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Arid Land Geography ›› 2021, Vol. 44 ›› Issue (2): 369-378.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000–6060.2021.02.08

• Earth Surface Process • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Simulation and sensitivity analysis of net primary productivity(NPP) of different grassland types

ZHANG Meiling1(),CHEN Quangong2,JIANG Wenlan3,4   

  1. 1. Center for Quantitative Biology, College of Science, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, Gansu, China
    2. College of Pastoral Agriculture Science and Technology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730020, Gansu, China
    3. College of Prataculture, Gansu Agricultural University, Lanzhou 730070, Gansu, China
    4. Cold and Arid Regions Environments and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, China
  • Received:2019-04-06 Revised:2020-06-11 Online:2021-03-25 Published:2021-04-14

Abstract:

As a major challenge to the sustainable development of human society, climate change has attracted increasing attention from the international community. Global climate change significantly affects grassland ecosystems. Quantitative assessment of regional and grassland ecosystem productivity and its sensitivity to climate change could provide basic data on and a theoretical basis for grassland ecosystems adapting to future climate change. The grassland integrated comprehensive sequential classification system (CSCS) divides the natural grassland into 42 classes and aggregates them into 10 super-classes. Using the improved Carnegie-Ames-Stanford Approach (CASA) model, we simulated the net primary productivity (NPP) of natural grasslands in China from 2004 to 2008. A system clustering analysis was also conducted based on the annual average NPP of grassland classes to analyze NPP correlation and sensitivity and its influencing factors. The results show that the NPP showed an increase from 2004 to 2008 for all grassland super-classes. The subtropical forest rapidly increased by 38.2%. The temperate humid grassland slowly increased by 14.3%. The 41 grassland classes of China were clustered into three groups. The NPP of group 1 was low for its low wetness level and high heat level. Group 2 had high NPP for its high wetness and heat level and a suitable moisture and temperature ratio. Others were in group 3. The results indicate that the grassland NPP distribution pattern is related to the wetness and heat level in CSCS. There exists a significant correlation between the annual NPP and annual accumulated temperature greater than zero (Σθ), annual precipitation, wetness (K), and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). The correlation between annual NPP and solar radiation was the weakest. NDVI was the most sensitive variable to grassland NPP in China, simulated by the improved CASA model in this study, followed by Σθ, K-values, precipitation, and solar radiation. K-values and Σθ were used for quantitative classification in CSCS, and these two parameters were sensitive to NPP. This study completed the coupling of CSCS and grassland NPP to a certain extent.

Key words: net primary productivity (NPP), improved CASA model, grassland types, clustering analysis, sensitivity analysis