafrost monitoring and detection of climate change. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes, 7(4): 301–309. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1530(199610)7:4<301:AID-PPP231>3.0.CO;2-R
Stow D, Daeschner S, Hope A et al., 2003. Variability of the seasonally integrated normalized difference vegetation index across the north slope of Alaska in the 1990s. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 24(5): 1111–1117. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/0143116021000020144
Walker M D, Wahren C H, Hollister R D et al, 2006. Plant community responses to experimental warming across the tundra biome. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 103(5): 1342–1346. doi: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0503198103
Wang Q F, Zhang T J, Jin H J et al., 2017a. Observational study on the active layer freeze-thaw cycle in the upper reaches of the Heihe River of the north-eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Quaternary international zhengti, 440: 13–22. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2016.08.027
Wang R, Dong Z B, Zhou Z C, 2019a. Changes in the depths of seasonal freezing and thawing and their effects on vegetation in the Three-River Headwater Region of the Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Mountain Science, 16(12): 2810–2827. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-019-5450-7.
Wang R, Dong Z B, Zhou Z C, 2020. Effect of decreasing soil frozen depth on vegetation growth in the source region of the Yellow River. Theoretical and Applied Climatology. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-020-03141-3 (in press)
Wang R, Zhu Q K, Ma H et al., 2017b. Spatial-temporal variations in near-surface soil freeze-thaw cycles in the source region of the Yellow River during the period 2002–2011 based on the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) data. Journal of Arid Land, 9(6): 850–864. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-017-0032-4
Wang R, Zhu Q K, Ma H, 2019b. Changes in freezing and thawing indices over the source region of the Yellow River from 1980 to 2014. Journal of Forestry Research, 30(1): 257–268. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11676-017-0589-y
Wang T H, Yang D W, Qin Y et al., 2018a. Historical and future changes of frozen ground in the upper Yellow River Basin. Global and Planetary Change, 162: 199–211. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2018.01.009
Wang T Y, Wu T H, Wang P et al., 2019c. Spatial distribution and changes of permafrost on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau revealed by statistical models during the period of 1980 to 2010. Science of the Total Environment, 650: 661–670. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.08.398
Wang X Y, Yi S H, Wu Q B et al., 2016. The role of permafrost and soil water in distribution of alpine grassland and its NDVI dynamics on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Global and Planetary Change, 147: 40–53. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2016.10.014
Wang Y H, Yang H B, Gao B et al., 2018b. Frozen ground degradation may reduce future runoff in the headwaters of an inland river on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Hydrology, 564: 1153–1164. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2018.07.078
Wang Z R, Yang G J, Yi S H et al., 2012. Different response of vegetation to permafrost change in semi-arid and semi-humid regions in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Environmental Earth Sciences, 66(3): 985–991. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-011-1405-1
Woo M K, 2012. Permafrost Hydrology. Heidelberg: Springer.
Wu Q B, Hou Y D, Yun H B et al., 2015. Changes in active-layer thickness and near-surface permafrost between 2002 and 2012 in alpine ecosystems, Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau, China. Global and Planetary Change, 124: 149–155. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2014.09.002
Xu W X, Gu S, Zhao X Q et al., 2011. High positive correlation between soil temperature and NDVI from 1982 to 2006 in alpine meadow of the Three-River Source Region on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, 13(4): 528–535. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jag.2011.02.001
Yang M X, Wang X J, Pang G J et al., 2019. The Tibetan Plateau cryosphere: Observations and model simulations for current status and recent changes. Earth Science Reviews, 190: 353–369. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.12.018
Yang M X, Wang X J, Pang G J et al., 2019. The Tibetan Plateau cryosphere: observations and model simulations for current status and recent changes. Earth-Science Reviews, 190: 353–369. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2018.12.018
Yang Z H, Still B, Ge X X, 2015. Mechanical properties of seasonally frozen and permafrost soils at high strain rate. Cold Regions Science and Technology, 113: 12–19. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coldregions.2015.02.008
Yang Z P, Gao J X, Zhao L et al., 2013. Linking thaw depth with soil moisture and plant community composition: effects of permafrost degradation on alpine ecosystems on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Plant and Soil, 367(1–2): 687–700. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-012-1511-1
Yao Tandong, Qin Dahe, Shen Yongping et al., 2013. Cryospheric changes and their impacts on regional water cycle and ecological conditions in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Chinese Journal of Nature, 35(3): 179–186. (in Chinese)
Yi S H, Zhou Z Y, Ren S L et al., 2011. Effects of permafrost degradation on alpine grassland in a semi-arid basin on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Environmental Research Letters, 6(4): 45403. doi: https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/6/4/045403
Zhang T, Wang G X, Yang Y et al., 2017. Grassland types and season-dependent response of ecosystem respiration to experimental warming in a permafrost region in the Tibetan Plateau. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 247: 271–279. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2017.08.010
Zorigt M, Kwadijk J, Van Beek E et al., 2016. Estimating thawing depths and mean annual ground temperatures in the Khuvsgul region of Mongolia. Environmental Earth Sciences, 75(10): 897. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-016-5687-1
Acknowledgement
We would like to thank the National Meteorological Information Center, the Geospatial Data Cloud, and the Cold and Arid Regions Science Data Center in Lanzhou for providing meteorological data, DEM, vegetation types and frozen ground type data.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Foundation item: Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41807061, 41930641, 41977061), Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (No. 2018M633454), Team Building Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (No. GK202001003)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wang, R., Dong, Z. & Zhou, Z. Different Responses of Vegetation to Frozen Ground Degradation in the Source Region of the Yellow River from 1980 to 2018. Chin. Geogr. Sci. 30, 557–571 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-020-1135-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11769-020-1135-y